My Son Has Croup HELP!

I used to run a hot shower, and let him breathe in the steam before bed. Also, try elevating his head in bed a bit... that seemed to help too.

My son had croup, the doctors say the 3rd night is usually the worse....what helped was running the shower on hot, steaming up the bathroom and having him breath in the warm air. Not to scare you, but we ended up going to ER where they did breathing treatments and whatever else to help him....it was 2.5 years ago now, so the whatever else stuff is a little fuzzy. Good Luck.

My son had that as well. What I did was develop a consensus from 3 different doctors. The steroids are important when the respiratory passages are worn down by all of the coughing. Once that is treated a combination of Robitussin (to control cough) and Claratin (for nondrowsy) or Benadryl dries up a potential postnasal drip. Hope this helps you.

Hi J.,

When my little boys were babies, I'd did the bathroom-shower-steam-thing and we'd rock away until they feel asleep.

I did this for myself as well since I had asthma. My doctor won't admit my asthma has gone away, yet he had to read my chart, since there was no evidence in my lungs, to say anything about it to me. He was upset I hadn't bought another inhaler for over 3 years. It's not a coincidence that when I quit working, in a "sick" building, the last of my asthma attacks went away.

Now your little boy may only have the croup this one time if he's lucky. What I'm leading up to is that often, children, with their small, little, underdeveloped bodies, are reacting to the toxic chemicals they come in contact with especially at night. You may be putting him down into a sterile crib that has sterile sheets, but his body may be reacting to the chemicals used to clean his crib and sheets and PJs.

The correlation between the 600% rise in asthma and 300% rise in autism, since the early 80's, has scientist starting to conclude that it is toxic chemicals we use to clean with are the underlying culprits. Since WW2 over 150 chemicals have been introduced into the household to clean with or treat various fabrics, woods, etc and the rise in ADHD and ADD has become rampent.

All these negative chemicals are obsorbed through our skin and lungs. Think about it. If a one inch skin patch can deliver your chemo therapy, keep you from being sea-sick, help one stop smoking, deliver birth control; what would wraping your body in negative chemicals all night and most of the day do to everyone of us. All I know is that when I quit using the toxic poisons to clean my home and wash my clothes. Got rid of the formaldehyde, the industry has 50 names they call it, the latest is Quanternium-15, tainted shampoos, conditioners, lotions, soaps, even make-up and toothpaste etc., and switched over to "Green" products that have no negative effects on me and they helped the environment as well.

I no longer get bronchitis or pneumonia anymore. My asthma went away. I did buy the inhaler, my doctor insisted I had to have but it's in the glove box. Hey, tha will be the only place I could have an asthma attack now is outside. My home is toxin free.

Hey, by switching to these green products I also got rid of my eczema and I'm no longer itching from head to toe.

If you would like to know more about these great green products that are more economical than what you are buying elsewhere and have them delivered straight to your door, call me. We also have a complete baby-line of non-toxic, eco-friendly products as well. There is a way you can get them for free, ask me how.

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Hi,
My son had this all the time. The humidifier was my best friend, however it would take about 3 day's. I would also run a hot shower and sit in there with him and sleep in the recliner with him. It seemed to help if he wasn't laying flat. We would experience this about every 8 weeks. It ended up being allergies that triggered it.
Good luck!
J.

Hi J., The doctor's advice was good, I'mnot sure about the steriods, but here's one more thing you can do, to make him more comfortable, put him in his infant/carseat in his crib, being in an upright position is going to help him breath easier, I was told to go that when my 3 month old, now 24, had broncohlitus, I was told toput the hamidifire in his room and put him in his infant seat so he was in an up right position, it helped alot. unfortunatly this is going to have to run it;s course, but trust me he will get better. I will say a prayer for your litle one. J.

You Might see if there is anything in his room or where he sleeps that he might be allergic to? and check his diet?

Hi. My daughter was prone to croup, too, and had it several times during her toddlerhood. I know the wee-hours barking is terrifying, but just take a deep breath and know it's ALWAYS worse in the middle of the night, for whatever reason, but you'll get through it. He will get over this in a few days, just like a cold. Definitely follow the doc's advice on the humidifier and with cool damp air. The older recommendation was to sit in the bathroom with your child with the hot shower or bath running so the baby could breathe the steam. I think now they recommend cool mist rather than hot moist air; you might want to check with the doc to see if there's a specific reason to stick with cool or whether warm would be OK, too. On one occasion when I had to take my daughter to the ER (she sounded so awful I was afraid her airway would close, then she was coughing and crying so much in the car she threw up, so yes, I was in a panic) they gave me an Rx for albuterol. I bought a nebulizer and got a bunch of spare albuterol packets from our doc and when she had croup on later occasions I was able to treat it myself at home because I had the equipment and the medication. Ask your doctor if there's a way for you to keep this on hand at home. Croup always seems to strike at night, and it will be easier to deal with if you can avoid a 3 a.m. dash to the ER! (Of course, if your child is obviously having serious breathing difficulties, you gotta go to the ER -- if he's turning blue, gasping for breath, etc. But usually even with croup it sounds horrible but the air's still getting in.) Have patience, comfort your child the bast you can. Not only does he feel awful but he's probably scared, too, so just make sure he knows you are there; your presence is hugely comforting; resign yourself to a few more miserable nights and just know that this is fairly common. Also, unfortunately, a lot of kids tend to develop croup when they get colds, so if he has it now he will likely have it again in the future. It gets easier to deal with after the first time! Good luck.

