Croup

Stuuuaaart

My daughter is 15 months and had a bought of croup about a month ago.  The dr. prescribed steroids and they didn't work.  She has literally been battling with this for 5 weeks.  She cant sleep, we cant sleep and we are so concerned because shes not getting any better.  Today she woke up worse than she has ever been.  Has anyone else had an experience like this? Every other mom I talk to says that the steroids work immediately for their child and they are better in 2 days. We have been dealing with this for over a month.

GavinIsMyBabyBear

my son had croup about 4 weeks ago. He was given a steroid shot in office and then sent home on steroids for 3 days. After the 3 days he had improved but still wasnt his normal self and I took him back to the doctor. His doctor put him on childrens zyrtec. he gets 2.5 mL at night. That helped a lot too! he stopped wheezing but he has still had a cough. We continue to use a humidifier and the vaopr plugs and steamy showers every night before bed. We were doing well. he was sleeping better i thought we were on the way to being done. However 3 nights ago he started getting a little worse. So i called the nurse line (because of course its 7:30 on a saturday night) and the nurse recommended Zarbees baby cough syrup. Its all natural. So we tried it he has been doing much better  the cough is surpressed. he is overall doing much better. we are going back to the doctors this afternoon but the Zarbees made a huge difference for him.

i hope your little one and you get some relief. Dealing with croup is the hardest thing I have encountered as a parent so far. It has taken him longer than expected to get better  Our pedi made it seem like after the steroids he would be all fixed... not! so i feel your pain.

ilanat

My LO has had croup three times.  The first time, I heard him coughing from his crib and I didn't even know what croup was, but when I heard that barking sound I knew it was not okay.  He was hospitalized that first time.  They had him breathe in some kind of medicated steroid mist that they give for severe asthma attacks - for a couple of hours - in the hospital. That helped him a lot.  He was also on steroids for three days and that did help.  We also got a humidifier for his room.  It's the Crane Drop Shape Humidifier and I am convinced that it has helped him a ton.  We got the antimicrobial ball that sits in the basin and the extra filter to make sure it's super clean all the time.  That's really important with humidifiers since bacteria can grow in them and actually cause infection, like an ear infection.  The next two times he had croup, we started him on the steroids right away to knock it out early.  That helped.  We still use the humidifier every night.  Another tip I have heard to do is to take him outside.  The ER doctor told us that often kids come in to the hospital with parents complaining of the croup sound, only to realize that the trip to the hospital itself calmed the symptoms a bit just from being outside.  That's just a superficial, symptomatic "band aid" fix to temporarily stop the coughing and give the LO a little relief, but it's obviously not a solution.  I would agree about getting a second opinion. 

jnnfrrose6

@ilanat  Tell me more about the antimicrobial ball for the humidifier basin and the extra filter.  We have same humidifier and despite my best efforts, I really don't think I get it clean enough.

ilanat

@jnnfrrose6

Protec Antimicrobial Cleaning Cartridge:
https://www.diapers.com/p/protec-humidifier-cleaning-cartridge-23081?icn=Personalization_CBAB&ici=di_c_CBABImagetoPDP&ref=pd_di_de_cbab_c_1_im&isCrossSite=Y

Crane Filter for Drop Shape Humidifier:
https://www.diapers.com/p/crane-filter-for-drop-shape-humidifier-21383

smileybabyboy

It gets worse before it gets better. Just continue with the hot showers or go outside in the cold. The steriods worked for my son with the awful croup noise when he coughed, but he still had the cold symptoms for another week and 1/2.  I know some kids go to the hospital. Maybe you should just take her there.   

Emmit12

Our daughter has had croup twice. We did steroids for six days, nothing. It lasted a few weeks. She has had it again for at least two weeks. Agree with cough medicine mentioned above. The first time she had it she coughed all day and night. This time around it is mostly at night, and first thing in morning. We will take her to doctor if her breathing becomes labored or the cough gets worse. The first time she was coughing so hard she would puke. Croup is not fun. Our doc said it is easier to get after the first time.

ec0983

DS had croup a few times when he was younger.  it was awful.  the biggest help for us was running his humidifier full blast every night.  on nights when he woke up coughing so badly he couldn't settle, we would steam up the bathroom and i would sit in there and just let him nurse/snuggle for half an hour as upright as possible.  however, the 3 times he's had it, it has always cleared in about a week.  it doesn't surprise me to hear that it may take longer to clear in some kiddos, but 5 weeks sounds like an awfully long time to be battling croup.  i'd be taking her to get a second opinion if i was in your shoes.  hope she feels better soon!

ETA: changed "him" to "her".  because obviously not everyone has a son just because i do

epfbsf08

My son had croup in June and the steroid shot did not work either. He was hospitalized due to dehydration and significant weight loss. It was a rough couple of weeks.

 

I'd seek another opinion. Maybe he/she has a secondary virus or something else going on in addition, that is not allowing him/her to fully heal.