Croup cough occurs commonly in young children and is characterized by a harsh sounding cough that sounds severe, but is rarely serious. Croup most often starts a few days after the start of a common cold, and causes swelling in the windpipe and breathing tubes leading to the tell-tale barking cough.
Croup symptoms often improve during the day and worsen at night. The total duration of symptoms may last anywhere from 2 to 5 days. The diagnosis of croup should be made by a health care professional and may be done over the phone. Although there is no magic bullet cure for the cough you can help alleviate the symptoms with some at-home treatments.
The most important thing you can do as a parent is try and keep your child calm during a croup cough attack – be calm yourself, and your child will be re-assured. Breathing in moist air for ten minutes helps a croup attack. Moist air can come from a sink filled with hot water or a humidifier. If an attack occurs at night try to use moist air to reduce the coughing and then place your child back in bad with a humidifier nearby. Make sure your child takes in plenty of water to keep hydrated since dry throats make the symptoms worse. If your child has a croup cough attack lasting more than 30 minutes, or the period of croup lasts more than 5 days, consider seeking professional medical help. You may be prescribed medication to help speed up the healing process.
You should also call your doctor if your child has trouble swallowing, has blue lips or fingernails, or becomes listless. Cough medication and antibiotics do not help with croup cough symptoms and have not been found to shorten the duration of croup. To prevent your child from getting croup cough in the first place is to keep your child away from others who have croup or croup symptoms. Anyone in contact with someone who has croup cough should wash their hands thoroughly and avoid letting children play or come in contact with other children that have croup. If your child experiences severe difficulty breathing call your local emergency services immediately.