My doctor told us the same thing, so we slept in the artic at night...we had the air conditioner on, and slept with him in his bouncy seat on our bed. He was also on breathing treatments every four hours to help sooth the cough and open his lungs up. If he is that bad at night you might want to talk to his doctor again.

Shouldn't it be getting better by now? My sons never had more than 2 bad nights....I'd call your pediatrician and review this with him or her. Next, you're on the right track---my youngest had it so bad that I made a playpen sofa out of the couch/loveseat in the living room-he slept on the loveseat and I was on the couch next to him. I opened the slider door so the cold winter air came into the room and we burrowed under a pile of blankies. That helped a lot. Sitting on the closed toilet in the hot steamy bathroom w/the shower on high helped, as did stepping out into the cool and damp night air. My sons' never seemed that miserable---I think it was more scary for me than miserable for them. Good luck!

I am a mother of 2 (a 6yr. old, and an 18mth old), I am also a pre-school teacher. I know that one thing that helps for really bad coughs during napping is to put a pillow under the childs mattress to help raise their head. Sleeping slightly upright helps to keep the nasal passages unblocked. Goodluck!

Hi J.- You are not alone for sure - its very scary to think of your baby this way I have been thru it and I was nervous for sure also- I found the best thing is going into the bathroom close the door and put your shower on hot and let the steam fill the bathroom I just hold my son and sit on the potty with the lid closed and rock him and tell him to try and take deep breaths -then I take him to his Dr and he gets a steroid not sure which one cant remember right now but that knocks it right out of him (They give him the shot of the steroids) to get it to work faster- if that is not working for you maybe the steroid is not working for your child - NOT that I like putting medicines in my children that are not needed!!! but this for sure is not fun so to see them so sick- and just an FYI it comes back every year around the same time - as they grow up it gets better but your child may have allergies I would check into that as well but the shower for sure opens up the lungs very well - good luck and god bless your family -

My son had the croup when he was younger (he's 2 now) and we also sat in the bathroom with the hot shower running. I would do it before bedtime and if necessary, when he woke up in the middle of the night. It only lasted a few days for him... good luck!

My first son came down with croup when he was about 9 months old - it was terrifying to me! He woke up in the middle of the night one night barking like a seal and I thought he was dying (and I'm not being dramatic, I had just never heard it before and was sure he was in serious trouble). After talking to the doctor and calming down, we ran the humidifier in his room 24 hours (even when he wasn't in it) to keep the room as humid as possible, and when he had trouble sleeping, we turned on the hot water in the shower and closed the door (with no fan on) to get the bathroom all steamy. After a couple of minutes in there, then going out into the cool air outside the bathroom, that seemed to help enough to get back to sleep. My sister's friend who had this with four kids also recommended taking him outside into the cool air, then back inside - apparently it is the change in air tempurature, warm to cool or cool to warm, that helps open up the air passages (?). We never needed to try that one because the steamy bathroom seemed to work. It was usually over after a couple/few nights; the cough still sounded bad, but he didn't have so much trouble breathing and sleeping. After this, every time he got a cold, it turned into croup (just to be forewarned) until he was about 2. If the doctor said the steroids and motrin are optional and they are not helping him, I would stay away from them. His body may be able to fight it off better on his own. Especially if you are breastfeeding, but even if you are not. I have no medical training, but I have just found by experience in my own life and my childrens', if we can fight off illness on our own without medications, we're better off - but only if the doctor said it was optional. I would trust your doctor before you listen to me:)

I agree about the carseat thing... I was actually going to say prop him up while sleeping but couldn't think of a safe way to do it. The dairy, also, could be a factor. If he's really really bad at night and nothing else is helping sit in the bathroom with him with the hot shower running and the doors shut. I don't know about the steroids... you could also talk to your doctor or pharmacist about a decongestant (only use when really desparate, though). I think Izzy was the same age and I gave her the little strips, but cut in half (per the doctor's orders). But don't do it without medical advice first. You might also ask your doctor about menthol vapor (like the vicks vaporizer things)- it is the only thing that helps me when I'm croupy, but I don't know if you can use it with infants.

