Stridor (noisy breathing with inspiration) even at rest.Difficulty breathing accompanied by a “barking” or “croupy” cough.Hughes, signs your child has severe croup include: There are few children who are admitted to the hospital for recurrent treatment and observation, and the most severe cases may need additional breathing support.Īccording to Dr. They may need a breathing treatment (racemic epinephrine) to calm their breathing and a period of observation to ensure symptoms do not recur. It is important to have them evaluated promptly at the Emergency Department. Hughes stresses that some children with severe croup do need medical treatment to improve their breathing. These children are typically given a single oral dose of steroids to help the swelling in their throat go down and improve symptoms until the illness passes in a few days. Frequently, by the time a family arrives at the ED, the swelling in the child’s lungs has lessened and their breathing issues have largely resolved due to their exposure to the cool outside air while en route to the hospital. Hughes says the majority of children who come to CHOP’s Emergency Department (ED) with croup are able to be discharged home after some medication and possibly an observation period. Stay in close proximity to the ill child at nighttime to immediately assist the child if they begin to have difficulty breathing.ĭr.Engage the child in a calming activity to keep them as quiet and calm as possible, which will make it easier for them to breathe.Treat a fever with acetaminophen or ibuprofen, as instructed by your child’s provider.Encourage the child to drink lots of fluids.Take the child outside into cool, moist, night air.Take the child into a steamed bathroom.In most cases, a child’s mild croup symptoms can be turned around with simple home remedies. If you have concerns about your child’s breathing, you should bring them for medical evaluation right away. Doing whatever you can to calm them down will help.Ĭhildren with mild croup usually improve in three to seven days.Ĭroup can present with more severe symptoms and breathing issues that don’t resolve with simple home measures. Breathing issues with croup are worse when your child is upset or anxious. Harsh cough and breathing issues with croup can sometimes be turned around with simple measures at home like cool air from an open window, steam from steaming the bathroom, or using a humidifier. Symptoms are often worse at night and can wake the child from sleep. Mild symptoms include occasional barking cough, hoarseness, and stridor only when the child is active or agitated. Most cases of croup are mild and may just require parental guidance and reassurance. A small amount of swelling in a narrow airway can make it hard to breathe, compared to a small amount of swelling in a wider airway, which may be only a minor irritation with no breathing problems. Younger children are more affected by croup because their airways are smaller. Wheezing occurs in asthma, which is a problem in the lungs stridor occurs in croup, which is a problem in the upper airway. This is different than the wheezing that occurs when a child has difficulty breathing air out of the lungs. This type of difficulty breathing results in a high-pitched creaking or whistling sound when a child inhales (known as stridor) and a harsh cough that sounds like a seal’s bark. Upper airway swelling can cause children to have just a sore throat, or if more severe, can cause distress when breathing in. The infection can be associated with nasal congestion, cough, sore throat and fever. There are a number of viruses that have been found to cause croup, the most common being parainfluenza virus. This can cause a change in voice and characteristic “croupy” cough that sounds like a seal or bark. Croup is a common childhood illness that causes swelling in the upper airway.
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