Anyone with croup experience?

[Janna]

I am at a complete loss. My ds has had croup yearly since he was a year old. Everything I have been told, everything I have read, suggests that it's limited to the younger child - usually to around age 4 or 5 when the airways are more mature. When they are older, it manifests itself as a cold only, generally not going into the barking cough at night.

Ds is 6 yo now. He came down with it last night. He's had the classic cold symptoms since Wednesday and last night it was full blown croup - barking cough, inability to breath and hoarse voice today.

Why is he still getting this? For 5 years I have routinely taken him to the steamy bathroom, or to the chilly night air as well as given prescription Prednisone. He is out of the Prednisone currently and last night the steamy shower only allowed him to fall back to sleep for about an hour before he was back at it. We have a new Dr. since last year who isn't familiar with his consistent croup, so I don't expect the Dr. to just call in a Rx without seeing him first and it's Sunday.

What can we do tonight to get him to sleep? And why oh why, does he continue to get this? He's not even a little guy. He's very tall for his age and fairly muscular.

Thank you for your help.

[JenneinAZ]

I don't have any answers as to why just sympathy.

We have only had croup once in our house, when my youngest was about 18 months old. It was terrifying. I didn't recognize it as croup. Thankfully his doctor figured out what was going on from my description and it hasn't come back.

I hope you get answers and a good night's sleep too!

Jenne in AZ
(dd9, ds7, ds3)
(Sprog and Mouse)

[Kathy in MD]

(Bunk beds are really good for this.) She'd also add Vicks to the humidifier to help.

[JWSJ]

I advise seeing a pediatric ears, nose, and throat (ENT) doctor. A normal (adult) ENT Dr. told us a pediatric ENT was needed because children are very different from adults in this area.

There could be a bigger unknown issue at hand.

[Jennifer in MI]

Oh man, I feel for you! I have two children who get/got croup. My now 11 year old would get croup every year until he was 8. It was easier as he got older (ie - I didn't have to take him to the ER after he was 6 or so). My now-7 year old still gets croup occassionally. He has asthma and that complicates it. He hasn't been to the ER for it since he was 5. So, while most children do outgrow it, some will hang on to it until they're older.

For tonight - put a humidifier in his room. I read (here I think) that when kids start coughing with croup, offer them a lollipop. It distracts them and they don't get as scared and cry (which makes croup worse). My kids would be distracted by the tv too. Take him outside (if you live in a cold climate) or open the freezer and have him breathe in the cold air.

The last time we were at the ER with croup, the doctor told us that it happens most often between the hours of 4 and 6 am. I used to sit awake between those hours during bouts with croup just waiting for them to wake up and start coughing!

I hope he feels better soon and you all get some sleep!!

[HomeOnTheRanch]

My 2 middle had it bad. They've both been hospitalized for it. We've used steam, but we keep the pred. on hand to nip in the bud if it starts to get out of hand. By about age 7 they grew out of it.

[Mandamom]

My dd7 still gets the barking cough quite a bit after numerous bouts as an infant/toddler. I never had to take her to the ER though because her breathing, although difficult, never got out of control. I also don't even call the doc for it except for the one time I couldn't get her fever below 105. That was frustrating.

My ds1 has had two nasty bouts with it; one last year where I did take him to the ER (I wasn't impressed with the treatment because I never felt it improved his breathing) and just this past January where I decided to wait it out at home. His breathing was compromised but we made it through.

I do expect him to continue on with croup, like his sister, but hopefully by 8 or 9 they'll be done.

All this to say that we're another one dealing with it at an older age.

[GothicGyrl]

A diagnosis of Constant Croup led to a diagnosis of Allergic Asthma in my DD, 12. It started with something as harmless as our former Guinea pig and turned into 3 hospital stays, constant Prednisone, allergy testing(which discovered that she is highly allergic to guinea and any other furry animal, except dogs), and now she is asthmatic.

heat is her trigger. If she gets over heated, she "barks out" and "attacks" ( i know that sounds funny but her Pulm. gets it, she knows exactly what I mean when I say that).

All of that to say, also check with a Pulminologist. He could have developed some type of allergic asthma (and yes, it can just happen "overnight", that's what happened with DD)--get him allergy tested, see what his "triggers" are. It's worth it..

