Experience with croup?

minervacullen · April 2014

DD, 16 months, has had a severe runny nose and feeling a little blah and not sleeping well, but still fairly normal. Shortly after she went to bed she started coughing. She just woke up and I went in to nurse her and she coughed. I didn't hear it well over the monitor. It's definitely croup.
I've always thought of croup as this terrible thing, so I'm completely freaking out! What should I do? She has a humidifier on already for the congestion. I'm seriously worried out of my mind right now.

ssmb_clarinet · April 2014

My baby girl has a cough now too. I put her in footie pjs with baby Vicks on her feet and chest. Hoping it helps tonight because last night i slept maybe 2 hours with all her wake ups. Good luck mama and I hope your LO feels better soon!

ILoveBoys · April 2014

Keep the humidifier on. If it disturbs her sleep, take her in the bathroom with the hot shower running with the door closed. It will help open her airway.

minervacullen · April 2014

Her breathing was fine all day, just some issues when lying down with the congestion. She actually figured out how to blow her nose today because she doesn't like the nasal aspirator.

I just went in and she was snoring a little, which is normal for a cold.

Thanks for your help.

Meeshe · April 2014

My kids have both had it numerous times. It sounds terrible but unless they are having trouble breathing it's just a cold with a funny cough because their throats are narrow and their vocal cords become inflamed. Whenever it starts up I sit but the shower on full blast with them until it subsides some. I've tried some ibuprofen because it can hurt their throats to cough so much. Only once did we go to the ER and to be honest, we shouldn't have because I knew my son was fine, but since he had three episodes during one night, the on call nurse told us to go so they could check his breathing, which was fine. They did give him a steroid though...which helps really quickly.

Jmcmahon21 · April 2014

DS just got over this, I put a regular pillow under one end of his crib and think the elevation helped.

JennOH85 · April 2014

::dirty lurker sneaking in::
Cool night air makes a world of difference for the coughing spells, too. DS had croup at four months and we would bundle him up and sit outside when he would ramp up with the coughing. Plus being outside calmed him, so it was a win-win.

We did take him to the ER since he was so little. The doc there told us to watch for him hanging his head forward with lots and lots of excess drool because that was a sign of serious swelling. That never happened with LO though. One dose of steroids and the stridor was gone.

Hope your LO is feeling better soon!

minervacullen · April 2014

She woke up several times, but her breathing wasn't labored. The coughing is much better today. She's only coughed a handful of times since she woke up. She's clearly sick, but still mostly herself.

I might just do the shower thing before bed as a preemptive measure.

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