Schedule a Doctors Appointment?

Hi! My son has had croup twice. Both times, I took him to the doctor right away and he was put on steroids, which immediately got rid of the cough. However, it does take a couple of weeks for them to fully get over the symptoms. Some of the symptoms may be a runny nose, congested cough, and crankiness. It's basically like cold symptoms. Keep a humidifier on in his room, and give him some over the counter cold medicine. It seems like it takes forever, but it will go away.

Well, it sounds like he may have developed an infection if he has a lot of snot, which can fill there bellies with mucus. A good home remedy to help grab the flem is gelatin and water, just about a teaspoon worth in an 6 oz bottle with warm water. It should taste good to him and also help grab the flem to get it out. I would make a Dr.'s appt because if he is snotty they should be able to give him some medicine so he feels better. I hope this helps. S. Wright

sounds like he might have bad cold...does he have a fever? if the fever is over 100 you need to call the doc. if not use infant saline nasal drops and a bulb syringe to cleean his nose out. vicks makes a baby vapor rub and johnaspns had a soothing vapor wash...thay will help open his nasal passages so he can breathe. try switching to a warm mist vaporizer at night. also prop the end of his mattress up some with several blankets that way the mucous will drain down his thraot at night and he can breath a little easier. to keep him comfortable you might give him a dose of infants tylenol every 4-6 hours. i called my doc with my daughters 1st cold...thats what they told me to do. watch for signs of dehydration if he is not drinking as much as usual...no tears when crying, sunken eyes, sunken soft spot, and very dark pee or no pee at all. hope all this helps...if all those things don't help some, then on monday i'd call the doc...unless of coarse he does have a fever or shows signs of dehydration...then of coarse you need to take him to the ER. hope your little feels better. God bless.

YES. Schedule it.

The signs of Croup are a barky like cough, like a seal's bark almost, snotty nose and fever. They labor to breath, you see their chests moving hard, yet hardly hear the breath. Its kind of scary to watch your child have it. I had my older two in the hospital because of it. Both had low oxygen stats. My son's lips would turn blue. My daughter throw up a bunch of mucus all over the ER. If you think its croup, get your child in right away. If you think it just a cold, then call your doctor and find out what kind of over the counter meds they recommend and give your little one plenty of liquid, like juice or Pedolite (spelling sorry) and lots and lots of love. Good Luck!

I would, for sure, take him to the doctor. A family friend has a young son that just had Croup and he ended up needing hospitalization as it continued to get worse.

Usually when mine come down with a bad cough or something. I will always call the nurse and she will talk to the doctor. I will tell her what illness they were around and what their symptoms are. They will either tell me what to do, look out for, call me in something, or get me in to see him. So if you have a good doctor's office. Just give them a call and ask to talk to the nurse and let her know what the situation is. Better safe than sorry.

You need to pick up that phone and call that doctor. Sounds to me like he has got a cold that could be possibly turning into Anewmonia (sorry for the spelling). This time of year the temps change so much and when it does change it is a big difference so if you did have a window open at night it probably wasn't the best idea. With this being a weekend, depending on what type of insurance you have, I would even take him to the ER if he is coughing real bad. When it comes to a baby of any age, there is just no such thing as over reacting on something like this. Good luck.

If possible make appointment today at doctor's office(I know it's Sunday) otherwise go to an urgent treatment center today. It's developed into something other that croup as croup doesn't have the runny nose and the lack of appitite could be baby unable to breath sufficently to eat or just too sick.

DEHYDRATION RULE OF THUMB...IF BABY CAN'T CRY TEARS OR SKIN "TENTS" UP WHEN PINCHED...NEED TO BE CHANGING 5 PLUS DIAPERS A DAY IF NOT GET TO ED IMMEDIATELY!!!!!

I also have a 10 month old who recently sarting coughing it has not yet turn into anything more than that but I called the doctor and they said to use the humidifer and that I did not need to bring her in unless she started eating leass than normal so if I were you I would take her to the doctor. I am overlt cuatios though. Better safe than sorry.

I would definitely take him to the doc. I have found in the past with ear infections my daughter may not get over with the first round of antibiotics. Maybe he has a combo of a continued ear infection along with the croupy cough. My daughter has also been suceptible to bronchitis type illnesses which sometimes sounds like the croup. To be on the safe side I would recommend going to the doc just to have things checked.

