9 Mos. Old W/ Croup

Hi K.,
My 11 month old son also had croup about 2 months ago and when we saw the doctor I asked the same thing about how contagious it is (he has a 3 year old sister and they both go to daycare). The doctor said that he would have to cough or slobber on another infant (or chew the same toy) to pass it to another baby. But beyond that he said not to worry about it as it tends to be an issue with infants but not older children (like my 3 year old. When exposed, he said that older children tend to just get a cold, not croup. Hope that helps. Good luck to you!

Croup sounds A LOT scarier than it is. It really is just a part of common childhood colds. In fact, a friend of mine just had laryngitis and she was told that that is the adult version of croup. So, if you look at it that way, we don't panic over laryngitis. Croup is basically the same. I have had several with it and they sound awful and may feel miserable, but we make it through. As for making him feel better, the best thing to do when it gets bad is alternate between going outside to breathe the cold air (I know it sounds cruel, but wrap him in a blanket and leave his face at least semi exposed so he really breathes it in.) and taking him into a HOT shower to let him breathe in the steam. My DH and I always found the cold really did the trick to helped with the breathing and the steam helped to clear out the "gunk." Good luck. I know it's not fun for anyone, but you WILL make it through!

You have already gotten sme good advice. My son, now 3, got croup quite regularly at that age. He was put on Steroids once and they did help. We saw no side affect and it didn't really seem to do anything with his immune system. He is in daycare and he didn't get anything else while on the meds and none of the other kids got croup. It did take some time after the meds were done for the cough to go away. The Dr. said it is very common and once she saw him the first time for it she said we didn't have to bring him back unless it got worse or lasted a long time (I can't remember how long she said). He did get it several more times that winter and we used the cold/steamy treatment right away and it worked wonders. We continued this treatment until the cough was gone. We also used a warm mist hummidifier to help him sleep better. It seems he may have grown out of it because he hasn't gotten it since that first winter.
Good Luck and I hope he feels better soon.

A few bits of advice -- when he wakes up with it, have your husband run the shower so it gets really hot and steamy; meanwhile, you two bundle up and go outside. The damp night air will help him breathe better. Then go in and breathe in the damp bathroom.

Hang in there!

K.-
My little guy had croup plus a lot of chest congestion when he was about 7 months old. Unfortunately he had to be in the hospital for about three days to get it under control. They said his lungs were just too small to handle the congestion whereas in an older child it wouldn't have been as severe. Also, they used steroids in a nebulizer at first to get it under control and then albuterol in the nebulizer every 4 hrs which I continued at home. The nebulizer is like a vaporizer but since it has medication you hold it to only their mouth/nose for them to breath in until the meds are gone. Worked like a charm both times it happened last winter and so far this winter (cross your fingers) we have been doing much better than last. My understanding is that croup is pretty much a cold that gets out of hand - especially in the young ones. So, yes, this would be contagious but an older person would be able to handle it better. Theoretically, anyway. Also, in prevention, this winter I am making sure to keep everyone's hands clean and no smooching if anyone has a runny nose! Hope some of this helps!
J.

My daughter use to get croup a lot when she was a baby... she is 26 now. One thing I learned to do was make a tent with the humidifer and her crib by putting a sheet over the top of the crib and the humidifer. I also learned to do the back pat. What you do there is lay them stomach down across your legs and cup your hands then firmly but gently pat the lung area as the back curves into the side. You aren't slapping them and it shouldn't hurt, make sure your hand is cupped. You do it as you were playing a drum, one hand then the other, up and down the lung area.

Croup can be one of the easiest childhood illnesses to deal with. However, in rare cases it can really make breathing difficult and that can be scary for everyone involved. A couple nights of a barky cough, maybe 24 hours with a low grade fever...Followed by runny nose.

When you have a kid with croup you can bet they will present with these symptoms at least once a year; typically early winter or early spring. They grow out of it thought. I seem to recall hearing that the adult form of croup is laryngitis?

Best in-home treatment is to turn on the shower steamy hot. Close the bathroom door and while waiting for it to fill with steam, wrap your little one in a quilt and go sit outside. The cold cold air "shocks" their little clenching lungs and helps them get ahead of the cough. After a few minutes of cold, lose the quilt and sit in the steamy bathroom. Repeat until the child and the cough have calmed. Though croup was scary, some of my fondest memories are of my dad patiently carring me from the back steps to the bathroom.

Haven't experienced a high level of contagiousness with croup. I had it as a child and neither sibling ever did. Same thing with my boys.

Hi K.,
My son, who is now 2, has had croup a few times. However, we've never had any prescription for it. Yes, hearing the cough is so hard to listen to and not worry about. In his room, a couple things can help - run a humidifier, I like using the vapor plugs but some dr's aren't too keen on it. It helps if kids' are stuffy in my opinion. Also, the biggest thing that helped us was raising the bed a little by putting a blanket or pillow under the mattress to raise the side his head was on. Also, I'd have him play in the bathroom when I was taking a shower OR just sit in the steamy bathroom with him while the hot shower runs. It seems like very cold air or very humid air worked best for my son. So, a few times what cleared it up was sitting outside in the fresh cold air (bundled up of course - head to toe). One time I remember having him watch me shovel at midnight while he sat in the stroller. Luckily, no neighbors witnessed me doing this. They would have really wondered what I was putting my kid through. The cold weather almost instantly provided relief. The hot showers were helpful but it seemed like the biggest effects happened after the fresh cold air. We would only sit outside for about 15 minutes when we did this. Unfortunately, because of my son having RSV when he was only 3 months, it seems like he easily catches respiratory colds with many of them starting with croup. It could be coincidence but I know my dtr (who's 6) has never had croup and her colds are just different than my sons. I don't think croup is necessarily contagious but I believe viruses are - so, it's just how your body takes it on. My dtr seems to always have more problems with congestion in her head/nose rather than in her chest. My son tends to have more problems with it in his chest vs. his head/nose. Croup doesn't seem to last too long - maybe 3-4 days I think. Best of luck to you - I know it's hard to watch your kids get sick b/c you just have to let it run its course and you just can't take it away. Keep it mind, this too shall pass.