Hi there!! I am not sure if it will work for croup, but when my son starts caughing at night ( due to allergies or a cold ) i put baby vicks vapor rub on the bottom of his feet and put socks on him. In seconds it slows down his caughing and in minutes he stops. It works for adults too.
I hope it helps. Let me knowif it works for croup too if you try it.
Take care
B.

I dont know if the netty pot would help croup but I sure like it for allergies. May keep mucus from going down into his throat and aggrivating it.

Takes some getting used to tho.

Oops I just re read the age. Your son is probably too young for the netti pot but something to clean his sinuses may help.

I remember when it went through our house as kids...my mom used to bring us into the bathroom, shut the doors and windows and put the shower on as hot as it went. We would sit in the bathroom on the floor or toilet seat and enjoy the steam...so made me feel better!

-M

I am a working mom of 5 and 7 year old boys. My oldest had croup when he was about 6 months old too. My younger one had it a few times, but not as bad. My husband and I took turns turning on the shower with hot water. We would close the door until it filled up with steam and then bring our son in to take deep breaths. After a bit, we would head outside the front door to breath some cool air. It helped, but it was still hard to hear him breath like a seal and as a parent feel like his windpipe is just closing up. He also had a vaporizer in his room. He also had Albuterol given to him through a machine. He had to breath it in through a mask. Basically, they say it is eventually outgrown, so that is some good news!

My daughter had a mild case around the same age. Sounds like yours might be more serious but, i also had luck with the steamy bathroom. Good luck.

Hi, My name is R.. I am from India and was practising Homoeopathy{ a kind of Natural medicine, u can research more on the net}for almost 20 yrs. I hv treated many cases of croup.
Homoeopathy works really well.I hv just moved to california.

I would strongly advise you to try homoeopathy as the medicines are safe. I live in San Marino.

Our little guy came down with croup when he was very youg (about the same age as yours). Although we had humidifiers throughout the house running all day, he just couldn't sleep. We finally brought him to bed with us (Iwas tired of sleeping sitting up on the couch). I propped him up on my pillow and kept him near me so I could know how he was doing. Being propped up made all the difference! He was able to sleep at night and take naps again. The cough lasts long after the congestion, so plan on using the humidifier a long time. Our little boy is two now and still loves to sleep with a pillow. :)

As a mother of a 3 yr old and a respiratory therapy student, PLEASE J., DO NOT USE ANY HOT STEAMY AIR ON YOUR SON!!! This is the old fashioned way of thinking and in fact has opposite effects.

Croup is caused by they parainfluenza virus in most cases and bacterial in some, this causes the body's natural defensive inflammatory process in your son's airways which causes swelling and restricts air flow to a tiny 6 month old's airway. if you add any heat to this process you are increasing vasodilation (bloodflow) which increases histamine release (body's immunity) which increases swelling (histamines cause swelling) and decreases airflow therefore oxygen to your son.

The cool air is the best thing to do it will cause vasoconstriction which decreases the amount of histamines causing inflammation in your son's airways. steroids like dexamethasone will also decrease inflammation. if this doesn't work then usually what happens in the clinical setting is that cool mist racemic epinephrine will be administered to your son.

Please just keep in touch with your pediatrician and stay clear away from any home remedies that involve hot steamy air. I have seen many infants and small children with croup in the clinical setting and if it's any relief to you, they do just fine with the doctor's treatment plan.

what i did with my daughter when she was like that (but she didnt have croup it was asthma) was got the humidafire (i ran it on high withing 3ft of her bed) and i sucked her nose out really good before bed (her dr had her on rondex dm) and later started her on albuterol because it will calm the coughing too. maybe try raising the head of his bed up with a pillow under his materess. also keep taking him back if he doesnt clear up we though my daughter had croupe and it ended up being asthma. good luck i hope he gets better!

There have been a lot of good responses, but you need to realize the humid air he needs, needs to be cold air and not hot. Heat causes swelling and that is the one thing you are trying to help. When my daughter had croupe at 8 months they used some type of humidifier that used ice to keep the air cool. They also had us put the humidifier under a tent next to her bed. I think we used a sheet or something like that. Hope he heals fast.
Melissa

My son has croup as well and unfortunetly here is not much you can do, but what you are doing. Try to keep his comfortable. My son has had many reoccurances, of the cough, whish is hard. We have given him six of the steriod treatments, and he is only 14 months old. Not every time he has it does he need the steriod treatments or the inibilizer all of the time. I try to keep him from people who are sick, which is hard, since allot of kids get a cold, but I do keep him away...

You might think about taking your son to an allergist and have him assessed for asthma. My daughter had these same symptoms and it took a while, but once we had her allergies and asthma diagnosed and got the proper medications, things were much better. In the meantime, if the coughing get really bad, take the baby into the bathroom, shut the door and run the hot water in the shower. The high concentration of steam will ease his breathing.

