Croup

Croup is a viral illness that occurs primarily in the spring and fall. It usually starts with one to three days of a runny nose, hoarseness, and fever of 101-102 degrees. It progresses to a “barky” cough, which worsens at night. You may control the fever with the recommended dose of children’s acetaminophen or ibuprofen. Cough medicines are not effective against croup.

If the cough is significant, you should try the following:

• Take your child into the bathroom, close the door, and let the room fill up with steam by running a hot shower. Let the child stay in the room for 10 to 20 minutes. You may have to repeat this two or three times.
• If there is no improvement, dress your child appropriately for the weather and take him outside in the cool air. If the cough does not improve, contact your pediatrician.

If your child responds to the above treatment, give plenty of fluids, elevate the head of his bed by placing a blanket under the mattress, use a cool mist humidifier, and consider sleeping in his room for the rest of the night to soothe him when needed.

Call 911 if:

• symptoms rapidly worsen.
• the child is drooling.
• the child has difficulty breathing when lying down.
• the child becomes very restless.
• the child is working very hard to breathe.
• the child’s lips or fingernails appear blue.
• the child appears very sick regardless of the degree of breathing difficulty.