Those croupy coughs are a horrible and scary sound. My now 13-year-old used to get croup once and month and is still prone to a croupy cough when he gets sick. (That is unusual at his age. He also has asthma.) It is caused by a variety of common viruses, but frequently the parainfluenza (spelling?) virus, essentially a cold or upper respiratory virus. Some people are just prone to developing croup and another child or person may be exposed to the exact same virus and get a cold, but not get the croupy cough. The viruses that cause croup are everywhere--he could have gotten it by going to the grocery store or maybe older sister had a cold? It's almost impossible to avoid exposure to them. Prevention is just like any other virus--hand washing, don't share drinks, etc. The steroid prescribed was probably just for a short period and shouldn't have any long term effect or effect on the immune system. That happens when you take them for a longer period of time. The steroids can cause behavorial changes or side effects (short term) in some young children. Other posters have pretty well described the treatments--the hot, steamy bathroom or the cool air. We used to bundle my son up and then my husband would drive him around in the van without running the heater. The combination of cool air and being upright would often help pretty quickly. Elevating his crib mattress can be helpful. I can't even count the number of croup episodes I have experienced so send me a message if you have any other questions. Good luck.

I feel for you - my now 18 month old has had croup 10+ times - hearing "she'll grow out of it" doesn't help in the middle of the night! We've done oral steriods and had to do shots in the ER when we couldn't get it under control. Haven't notice an impact on the immunde system, just that it can make her quite hyper when she is on it. We found that sitting in steam x 10 minutes followed by 10 minutes in cool night air helps...a little...better than that, whatever calms them - my daughter responds best to just a cold bottle of milk - it helps her to relax and sleep. Getting them to relax is half the battle! We know exactly what is coming when we start to hear the wheeze at night, but if you can act quickly and treat it, it might not get so bad...unfortunately not something you can prevent. It is caused by bacteria, but exposure alone won't necessarily cause the older sibs to get it - if they aren't succeptible to it, they probably won't have a problem. My 3 y/o has never had it. Good Luck!

The poor little guy. My oldest and youngest get croupy coughs. We had it in October, at that time my daughter was 10 months. We've had it at least 3 or 4 times before that with my older son.

Croup is worst the first 3-4 days. It is called a self limiting virus, and will go away on it's own without medication. The steroids help with the swelling of the vocal chords - which is what causes that horrible cough and "stident" breathing (gasping and wheezing).

***One more thing we do with croup, is to take them outside for cold air on their throats. That also helps with the swelling, and can prevent a trip to the emergency room in the middle of the night. In Oct., we were out at least 3 times over night with my daughter.***

Unmedicated, the barky cough usually is worst for a few nights. We've had croup on several occasions, but usually just let it run it's course. This year the kids seemed sicker than in the past. So, we opted for steroids this last time around since they were SO sick. It helped them sleep much better, so I'd do it again. I didn't notice any harm to their immune systems, but the lingering cough from croup can last up to two weeks after first getting sick.

Croup is contagious. Some kids are more susceptible to getting it. Basically it is a virus that attacks the vocal chords, causing swelling and the barky cough and difficulty breathing. My 3 kids were sick at the same time, but only two of them had the croupy cough. My middle child just presented with bad cold symptoms.

Prevention of croup is the same as any virus, washing hands, etc.

Get rest, drink fluids, and re-cooperation are the best things you can do.

Jessica

Some things that helped my little girl when she had croup was to sit in the bathroom with the shower running on hot. The warm steam helps, we propted her crib up so she slept a little more up right. The vaperizer works wonders. They make both a steam and a non water vaperizer. Did the doctor give him a nebulizer? My little girl had to be nebbed several times a day. If you think he is still not feeling well, take him back to the doctor as he might need other meds or a nebulizer. Your son could have got croup from anywhere. As far as preventing it from happening again, My daugter usually gets croup once a year and there is really nothing to prevent it. Don't let others smoke around the kids and keep up to date on immunizations. Good luck

A few of my kids have had croup. The best thing you can do when he is coughing is to expose him to cold air...really cold. Now that it's winter, take him outside for just a few moments and that will help stop the coughing.

Croup is caused by a virus, not bacteria (although it can rarely be caused by a bacterial infection), so he could have picked it up anywhere, from anyone. Yes, it is contagious.

The thing that works best for my kids is a steamy shower and a humidifier. Our humidifier gets a LOT of use during cold an flu season! Motrin or Tylenol will help with the resulting sore throat. Make sure he drinks lots of fluids and rests as much as possible.

http://mayoclinic.com/health/croup/DS00312