[Janna]

A diagnosis of Constant Croup led to a diagnosis of Allergic Asthma in my DD, 12. It started with something as harmless as our former Guinea pig and turned into 3 hospital stays, constant Prednisone, allergy testing(which discovered that she is highly allergic to guinea and any other furry animal, except dogs), and now she is asthmatic.

heat is her trigger. If she gets over heated, she "barks out" and "attacks" ( i know that sounds funny but her Pulm. gets it, she knows exactly what I mean when I say that).

All of that to say, also check with a Pulminologist. He could have developed some type of allergic asthma (and yes, it can just happen "overnight", that's what happened with DD)--get him allergy tested, see what his "triggers" are. It's worth it..

I understand what you're saying with the heat causing her to bark out. It's one of the reasons why I keep ds's room so chilly. It faces the north (we're in a cold climate where the north wind can be brutal) and just seems to be the most improperly insulated room in our house for some reason. Even still, I have a fan running rather than a heater. He sleeps better when it's cold.

Anyway, the allergies is true for him. We had him tested when he was 3.5 because his croup was so frequent. We ended up seeing an Otolaryngologist who looked at his x-rays and CT scans (also lots of sinus infections) and she was the one who told us his allergies were causing his sinus infections which were then causing the croup. After putting him on multiple allergy meds we did see a huge improvement. His croup was only once a year rather than 4-5. But even still, to be 6yo and still have it - even if this is his only episode this year (Lord willing) is just frustrating.

I have often wondered if part of the reason he's had difficulty is because he didn't cry at all when he was born. Not even for his circumcision. A more laid back baby I still have never seen. He ended up having pneumonia when he was still an infant that we assumed was from not crying out all that junk in utero. So sometimes I wonder if that has anything to do with it, even all these years later.

It's somewhat comforting to hear that other mom's have had children with croup until they were this old (and older) though.

Thanks, Toni. The allergies are definitely a key.

[King Alfred Academy]

Do you have access to a nebulizer? I was told to put saline solution in it and have ds breathe it in for 15 minutes every few hours. It worked! His croup only lasted 2 days and he even has asthma!
Hope you have one or access to one.:)

[strider]

The idiot doctor-on-call told me it wasn't croup because my son is so old and it was the wrong time of year! (This was NOT my normal doctor.) I was so irritated--my son has had croup before, and I know perfectly well what croup is. I was a little panicked about having to get through the night before I could contact my regular doctor, but by using all the "usual" tricks we did get through.
In our case my son got over this bout a little quicker, and it wasn't as bad as when he was much younger.

Try to have him sleep propped up on some pillows, rub him with Vick's, and keep the humidifier going. I usually have my son sleep in my bed when he has croup--that way I can sit him up *immediately* when he starts coughing. If it's real bad, the other two good things are a walk outside in the cold, or maybe leaning in the frig, or possibly a nice steamy shower.

[KiminNJ]

I agree with GothicGyrl that it sounds like allergic asthma. For the first 19 years of my life I was ill with croup/bronchitis and then asthma every December/January. After years of misery and adrenaline shots in my chest, I finally found my trigger in 1987 - the LIVE Christmas tree that my parents bought every year. Apparently there is a mold that grows under the bark when the trunk is cut and set in a warm environment.

But for years my mom (an RN) made me sit in a steamy bathroom - which made it MUCH worse.... or the frigid cold air - which also made it worse. I am allergic to mold spores - so any damp day affects me. The best non-prescription tricks I have found are sleeping with Vick's on the soles of my feet covered with socks and Vick's on my chest, Ricola cough drops in the middle of the night just to have a slight drip down my throat. Propped up pillows and laying on my left side.

But I HAD to buy a neublizer. Too many ER visits as a child and I thought I cannot keep doing this. I keep albuterol in the kit and I may use it a few times a year - but Insurance covered the machine cost years ago and I just feel better having it in the house just in case. If I don't catch the barking quickly - it turns into asthma very fast and then only prednisone and Tussionex cough syrup help.

Good Luck - between MD, pulmonologist and allergy MD - the Allergy MD was the one who helped me make sense of everything the most and helped me to change my environment - not just give me meds to cover the problem.

[ELaurie]

Our 6 and 8 yo dc have had croup many times. I suspect our ds 6 has allergies as well, although this hasn't been confirmed. In addition to what others have said about using a humidifier or vaporizer, I have also used a sequence of homeopathic remedies that is helpful.

I know you're not crazy about the new Whole Foods in your area, but they carry homeopathic remedies if you don't have a health food store nearby. I use Aconite (200X) at the first sign of croup, repeating every one to two hours for up to about four hours until symptoms improve.

