from KidsHealth-The term croup does not refer to a single illness, but rather a group of conditions involving inflammation of the upper airway that leads to a cough that sounds like a bark, particularly when a child is crying.(yep, he had this)Most children with viral croup are between the ages of 3 months and 5 years old.(yep, he is almost 9 months) Croup is most likely to occur during the winter months and early spring(winter time right now), and symptoms are most severe in children younger than 3 years of age(yep, as previously mentioned, he's 9 months).
Most croup due to viruses is mild and can be treated at home, though rarely viral croup can be severe and even life-threatening. Some children are more prone to developing croup, especially those who were born prematurely(nope, he was full-term) or with narrowed upper airways.
Treatment
Most, though not all, cases of viral croup are mild. Breathing in moist air seems to relieve many of the symptoms.(we sat in the shower in 10 minute spurts about 6 times on Friday) Doctors will also sometimes treat with steroids, which helps with the airway swelling.(we now have a Rx for a decongestant and a steroid)
so, if you haven't yet guessed, Luke was diagnosed with croup on Friday night. Erin had a cold with a cough for a few days, and then she shook it off and is now fine. Luke started with a cough on Thursday, and then on Friday it just deteriorated quickly. his cough became a bark, so we spent a lot of time in the closed bathroom with the shower running. I probably lost a few pounds from my sweating. Luke, however, did not seem affected by the steam at all. he enjoyed touching the foggy mirror, but continued to cough and then started wheezing with his regular breathing. the man was on his way home from working 3 days of crazy hours, so I decided to wait until he could get home to take over the other 2 kids. I was not taking all 3 of them to the ER(my original plan). I called my brother-in-law for advice(he's a respiratory therapist). he asked if we had a place nearby for pediatric urgent care, and yes, we do. I wasn't familiar if they were equipped for more than the common cold, but he suggested to go there. so, once the man got home, we were off. I can honestly say that that place, Nightlight Pediatrics, was awesome! if you ever need to have urgent care for a child, this is the place to go. I was starting to fill out the paperwork for Luke, and got to a line that said, "if your child is having any respiratory problems, tell us NOW", so I did. a nurse came right out to the waiting room to listen to his breathing and take his pulse. we were taken right back to get an oxygen sat. level taken, and from there to a room. a Dr. came right in and got a breathing trt. ordered and started within about 5 minutes. let me tell you, this 9 month old did NOT like the breathing trt. at all. he screamed and squirmed while I tried to hold him, hold the mask on him, and try to calm him down all at once. the Dr. came back in and said we'd try it another way...he took of the mask and I just had to hold the tube so that the steam would blow on Luke's face. he liked this for about 2 seconds, then we were back to the screaming. the only good thing about the screaming was that he was breathing the medicated steam in. I was in a sweat again by the time the trt. was done.
so, his breathing improved a LOT! I was so relieved. they had mentioned doing a swab for RSV if the trt. did not help. but, he was pretty certain it was croup, and gave me the Rx's and some printed sheets of info for what to do and what to look out for at home. we were on our way out of the door exactly 1 hour from arriving. that is great service!
we stopped by Walgreen's for the meds, and waited. I did not want to drive home and then turn around to go back, so we waited in the car and Luke slept a bit. we finally got back home and started the fun task of giving him his medications. it took both of us, and the majority of the stuff got into him, I think. there was a lot of crying and spitting and wiping up going on.
he is doing better now, on Sunday. his breathing is quiet and he has a runny nose and is just generally in the "I have a cold and I'm cranky" mode.
my son, the 8 year old, was very worried. he did, however, hear me wrong when I was telling him what Luke was diagnosed with. he informed the neighbors that Luke had "the crap". lol, I'm sure they thought "what????? you took your child to the Dr. because he went poop?". I saw her later, though, and explained what really happened. we got a good laugh at his explanation of it all!
well, I'm off to the grocery store while Luke is fast asleep. I'm dropping off the 8 yr old for a playdate at another neighbor's house, and I am getting a cold. my throat is itchy and I'm all stuffy. gotta love kids, they share absolutely everything with you, don't they?
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