Croup is nasty for sure! My son's respitory therapist has described it as a virus that takes some time to pass; it enflames the trachea which causes the "seal bark" cough. The inflamation is a real problem because it constricts the airway. My son had pneumonia, croup and influenza at 22 months. He's also asthmatic so we spent some time in the hospital over that. The pneumonia was viral, as is croup and the flu, so there wasn't much they could do for him besides observe and keep him hydrated. Breathing treatments of albuterol and a lot of sleepless nights for mom!

If he is coughing a lot in his sleep, even when he isn't normally sick, you might want to push your doc for a referral to a pulminologist; he could be asthmatic. My sons pediatrician, as are most doctors, was pretty reluctant to just agree with me that asthma was the problem. They never want to put a baby on steroid inhalants unless it's really necessary and they have some solid proof! By the time my little one went in for his second set of tubes in his ears and an adnoidectomy, the adnoids couldn't be removed because he was wheezing too badly to intibate with a general ansthetic. The doctor finally agreed there was a bigger issue at work!

I would show real concern for dehydration. you shoud be changing his diapers as you usually would when he's healthy; if you have less wet diapers than normal there is room for concern. Either way you should get him to the doctor if he's running a fever or showing signs of infection. If he has rapid, shallow breath it would also be a good call to talk to the doc. We battled it out for a little over a month before he got better. Hang in there, I know how you feel! It WILL get better though...

I wouldn't "write it off" as a cold or something... I would call the doctor. That is a definite concern and I agree that if you don't seek medical advice, it could turn into a case of pneumonia. Reading the advice of another woman who said their child needed to be hospitalized for croup, I wouldn't take any chances. What's it going to hurt? See what the doctor says!

It sounds like he may need a breathing treatment or maybe a nebulizer at home. My three year old has been off and on one since he was 7 months old. In Kentucky, they almost send them home with you when you leave the hospital :-) We've been off for almost a year and now we've had to go back again because we can't seem to get over this latest day care crud either. It's really no big deal, but it does help open up their airway. Get into your pediatrician and check it out. Good luck and give that fella a hug for me.

Look up Bronchiolitis and see if his symptoms fit. If it does, take him in immediately. My son has it and he's really sick, it is very contagious--often spread in daycare centers.

I hope that it is not what he has and wish you luck!

Yes, schedule an appointment

A. sounds like you might want to go ahead and take him to the doctor. I would, he might not be over his ear infection, or it could be a sinus infection and he prob. needs an antibiotic. However if your still not sure, then maybe you should call and talk to your doctors nurse.
good luck, chris

It is my believe that anytime you are worried you should call the doctor and explain the symptoms. They will tell you wether they want to see him or not. Better safe than sorry and call 100 times too many than one time too little.
I hope he feels better soon.

I just moved with my family to west laf. Have a 3 yr old boy and 5 yr old boy. We moved about 2 months ago from Valparaiso, and I loved our pediatrician. Whenever I had any uncomfortable feelings about my boys being ill, I would call or take them in, and 90% of the time, my intuition was correct. I say, better safe than sorry. Make an appointment if you have any lingering worries. Hope all is well! Becky H.

A.,
My daughter got croup last year. That wet seal cough is so scary!! While it's true you need to wait it out (and your home care sounds great), caution is critical. Our doctor told us that croup can take a quick turn for the worse. She said that when not monitored closely, lots of little ones end up in the ER. I'm not trying to scare you, I'm just passing on our doc's advice. As long as your son is producing tears and having plenty of wet diapers, he's probably not dehydrated. But pay extra attention to his breathing. If his condition is worsening/he's becoming lethargic or more congested, you really need to go in. My daughter was given a steroid shot to strengthen her respiratory system. I cringed at that, but was assured by our pediatrician (who had been sending lots of croup cases to the ER that season) that we were saving ourselves from a much more intimidating hospital trip. It's probably worth the visit.

I hope he feels better soon. Unfortunately, tis the season...

Keep me posted, and God bless you for being such an anchor to your family while your husband is away! Let me know if I can be of any other help.
~K.