Croup? Pertussis?

KGiesel · January 2014

Of course my ds would get a horrible cough on a Friday night when our dr is closed on weekends with no way to contact him. My question is.. Would I know if his cough was whooping cough or croup? I watched some videos and listened to the babies but it's hard to tell. Especially at 5 am when I'm sleep deprived. He's 4 months old. He has coughing fits every hour or so with a constant stuffy nose. He's breathing ok except when he coughs obviously. I've been using a humidifier and saline with suction bulb. Any suggestions? Do I just go to er to rule them out? Will they actually be able to do anything or just monitor aka pay $800 to sit in a room for 2 hours and have them tell me keep an eye on him. TIA.

taraleanne · January 2014

Croup sounds like a "bark" or a seal, is that what it sounds like? It's also good to sit in the bathroom with the shower on hot, the steam will help.

If I were you, I'd go in to the doc or ER either way, regardless of cost, if you think it could be either. Whopping cough could be very serious for a baby and I was hospitalized several times as a child with croup. I hope your DS is feeling better very soon.

ASmallWonder · January 2014

Ok so a couple things. When did this start? Yes, croup sounds like a seal - very barky. Try doing the steamy bathroom. Whooping cough would have a fever so if he doesn't have it, I'd lean more toward a generic cough and maybe croup. Obviously if you think he's having trouble breathing, to the ER you go. But otherwise you may want to tough it out. The ER this time of year is a cesspool.

The other thing is that, in my opinion, I would never have a pedi who doesn't have an after hours line. Kids are fragile and issues tend to crop up late at night or on the weekend. I'd really consider switching even though you didn't ask

CDMay2006 · January 2014

I'm with pp. Your insurance and the local hospital likely have nurse lines you can call, and now that it's day time, you could go to urgent care and avoid the cost and germs of the er.

KGiesel · January 2014

Thanks for all the advice! As the day progressed he did seem to be ok but now that it's night again he's coughing more. I did the steamy shower and now I'm keeping him upright so hopefully he gets more sleep tonight than last night. I would love a pedi with after hours or weekend hours but our HMO only has one choice for a pedi. Our only other option is a family practitioner but we can't find one we like on our plan for us let alone our kids. I'm pretty sure his cough is just a simple cough and I'm hoping it's gone in a few days. Thanks again!

ILMomma · January 2014

My DS just got over Croup. He is 4.5 months. It is worse at night. His cough did not sound like the typical Croup cough. He had a really hard time breathing and a high fever so I took him to the ER and they said it was just a cold. The next day we went to his Dr and they diagnosed him with Croup admitted him into the hospital because they were afraid it could travel into his chest plus he was having such a hard time breathing. Go to the ER if ur concerned. I'm glad I did.

magdalina.h · January 2014

With croup, I knew it was croup. It's a unmistakable seal barking cough.

hawtness21 · January 2014

My LO does the same thing. I have her sleeping upright in her carseat with humidifier on. I use saline drops and aspirate her nose. When the weather changes both her and DH both have post nasal drip and cough. One weird trick is to wrap him up and take him out in the cold tempature. Children can't have decongestants until 5 years old. I do this booger check, where I look up her nose to if there is any boogers or it sounds congested.

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