Need Help with Barking Cough

Tamera~I have delt with this way too many times....sometimes bundling him up and taking him outside to breathe the cold air will help...the barking cough is due to the airways being inflammed (swollen) and then when they force air thru them...they make that raspy sound...the humidifier is great, steamed bathroom is great, cold air is great, but make sure you bundle up the rest of the body....try to get into the dr sooner...usually croup will cycle...first they feel sick and have the barky cough, after about 3-5 days of that, they will feel better and cough for about 1-2 weeks...not usually the barky cough, just a cough...My daughter just got over this last week...the dr did give her an injection to help reduce the inflammation in the airways, and I also gave her breathing treatments at home...this will pass and it sounds like you are doing lots of the right things...it is very frusterating though...hang in there...winter has just begun...there is more to come

I have always sworn by Vicks vapor rub - on the back and chest - and a nice warm bed to help with a cough for any age. I still use it myself, my teenagers know it's the first thing to try when they start coughing, and my father still uses it himself when he gets a bad cough.

It generally helps in my experience, though if the cough is from bronchitis or some other infection it may only help to lesson the symptoms until he can be seen by the doc and get some antibiotics.

sounds like croup to me. After the steamy shower, take him outside into the cold air. the steam loosens everything up an d the cold helps him to cough it up. but get him into the doctor sooner event if it is the emergency room.

It's hard to just sit and wait something like this out and from the sound of what you wrote...you're doing everything you can.

While waiting make sure your little one doesn't suffer from respiratory distress. You can tell if your child is having difficulty breathing by looking for the following signs:

Nostril flaring
Tummy sucking in when they take a breath
At 15 months a respiratory rate >40
Blue lips or nail beds
Wheezing
Vomiting

Hope this helps. I do agree with bundling your little guy up and taking him outside to breathe in the cool air because it can help decrease the swelling in his upper airway.

If at any point you feel uncomfortable just waiting it out...by all means take your little one to the ER. You're better in this case to error on the side of caution.

Hi T., my son who is 2 1/2 also had this last month and I was a little worried too but its not contageous unless he has a fever w/ it. My son had the croup, it sounds like a barking seal and there isnt really anything you can do but use a humidifier, steam in the shower and they say to even bundle them up really good and let them breath in some cold fresh air outside, and lots of liquids. I look up alot of stuff on WEB MD before I take my kids to the doctor...I don't like taking them in for every little cold and our deductible is not cheap. Hope this helps:)

A. M
STAH mom of 2 boys

Hi T.,
It sounds to me like your son may have croup! My daughter is 8 and has gotten it since she was a baby. It almost sounds like a seal when they cough. I have found that the best thing to do for it is to take him outside in the cool air. The croup is causing his lungs to tighten up and the cool air outside will help him. If he gets to the point where he is struggling to catch his breath i would not wait till Wednesday i would take him in to the ER because he may need some help to open it up with either a breathing treatment or a steroid shot. This is not meant to scare you I am just giving you my experiences with what i think sounds like croup. I would continue to use the humidifier as long as it is a cool mist one. Hope this helps.

You may want to ask the doctor about testing him for asthma. Two of my kids have asthma, and before they were diagnosed, they would get a barky cough when they had a cold. Their medications now help prevent that. Just a thought. Hope the little guy is feeling better.

The croup is awful--my son gets it at least once a year, usually in the fall. In fact, he just had it earlier this week. The doctor prescribed a very low dose of steroids (Predisolone, a generic liquid) that works very well. You only give it to them two nights, and it's a low dose so relatively safe and at least allows you both to sleep. So you might ask them about that. You have to be careful with steroids and children, but if it is really bad they may recommend that. Otherwise, you're doing everything you can--try not to let them out in the cold without being dressed warmly BEFORE they get the croup--my mom swears that her kids got the croup everytime they were outside and inadequately dressed. Good luck and hang in there!

I saw that one webmd.com you can find out about giving him honey to stop the cough but go there and read what it says. Just pull up coughs or cold symptoms.

