Croup

Tiff B.

Has anyone had a baby under a month old come down with croup or RSV? My 3 year old brought home croup from daycare and now my 3 week old has the signs of a cold. I'm terrified to take care of these two at the same time, especially an infant so little with this (if that's what he's coming down with). Any tips/advice? How do you keep bigger siblings from infecting the younger ones when it's just you home all day with them?

doodlemonkey22

I don't really have a solution for you. Just wanted to say that I'm in the same situation. My eldest is in Kindergarten and is always bringing home some illness or another. My 7 week old has already had his first cold. I have 3 boys and when one is sick I try to keep them separated and I disinfect everything. I also make everyone wash their hands constantly. And even that doesn't always work. If your LO gets sick there is not much you can do other than nasal saline drops/spray and steam. If you hear a change in his/her voice call your ped right away. My 18 month old had croup over the summer (thankfully my LO wasn't born yet) and the croup got really bad. He actually sounded like a seal when he coughed. His airway had swelled a lot and he had difficulty breathing. Our ped gave us steroids for him and that helped almost instantly.

ilovetolaugh

My DS (3) had Croup when DD was 2 weeks old.  We kept them away from each other as much as possible, lots of hand washing.  Tons of open windows.

magdalina.h

If you suspect croup go in right away. If it's just a cold call your pedi, but suction the nose, use saline drops in the nose

arizonatea

Lurking from F14- I'm an EMT and we always have parents calling us because they think their baby is suffocating from croup. The best thing to do is just get a humidifier, and give them warm, moist air in a cold environment. Like, we'll take the kids outside to give them the breathing treatment. And everything the PPs said is good too. If it's really severe though call the doc for some steroids

PrimRoseMama

I would wash hands like mad at home. Disinfect shared surfaces and do your best (within reason) to get your 3 year old to cover his mouth when he coughs.

Wipe baby's hands at each diaper change. When in doubt talk to your doctor. You want to get the baby seen by medical professionals if you think it's more than a cold.