Somehow I have escaped croup with my daughter, but I think my son has it. He has the "barking cough." Of course it's the weekend, and the on-call doc is taking her time calling me back. From all of you experienced moms, what can I do for him? He had a fever early this morning, which is better. I put him in the steamy shower, and it seemed to help a little. He just couldn't get comfortable to sleep and cried and tossed and turned.
He had RSV last year and we have a nebulizer with Albuteral from this bout. Should I give it to him, or will this hurt him further?
Children's Hospital was on call for my doctor and sent us to Urgent Care. A doc confirmed it's croup and gave us some steroids. The pharmacist said it will make him grumpy. He's playing a little, but not too far from mama and big sis can't touch him. If he's coughing and struggling tonight, I'll take him outside. Poor baby! Thanks for your advice. I'm sorry to those of you who have to go through this over and over.
My son had croup two weeks ago. Doctor said steamy shower followed by cold air, and that the neb would work using WATER, not albuteral, as that actually might make it worse. We ended up with a steriod that I crushed and put into a teaspoon of honey and it went right down. So sad to hear them cough like that. :(
I know this is late, but we put our son in a hot steamy shower and then stuck his head in the freezer. It worked miracles for us.
We just went through a bad bout of croup with my kids. One of them had a really rough time & ended up in the hospital. If you have a nebulizer, I would give him some nebulizer treatments with just plain saline. That was very helpful for my son who got so sick & miserable. We don't have a nebulizer, so we went to his doctor's office for the treatments. Every time we did it, it helped quite a bit. The other thing that is helpful is cold air. If it's not cold enough outside, open the freezer. Alternating between the cold air & the hot steamy air is really good, too. Hope he gets better soon!
I have delt with croup with both of my sons in the past year and half. Take your son outside for about 15 minutes and let him breathe in the cool air. The cool air will help him breathe. And I would call the answering service and get the doctor to call ASAP. You shouldn't have to wait no more then 10 minutes for the doctor to call you back.
Go ahead and use the Nebulizer, I cannot believe the dr is taking so long, they will give you a script for a steriod it will help, the 2nd night is always the worst. Cold air also helps with the breathing. My youngest(5 1/2 now) gets it at least twice a year, and we normally end up in the ER with a breathing treatment(not the same as for asthma) he has it again now, just had it in January. Blah. We are professional croupers now ;) Just make usre your little one is not having a hard time breathing. Good Luck.
I'm glad you got the steroids it really helps to open up the airway. I've found that bundling up and going outside to breath in cold air helps with croup so much better than a steamy shower. My dd's trachea is smaller than normal so lots of croup...anyway you notice how when you take the kid to the doc the barking isn't as bad? it's because they've been outside. after 3 ER visits we started sitting outside for a while until her breathing wasn't raspy anymore and she sleeps with a cool water vaporizer and we crack windows. last year she was in the ER 3 times and at urgent care another 3 this year not one trip to the doc. She is getting older yes but I also knew what to watch for better this year we almost took her in one night but 30 min sitting outside bundled up and she was asleep and breathing well again.
J.-this is a constant thing with my 4 year old. Every cold he gets turns into croup. Sounds like that is what your little guy is going through. Depending on where you live-if it is colder outside, go outside and have him breath deep-that works a LOT better for my little one than a steam shower. Yes, that helps somewhat but not as affective. Request a steriod from the dr when he gets around to calling you back. Not sure what to tell you about the breathing treatment you have. Also, I was told cold drinks/popsicles and such cool the throat down and that does help here as well. If it isn't cold outside-this may sound silly but i was also given the advice to get a bunch of ice, put it in a bowl and place it infront of a fan. Turn the fan on and blow-creating cool air.
Hope that helps a little!
lisa
Hi J. - I'm glad that your son got the care he needed and that he's feeling a little better. He probably has this awful bug that hit my son and a lot of others I know here in Parker. If it is, you'll probably be dealing with this for at least another week.
The steroids taste awful and with my son, the first dose barely any made it down. I crushed it and mixed with some OJ in a syringe and somehow it masked the taste. Just a thought. The first couple of days are the worst with croup. My son responded best to a cool mist humidifier in his room at night.
I learned that croup is laryngitis in kids. The croupy cough comes from the swelling of the larynx which is why they give the steroid. This will probably turn into an awful cold so be forewarned. Ear infections after croup are pretty common, so if he spikes a fever over 100.5, call your doc.
It took a good 10 days for my son to start feeling better. He was incredibly tired. He would try to play, last about 10 minutes and then go lay down. He is just now getting his appetite back. He still has a horrible cough. The doc said it could last 3-4 weeks. If you think your son is wheezing or is having trouble breathing, be sure to call your doc before administering a neb. If it's that bad, then he may need to see the doc right away.
I hope he feels better soon!
Albuterol (or Xopanex) do virtually nothing for croup. However, they do give moist air which will help. Decadron works better, has fewer doses, and is more palatable (it is in a crushable pill form) than prednisone. We have better success going outside rather a shower at night. We go through this all the time. Ours is usually non-viral, but it's a regular for us. If you have any other questions, I'm sitting nursing a very sick kid today, so I can answer any questions if we've experienced it.
I learned last year that one of the best things for a croup attack is to bundle the child up and take him out in the cold air. Cold air helps reduce swelling of the vocal chords, which is what gives the cough that terrible sound as well as limiting the passage of air to the lungs (SCARY). It is tremendous how well this works for our little guy, who has had three bouts of croup in the last year.
My son has croup right now as well. The best thing for the middle of the night when it flares up is to sit in the bathroom with the shower running for 15 minutes and then go outside for 15 min. right afterwards. That will relax their airway and was recommended to us by our Dr. Good luck!
I wouldn't give him anything without talking to your Dr and making very sure it is Croup. They can assess him, take him in. I know my son had it last year, we just had to wait it out. I used those vicks vapor plugs in his room to help open up his airways a bit (now they say do not use the rub on little ones under 2) but I did the rub, then I propped up his bed a little. It was a week at best to get over the hump of the nasty cough.
Then my daughter had a deep chested cough, cold symptoms first then she seemed fine other then the cough and it turned out to be walking pneumonia! :) I felt awful as I took her in only after it wasn't getting better.
Have your Dr check him, this time of year and him having RSV before you should be safe and wait for the Dr to guide you.