Good luck

Hi T.,
It sounds like croup. My son had it last week. It is a horrible virus. It is viral so they can't give antibiotics but if you need it they can prescribe steriods that will help the inflammation. I would def. call and get in to see your ped. It sound like you know all the things to do, hot, steamy shower, drink plenty of fluids. If the steam doesn't help try the cold air. That sometimes helps too. Is he having any stridor? If he is you need to get him in to see someone. I went in last week Wed. for my son and he is still horse. His coughing is almost gone. Good luck it can be scary watching your little one sick like this.
Chris

T., It sounds like you did everything you could, including taking him to the ER. When my son gets this way, I put the Vicks vapor rub on his chest, (I've heard about putting it on their feet too), to make sure he can breath through the night. Also, if you don't want to put it on him, then buy the kind that plugs into the light sockets. It puts it into the air for added help. Keep the humidifier running, running, running.....and then clean it as directed. Use distilled water.
J.

Both my daughters get croupy coughs in the winter. It's no fun! I usually spend 20 minutes sitting in the bathroom with the shower on HOT so as to get the room as steamy as possible. You could also try a little Coca-Cola if your son will drink it -- the cola syrup somehow helps suppress the cough. If he doesn't like the carbonation, let it go flat - it's the coke syrup that works the magic. A third option is to take him out in the cold! The cold air somehow helps with opening up breathing passages. (I used to know why but I've forgotten!) Good luck!

A few days/weeks ago some moms suggested vicks vapor rub on the feet... I tried it and it worked wonders. Your son's cough sounds worse than my son's did, but it might be worth a shot.

He may have the croup and you don't want to mess around with that. Some children can get it pretty bad and develop strider breathing. Watch his breathing. If his chest is sucking in when he breathes in, he needs to get help. My sons tend to get the croup and my oldest had a terrible time with it when he was little. He woke up and could barely breathe. We ended up in the ER where he recieved injections and breathing treatments. We then spent the next 3 days in and out of the Dr's office for more injections, breathing treatments and oral steroids. We now have a nebulizer at home, so we can treat it right away. At home you can try taking him out into the cold. The cold air can shock his airway open. Keep the humidifier going inside. I don't want to sound like an alarmest and I'm sure you are taking good care of your little guy. It's better to be safe than sorry. If you think he needs help, get him in sooner. Good luck and take care!

Get some menthol based stuff like Vicks, even the cheap stuff from the dollar store will do. Put it all over your son's feet and then put on some socks. It will stop that cough within minutes. You can put that on as often as you need to and it will keep his sinus' clear and breathing well.

I could be wrong here but I always thought that if the cough sounded like a dog or seal bark that it was a croupe cough. Which is inflamation in the throat. My daughter did that one night and cried (crying makes it worse) we took her in and she had to have a rather large painful injection. The Dr. told me that cold air will help but if it persists I would take him in just to be sure since it can be very dangerous.

I just read on Snoops that people swear works. You rub his feet with Vicks Vapor Rub and put on socks and he won't caugh all nite.

Try it - people swear it works. Let us know if it works.

mb

my 2 daughters had it for almost 3 weeks. and when we went to the doctor it was just something that is "going around". I used the over-the counter cough medicine of "DELSYM" it is like $10.00 a bottle but it really works & thats what the pharmacist recommended to me. It lasts 8 hours also--so it really helped my girls sleep thru the night... Good Luck..!! =)

Hi T...I just wanted to check and see what you found out and what is working...My son in 5 and he still gets croup...what did you find out about the humidifier? Thanks!

Hi T.! My son, who is 8 mos. old, just recently had croup, also. Unfortunately, there's not too much that can be done. It sounds like you're doing everything right. The one suggestion I have is maybe taking him outside. They say that the cold air is supposed to help with the inflammation of the throat--I did it for my baby and it helped. Really, though, the virus just has to run it's course. As they always say, make sure he doesn't turn blue, that means he can't breath, and make sure he gets plenty of fluids! When you do go to the doctor, they will probably give you a decongestant. That's what we got, and it seems to help. Hope this helps!

a teaspoon of honey should work wonders......

Your son probably has what is known as the "Croup" and should be seen at an Urgent Care Center if you are unable to get in at the office for nearly a week still.

This is a homeopathic suggestion. Go to your local health food store and buy Umcka. You can get it for children. My kids like the cherry flavor. It's made from a geranium root found in South Africa. It works better for my son than my daughter. I guess that's the deal with homeopathic remedies. They work better for some than for others.

I was told by someone that rubbing Vicks vapor rub generously on the bottom of their feet, then covering with socks should help with coughing at night. My daughter has a cough but this has kept her sleeping through the night for the last few nights.

Get him to the doctor, please! They will see him if he is sick!