Croup - A Crazy Cough For Sure!
It's the middle of the night, maybe 2am. You are laying in bed, sound asleep, and suddenly you hear your child wake up. They've been a little run down, slight fever, clear runny nose, but nothing serious. Now though you hear a high-pitched barky cough coming from their bedroom. You go to their bedside and they just keep coughing and coughing til they throw up. They cry for you and their voice is hoarse. What happened to your sweet peanut that only had a mild cold a few hours ago? And now what do you do?
If this sounds familiar, you may have encountered the lovely illness of croup. Croup is a contagious disease, most often seen in fall and early winter, but can occur anytime during the year. Croup is a viral infection that causes swelling of the upper airways, specifically the larynx (where the voice box is) in the upper neck. It's what gives croup that very classic loud, hoarse, and barky cough. Croup is most often worse at night. The noises can be very scary so let's take a moment and break it down.
If at any time, your child is resting quietly, not crying or coughing, and they are making high pitched noises with each breath or are having difficulty breathing, please take them to the nearest emergency room. Any child who appears very ill, is blue or pale around their lips, or is showing signs of dehydration needs to be seen immediately.
Now, for those children who are breathing comfortably, there are lots of home methods that can help your child feel better and you rest comfortably.
- First and most effective, cold air! If your child is in the midst of a coughing attack, bundle them up and take them outside into the cold air (if you live somewhere it's cold outside) or simply open the freezer door and let your child breathe in the air. Think of it as putting an ice pack on their swollen airways. You should see improvement pretty rapidly.
- Second, moist air! Using a cool mist humidifier in the child's bedroom and/or steaming up the bathroom and letting them breathe that in for 10-15 minutes is very effective. Many healthcare providers recommend alternating between warm moist air (steamy bathroom) and cool air (outdoors or freezer).
- Third, keep your child comfortable! Keep an eye on fevers and treat them accordingly with acetaminophen and/or ibuprofen. This will also help keep any aches under control.
- Fourth, make sure your child is hydrated! Make sure you are offering sips of fluids to your child regularly. Fevers and coughs are dehydrating and they can lose energy quickly if their fluids are running low. Make sure you are getting a good 2-3 wet diapers per day at minimum.
- Finally, see a healthcare provider if there are any concerns! There are medications that can be used to help your child get through croup if they are having a particularly rough course. Dexamethasone is a steroid given orally or as an injection that can be used to help take down some of the swelling in the larynx and ease the symptoms of croup. There are also inhaled medications but those are reserved for children who are very ill.
While there is no quick cure for croup, there are definitely ways to make it easier on your child and help them recover faster. If you use essential oils, I highly recommend Breathe. Diffuse it in their bedroom or apply diluted to the feet and chest of the child (please see my essential oils for kids post for more information).
