Croup sounding but not croup

[nickysmum9]

My DS is 8 mths old and has a croup sounding cough which has been hanging around for weeks. I have been to the doctor twice and both times been told it is not croup and there is nothing I can do for it, just wait for him to grow out of it or wait for the winter months to pass?! Ive tried the vicks on the back and chest, have the house warm and am using a vapouriser. Nothing seems to be making it any better. Does anyone know how long this can last or have any other ideas I can try?

[maddie10]

Hi,
My son at 2 months of age, had a similar sounding thing. He was put into hospital for a couple of days, and the cough lasted about a month. It was called Bronchiolitis is a viral lower respiratory tract infection, generally affecting children under 12 months of age.

It is the most frequent cause of hospitalisation in infants under 6 months of age. The aetiological agent is usually respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) although other viruses (eg metapneumovirus, adenovirus, parainfluenza) may be responsible.

Infection results in widespread small-airway narrowing due to oedema resulting in air trapping and inadequate oxygenation of pulmonary blood flow - VQ mismatching

Infants present with cough, tachypnoea, wheeze, crackles, poor feeding, hyperinflation and aponea.

Does this sound like your sons symptoms. If so, it does go away, but it takes a long time. I did the humidifyer thing and I also propped up his mattress. It is an extremely stressful time. I hope your son does not have this.
Maddie10

[Mahjong]

Get him checked out for Asthma... it's how DS was diagnosed. Winter months are the worst as the air is thinner.

[nickysmum9]

Thanks guys for your tips, yes it does sound like what you described Maddie10, he loses his appetite at night and cant sleep due to the cough keeping him awake. There is a history of asthma in our family and the doctors have referred to it as bronchialitis before they turn 1 and called asthma when they turn 1. I guess we will just have to wait it out and give him lots of these in the meantime:hugs:. Thanks for your advice!

[beautifulgirl]

Hi my neice has the same thing. She sounds all congested and coughs and the docs keep telling my sis that she is just a happy wheezer and there is nothing they can do. She is a chunky bubba and they say thats why. My sis is still concerned and when I saw this post it made me think of her. They did say she had bronchilitis but didnt give treatment as they said it wouldnt help. She is very wheezy, should she keep on at them about it. Even when the little one breathes you can hear it.

[maddie10]

How long has she had the cough for or the wheeze? Because it does last about 4 weeks and sometimes longer. It is heartbreaking because no one can do anything about it. It is a virus.
It is most common in winter time. I tried the vicks thing, the humidifier and propping his bed up. We had him sleeping in our room because we were so concerned and hardly slept at all because we were listening to his breathing. When he went into hospital with it, that was the beginning of it, because his chest was sinking so far in with his breathing and he was really wheezy. There was so many sick babies in the hospital with the same thing. When he came out of hospital the cough did last a month. The Ped said it could last longer and then when he was older he would most likely develop asthma. Some babies are hospitalised with it and some babies are not. It is a cruel thing. The doctor is the only person that can determine what it is. If you are concerned, seek a second opinion.

[beautifulgirl]

She has had it on and off since she was 8 weeks Thats when it started and she first got bronchitis. I will tell her to get another opinion as it is really something she is concerned about. My niece is 9 months old now. Im sorry you went through that with your little one. Poor bubbas.:hugs::hugs: She does have the cot tilted and the vapouriser on almost all the time. Just dont understand why it won't go away. She is on medication called Predmix. Have you heard of that?

[nickysmum9]

I went and got a third opinion for my DS today. He seemed to be getting worse and I didnt feel comfortable with what the doctors were telling me a couple of weeks ago. It turns out he now has bronchialitis and has a viral infection. We have got a steroid called Redipred and antibiotic called Ceclor. Im told short term use of steroids have no adverse effects. I have propped his cot up at one end and he seems to be doing a bit better. My advice is definately get a second opinion if you are worried, mothers intuition is a strong and wonderful thing.

[Mahjong]

I'll warn you now, Ceclor can give bub's the worst gas and nappies :barf:

DS had it once, NEVER again I swear! :laughing:

[TeamAwesome]

DD1 gets a croup type cough. She started at 7mo just after she had bronchitis. DHs side have a history of enlarged adnoids and during winter hers become irritated and enlarged I took her to the hospital the first time late one night as at home in the cold she was struggling to breathe and very upset. At the hospital where it was warm it disappeared and I was of course made out to be a liar by the Dr on (I had been there twice that day with DS as he'd had a reaction to an antibitotic so was the last place I wanted to be) but the nurse who'd heard it in triage when I first went in convinced him to give me a script for the steroid for it told me to get it and use it if the cough came back. Almost every time since then when ever she gets a runny nose she gets that cough. Of course it's gone during the day and with two other kids I'm not going to the hospital at night if I can help it and can get her to breathe better on her own.


Depending on what has caused it will depend on what helps. If it's her room getting cold we use the vaporiser if it's the room being too warm (ie using the vaporiser as DS had a bad cough and was in the same room) then I'd wrap her up in a warm blanket and take her out into the cold night air and she's breathing again.

The last couple of times it's been actually having the vapouriser on that caused it so I for the last 4 weeks I've been putting the an on in her room to keep it chilld and so far she's had a cold but no croup! (before that was basically every night for 2 weeks and you can only use the steroids for 3 days)

Oh just wanting to clarify IF she was in the situation where none of the above works we'd be going to the hospital but obviously when you can "fix" it at home without having a tired baby, a clingy sick toddler and an older toddler in the middle of the night at the ER then well it's just easier and simpler obviously. The GPs just say oh her tonsils are looking red but not infected when I take her in, which is of course my point I don't believe DD gets actual croup just that her tonsils/adnoids get irritated and rather swollen in big weather changes or when she gets a cold. They seem to be waiting it out to see if she grows out of it. (DH had his removed at DD1s age for similar reasons)


Sorry big post, not trying to take over but just wanted to let you know my story with it being a 'croup' cough.

OP if you feel that it is bad at night do go to your local A & E they will be able to better assess it there while it's happening and at least write a letter to your GP with what they think in medical terms as opposed to going to see your GP during the day when it has basically disappeared and they think you're 'just a paranoid parent'.