Croup at Christmastime

As a followup for those who have asked and more details on what happened.....Matteo is doing much much much better. He still has a slight cough and no longer has a low grade fever and this morning for the first time in a week, I saw that little or should I say, big personality back...his mischievous grin and laugh when he is teasing me. That was great to see and hear.  Last night we both had a good night's sleep and I heard very little coughing.  I am slowing recovering from the lack of sleep both from our hospital visit, but also not sleeping very well as I was checking on him more often in order to make sure he was fine.

      Last Sunday night he developed this bad cough, and woke up a few times. On Monday morning, our family doctor was able to squeeze him in. She mentioned croup and suggested I just monitor him to make sure he's fine and to watch for breathing difficulties. Monday evening when he went to bed, he was waking up much more often from the coughing and crying. I was able to settle him a few times but then at about 9:30 when my friends were leaving (I had two friends over for a visit) Matteo had his worse bout of coughing.  As I said goodbye to them, I went up to him. I could not settle him and he was crying quite a bit, and wanted to be taken out of bed. We came downstairs where I could better see his breathing which from my sense, he was having trouble with breathing. I wrapped him in his snowsuit and we went out on the porch for about 10 minutes in the cold air and that seemed to calm him and his breathing did seem to become more normal.  After we came back inside and waited about 10 minutes, he again started to cough and then the same difficulty breathing.  I tried to find my friend's cell number as they were both experienced moms and J. had said her son also had croup when he was young, so wanted to see what she thought...unfortunately I couldn't find the number and was becoming worried.
 
     I made the decision to go to the hospital and was getting our things ready. I had planned to go in our car....this was about 10 p.m. or so, and then Matteo began to vomit after another coughing episode.  As I was calming and cleaning him, realized I couldn't go in our car as I could not take a chance that Teo would have both breathing problems as well as vomiting. He is still in a rear facing seat. I also didn't think waiting to call a friend to accompany us was the best decision, so I called 911.  While I was on the line with paramedics, Matteo was calm. As we were waiting for the ambulance, Matteo's coughing again made him vomit.  I was getting even more worried. The paramedics were very good with Matteo and while he was crying at first, he then calmed down.  Both of the paramedics did feel it was croup and one of them started explaining what they were going to do etc. and that by law they had to strap him onto a gurney...etc...but as she was explaining about what she would do if he started to have severe trouble breathing...she said something about what they might have to do....and then said something about it being "fatal"....I think at that point I was slightly in panic mode and was no longer thinking or listening.

    The paramedic had to tell me to bring Matteo's snowsuit, and yes that I should bring some milk with me, and also to get my coat as we were about to leave and I was about to walk out with no coat.  So that was a blur.

    In the ambulance, I was feeling very nauseous, both because of motion sickness, but also from the worry, and just found myself praying, and speaking with Matteo.  He on the other hand was looking around and not crying.  He did not have a mask on him but they put the oxygen tube just above his head. She also proceeded to glue little patches on his body so she could measure his heart rate and take a reading. She also taped a probe on his tiny thumb so she could measure his oxygen level.  We went to the hospital with the sirens blazing.  She told me it was all precautionary.  We seemed to get there in no time at all. The nurses who we were transferred to immediately also thought it was croup and then gave him some advil for his throat which they felt was probably very sore. He had no fever but Matteo was crying again.  The reason he was in hospital pyjamas was because I did not bring a change of clothing with him and as his sleeper was all wet from his vomit.  Within minutes he was feeling better and instead of staying close to me, started to explore his surroundings.  It would be hours before we would see the doctor, and the waiting room was FULL.  When we saw her and she checked Matteo, she officially determined it was Croup and gave him a dose of steroid medicine by mouth which she said would help with his breathing over the next few days as he fought the infection.  Of course she said, if it doesn't help and he continues to have trouble breathing, even after you bring him into cold air again, then to bring him back to hospital, where he would be admitted to be helped to fight the virus. She also told me that unless he felt really unwell, that he should continue to go to daycare, unless she said I wanted to keep him home for the entire winter!!

So our report is that we don't have to go back...but what a stressful experience for the little one and for his mommy.

From the pamphlet that the doctor gave us...


What is croup? Croup is an infection of the breathing tube (trachea or windpipe) below the vocal chords (voice box).  Croup is caused by a virus, so antibiotics won't help. This virus causes the lining of the windpipe to become swollen. This causes a lot of noise when your child breathes in. Your child may also find it hard to breathe. Croup happens more often through the winter and early spring (October to May. It is most common in babies and children 1 to 4 years old. Croup usually lasts for 5 or 6 days.

How will I know if my child has croup?
If your child has croup, she will have:  -Noisy breathing (especially when breathing in) - A bark-like cough - A hoarse voice - He might also have a fever, and feel unwell. With croup, breathing trouble is often worse at night. Your child may even wake up because he is having a hard time breathing.

How can I take care of my child at home?


-Cool air - Wrap your child in a blanket and bring her outside into the cool air.  You can also hold your child in front of an open window or open freezer door. If your child's breathing is still noisy and difficult after 10-15 minutes, bring your child to the hospital.
- Lots of rest.
- Plenty of fluids like breastmilk, water, apple juice, popsicles, formula. - Treat sore throat and fever. Give your child ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) or acetaminophen (Tylenol, Tempra) for fever or sore throat. Do not give ibuprofen to babies under 6 months.

Bring your child to the hospital if your child:

-Is working hard to breathe.
-Has blue lips or fingernails.
-Won't drink
-Has trouble swallowing
-Is weak and has no energy
-Starts drooling

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