My Son Who Is 20 Months Had Croup and Now the Cough Seems to Get Worse???

My son has had it before and once they gave him a little steroid drink in the doctor's office to help him breath better, another time it wasn't necessary. His doc told me to put him in the bathroom with steam before bed. We would run the shower, hot water only, close the doors and I would hold him on the bathroom sink while the steam was everywhere for about 10 minutes. You can even bring some toys and just let him play to pass the time. When my son coughs a lot I use Vick's on his feet and put socks on. I didn't give him any over-the-counter meds because they are not recommended. Some coughs can last up to 3 weeks or longer. If he has a fever or other worse symptoms, I would take him back in. As far as the appetite, maybe try some Top Raman noodles warm and cut up. My toddler loves that when he's sick.

I agree you should take him back in. I would tell the Dr. office you want him to be re-checked if they can't get him in take him to the Urgent Care. My son started out sick with a bad cough and now after having a cough for almost 4 months he finally was DX with asthma. Please be persistant I took him to the Dr. almost weekly for 6 weeks till he finally said I should see someone else. I don't mean to worry you but if you think he isn't getting better demand he be re-seen. Best of luck
Update:10/15/09
So now we are 16 weeks into this cough and they did a blood test and found out he has/had pertussis (whooping cough) he is finally on the right antibiotic and is doing much better already. If he is still coughing I would ask them to test him for it. He does NOT have asthma and never needed all those medicines we have been giving him. I am just thankfulwe finally know what it is and can treat it.

Our children also had croup when they were young. I would go to the pediatrician and make sure your child doesn't have bronchitus or asthma.
Good luck with your precious child.
K. K.

If you have not taken him to the Doctor, you need to.
The thing is, it is getting worse or a relapse, or another type of illness unrelated to his croup, plus you do not know for sure, what it is.

A "cough" can be anything.....
PLUS he is losing his appetite and his chest is making sounds. Meanwhile, he is probably already weakened by his previous illness that was only a short time ago...thus his immune system is already stressed and weak.

I had Bronchitis, which then verged on Pneumonia. It can be very dangerous. And it takes a LONG time to go away.
My Mom had Bronchitis once, and she did not go to the Doctor right away, and now she has "lung damage" that is irreversible.

ONLY a Pediatrician can diagnose it.
Do NOT take OTC's, because you do not know what is wrong with him and he is under 2 years old.

Take him to the Doctor or ER, right away.
Don't guess at it. Coughs can sound like any other kind of illness, but you will not know unless it is confirmed, concretely by a Doctor.

Meanwhile, make SURE he is kept hydrated....

Take care,
Susan

Good Morning N., sorry to hear your little guy is feeling so bad, it seems like coughs are the worse part of any cold. and the last thing to go away, in the mean time you can put a humidifyer in his room at night, symptoms always seem worse at night, also make sure you are pushing the liquids, food is good, but not as important right now as liquids. With this swine flu going around hkeep him away from other people, his amune system is weak right now while he's down, comfort him, keep him as comfortable as you can, medicate him only if you have to. J. L.

he could have asthma and it may only show when hes sick like that. my daughters asthma is illness induced so she stays sick for weeks to months at a time. i would have your sons dr treat him for asthma and have him start treatments right away to help him. my husband had croup a lot when he was younger (his mom said basically every month from fall to when the snow melted in michigan). he also has asthma which made it harder for him to get over the sickness quickly. make sure he is taking in a lot of fluids. also a cool mist humidafire may work. for the runny nose maybe try 1/4 tspn of childrens benadryl 2-3 times a day or just suction his nose out a lot. good luck!

my 11 month old has the same thing right now. He had the croup over 3 weeks ago and then he got lots of chest conjestion and his nose is running like a faucet. I took him to the doctors everyweek.
Week 1- oh its the croup here take this steroid
Week 2 - take this antibiotics
Week 3 - its a virus, it just has to run its course.

Let me tell you, so far it has not gone away and we are on week 4. We sit in the shower everynight for the steam, I even give him a breathing treatment 4 times a day.

Nothing seem to be working. I will again take him to the doctor this Friday (maybe) I don't really want to expose him to any more germs. This flu thing has me freaked.

Try eliminating dairy completely. Both of my girls got croup frequently and were diagnosed with viral onset asthma. I was very against giving the inhalers on a regular basis. We eliminated dairy and the problem dissappeared. My girls are 9 and 7 and recently started drinking milk at school. The croup came back with a vengeance. Now we know it's a serious allergy and won't be reintroducing dairy again. Good luck.