If Aconite fails, or if symptoms have been present for more than 12 hours, I give them Spongia. Get the highest potency available, probably 30C.

For later stages of croup, when the cough is looser, I give Hepar Sulph.
If you're not familiar with homeopathic remedies, they are quite safe to use, and often very beneficial.

Let them dissolve under your dcs tongue - they taste sweet. Don't give your dc any food or liquids for 10-15 minutes afterwards.


I double checked this with Everybody's Guide to Homoeopathic Medicines before sending it so I could be sure of the proper sequence.

This hasn't been 100% effective with our youngest ds, but it has generally very helpful

I will be praying for your family.

[Jennifer in MI]

The idiot doctor-on-call told me it wasn't croup because my son is so old and it was the wrong time of year! (This was NOT my normal doctor.)

My ds had his last bout with croup where we had to take him to the hospital when he was 6. He was turning blue! This was in APRIL!!! Weird time of year. The ER doc was wonderful with us, thank God!!

We had trouble when this same ds had his first febrile seizure at 6 (that year was a bad one for us!LOL). The ER docs and his docs once he was admitted all insisted it couldn't have been a febrile seizure because he was too old! Ummm . . . he had a fever of 104, had a bath, was covered up with lots of blankets when he had the seizure! Luckily, the follow-up neurologist was wonderful and thought outside the box and called it a febrile seizure.

Anyway, I'm sorry you had to go through something like that too!!!

Our 6 and 8 yo dc have had croup many times. I suspect our ds 6 has allergies as well, although this hasn't been confirmed. In addition to what others have said about using a humidifier or vaporizer, I have also used a sequence of homeopathic remedies that is helpful.

I know you're not crazy about the new Whole Foods in your area, but they carry homeopathic remedies if you don't have a health food store nearby. I use Aconite (200X) at the first sign of croup, repeating every one to two hours for up to about four hours until symptoms improve.

If Aconite fails, or if symptoms have been present for more than 12 hours, I give them Spongia. Get the highest potency available, probably 30C.

For later stages of croup, when the cough is looser, I give Hepar Sulph.
If you're not familiar with homeopathic remedies, they are quite safe to use, and often very beneficial.

Let them dissolve under your dcs tongue - they taste sweet. Don't give your dc any food or liquids for 10-15 minutes afterwards.


I double checked this with Everybody's Guide to Homoeopathic Medicines before sending it so I could be sure of the proper sequence.

This hasn't been 100% effective with our youngest ds, but it has generally very helpful

I will be praying for your family.

Thank you so much for this!! Luckily my older ones seemed to have outgrown it and the baby doesn't seem to get it. But, I'm filing this away just in case. We use Aconite for panic, so we have it on hand.

Jennifer

[Sue G in PA]

this homeopathic remedy is a sure-fire croup reliever. It's called Spongi Tosta. You can find it in any health-food store. It's in a little blue vile (tiny white pellets that taste like sugar pills) and easy to give even to a baby. 3 pellets when you suspect croup coming on and they are sleeping like a baby for the rest of the night. No steamy bathrooms, cold air, Prednisone, etc. Very safe, very effective. As for the recurrence...not sure. My brother always had difficulties w/ upper respiratory infections and became sort of asthmatic w/ each little cold and cough. Still does. I hope the dr. has some answers for you.

[Sue G in PA]

Sorry, that should have been Spongia Tosta NOT Spongi Tosta. Sorry

[ELaurie]

His cheeks were flushed, and he was panicky. I gave him Aconite, and he stopped coughing within minutes. 10 minutes later, he was resting quietly, and within 20 minutes he was asleep.

This morning, he still has a bit of the characteristic "strider" when he inhales, but I'm planning to keep the humidifiers running, and put him in a steamy shower.

We have Albuterol and Prednisone on hand for more severe symptoms, but for now, I plan to try Spongia. Usually works like a charm.

[nancypants]

All of our kids seem to get croup at least once a year. We've already had it twice this school year (Sept. and Nov.) The pamphlet they hand out a the hospital indicates that some kids will get it even until they are 9, 10 and 11... and adults can still get it, it just doesn't manifest itself in the same exact way. I hate croup. It's awful. I hope it goes away quickly! (Ours tend to get it for longer than they say it should last too.... they say it should start improving after the first night... we generally don't see any improvement until about the 4th or 5th night!) :(