Danielle Goetz, MD,
Pulmonologist, UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital
If your child’s cough sounds different than a usual cough, he or she might have croup. “Croup is a disease caused by a virus, bacteria, allergies or inhaled irritants that leads to airway swelling and breathing problems,” says Danielle Goetz, MD, a pulmonologist in the Division of Pediatric Pulmonology at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital.
Croup is most commonly seen in children between 3 months and 5 years old. Younger children are more affected because their airways are smaller. Therefore, a small amount of swelling can cause a large amount of obstruction in their airways.
Symptoms
Each child may experience symptoms differently, but these are the common ones:
- A runny nose, sore throat, congestion and slight cough
- A cough that develops into a “seal’s bark”
- Laryngitis or hoarse voice
- Fever
- Stridor (a high-pitched sound that is made as your child breathes in or out)
- Breathing faster than normal or the chest wall pulling in when your child breathes
Usually, the symptoms are worse at night and may wake up your child. Symptoms also seem to improve in the morning, but get worse as the day goes on.
“To ease symptoms, keep your child calm,” says Dr. Goetz. “Crying makes coughing and stridor worse. Also, moist air may improve symptoms. You can run a cool-mist humidifier in your child’s bedroom, take your child outside in the cool air, or run a hot shower and let your child breathe in the mist.”
Treatment
In severe cases, or if your child is not breathing well, your doctor may recommend hospitalization. Your child’s doctor may also order the following medications to help with the symptoms of croup:
- Breathing treatments (to help open up the airways)
- Injections of medications (to help decrease the swelling in the airways)
- Steroids given by mouth (to also help with the swelling of the airways)
Supportive treatment at home also may include:
- Using a cool-mist humidifier
- Taking your child outside to breathe cool, dry night air
- Increasing fluid intake
- Treating a fever with acetaminophen or ibuprofen, as instructed by your child’s doctor n Keeping your child as quiet and calm as possible (to help decrease the breathing effort)