Croup refers to many conditions that involve inflammation of the upper airway which leads to a severe cough normally children. This cough basically sounds like a bark and normally happens to be when a baby is crying. Normally children of age between 3 months to five year suffer from this viral disease.

Croup generally occur during the winter or early spring and kids of age less then 3 are more likely to be harmed by the disease. There are a lot of early signs and symptoms that can be noticed. This also helps in early treatment.

As mentioned above the cough would be loud and sound like a bark. Fast breathing or difficulties while breathing are very prominent signs of croup. At first, the child may have cold symptoms like a stuffy nose for few days and may also have fever. If this continues to exist the upper airway would become inflamed and the child may become hoarse with a severe barking cough thus causing difficulties in breathing as well.

With a severe cough,  one could also notice squeaking noise while breathing and hence the child tends to breathe fast as well. This happens because the child struggles to get required air in the lungs. Kids continuously crying at nights may also be victims of croup. The infection caused by croup not only affects the upper airway but also results in inflammation going further down the airway.

Children of age below 5 are not strong enough to resist the croup so they start crying and cannot sleep well. Croup being a viral illness does not have a complete cure but there are many treatments to help the children feel better. Normally children suffering from croup are fine when the go to bed but at mid night they wake up and start coughing and have trouble in breathing.

The distinctive sign of croup from other respiratory illnesses is the sound of a barking seal when it happens. The harsh and loud squeaking sound while breathing is heard when a child is breathing in and that is because of the infection that occurs in upper airway in the initial stages. Generally the symptoms of croup are more visible 2 to 3 days after the symptoms of infection start. This viral infection usually lasts less 3 to 7 days. A doctor should always be consulted if the signs are there for the better cure of the child. As this illness relates to respiratory system it may result in bigger and more complex disease.