I know it sounds weird but my friends son has had croup a couple of times and she said to take Vick's vapor rub and apply it to the bottom of his feet and put socks on over the top. (I told you it sounds weird!) For whatever reason it seemed to help her son better than applying it to his chest and another friend comfirmed this too! A hot steamy bathroom also helps! It will get better, poor baby and mama!!!!

Try cutting out all dairy, even you, if you breastfeed. Try it for a couple of weeks as see how it goes. I read once that could help also.
Good luck.
M.

My son had it at 7 months...he was a pain...as the dr told us to "tent" his crib and run a vick vaporizer and to put something under his crib mattress to prop him up. Well, this was fine the 1st night. 2nd night he felt a lot better. He was just learning to stand up holding on to the crib. He thought this was great fun, bouncing up and down...ever heard a seal try to laugh....by the 3rd day he was so much better. We just couldn't get him to lay down and sleep,,he liked the vaporizer tent and so excited to jump under it.
I am almost surprised that vicks is still used...after all, this little jumping crouping baby will be 42 next week. Good luck

Delsym works for my son. It's a 12 hour over the counter cough medicine and they take very little. Propping up on pillows or something else while sleeping helps - pretty much the same remedies as with Asthma (cold OR steam, propped sleeping/sitting, resting, etc.). Pay attention to what works for HIM. For example, with me, steam makes it hard for me to breathe and helps my son...

Also, try to put Vick's Vaporrub on his feet at night under socks. I've heard that this is supposed to work 100% of the time.

Good Luck!

That is the worst, especially when they're so young.
I would give my son a steamy bath at night; filling the sink with hot, hot water too, and keeping the door closed--like a sauna.
I added eucalyptus oil to the warm air humidifier too.
I put pillows UNDER his mattress, to help prevent mucous from stimulating coughing while he's lying horizontally.

I also kept saline solution and the suction bulb to keep his nasal passages clear, allowing him to breathe.
There's also a 'Vicks Chest Rub' for infants that I put on his chest, under a shirt.

Good luck

You can give your son some reflexology on his feet. The first time I experienced it was during a massage. I had the tail end of bronchitis that just would not go away. The masseuse started working on my feet and I started hacking away. He told me he was working on reflex points for my respiratory system. The next day I felt like a million bucks. Apply light pressure on the bottom of his foot under in the area under the toes. Apply a little pressure on his toes also. The toes work sinus ares. The pad of the foot under the toes works his chest. You can also apply oil of oregano on his chest. It is VERY STRONG. Just put a drop or two in a carrier oil-alomond oil, jojoba or even olive oil. There are lots of books on reflexology at the bookstores with easy to follow charts. Just take a look at one if you are unsure. It's easy and can be done several times during the day with no worries.

My son is 11 now & has a cough that is just like croup every time he gets a cold. He had pneumonia twice before he was 18 months old. To say the least, I am familiar with your situation. Yes, the Dr's say use the cool mist humidifier - but it NEVER helped, in fact I think it would make him worse. I use a regular humidifier & that has always helped! When it is was really bad I have a towel over his head & mine as well as the humidifier so as to condense the output to where it was needed most & I was there to make sure he wasn't scared. It clears him up enough to sleep somewhat comfortably & leave it on all night. Most last (full - even the cheapy ones) for 6-8 hours. Good luck & God Bless!

My daughter is 6 years old and has had CROUP since she was a baby. It only occurs usually during a cold. It's pretty scary, especially when they are so young. The best thing that works for us is a humidifier. I just sit my daughter in front of it and tell her to inhale then exhale. I also sit it on a table near her bed and I leave it on all night. By the morning she is better. It works wonders. I would only keep him on the steroids if you don't see any changes with the humidifier. Another thing that I can suggest is to keep him calm it worsens when they cry or get upset.

Hi, J., my younger son, David, had croup. I used to steam up the shower and take him in so he could breathe the humid air. It really, really worked. Also, taking him out at night to breathe the cool air helps as well. He finally out grew it. Good luck. The humidifier works too, but the humid air in the shower works wonderfully.

One of my son's had croup as a baby. Turning on the shower and letting him breath the steam helped sometimes. Sleeping upright in a carseat or bouncy seat may be helpful as well. If it gets really bad at night, do not hesitate to go to the emergency room - your baby may need a breathing treatment.

My daughter had it around that age. I just put her in her carseat, cracked the rear windows and went for a ride till she fell asleep. I actually slept in the car right next to her in the garage. Had to do this for two nights. She could only sleep upright and I didn't want to chance moving her. Not the best way for Mom to get rest but at the time it worked (-:

Hope he is feeling better soon!
M.