Croup

In children between the ages of one and five, croup quite often accompanies a cold.

The name is given to the sound of air being inhaled through a constricted windpipe, past inflamed vocal cords. Your child may go to bed feeling quite well, but wake with a tight chest and have great difficulty breathing in; exhaling is easier.

What to do

If you notice this kind of breathing you should seek medical advice. On occasion the breathing can be so laboured that there's a risk of suffocation. If this is the case try to keep your child calm and in an upright position in a moist humid atmosphere and call an ambulance. Stay with your child until help arrives. If necessary, take him to the hospital yourself.

To make breathing easier, prop up your child in an upright position with pillows, and make sure that he is comfortable. If he's very alarmed take him on your lap, hold him firmly and try to get him copy your breathing. Listening to you breathing in and out will take his mind off his fear - if he's relaxed breathing will be easier.

Make sure that the air in your child's bedroom isn't too warm as this can dry and irritate the already inflamed air passages. Open the window and let some cool air blow in. Moistened air is soothing to the passages so try taking him to the bathroom, running the hot tap of the shower with the door and the windows shut. This will make the atmosphere steamy and if you sit in there with your child on your lap (maybe telling him a story at the same time), it will help.

If you can do nothing else, boil a kettle in your child's room, but keep your child away from the kettle; never leave without removing the kettle.

After the first episode of croup seek advice about treating croup so that you can deal with it should it happen again.

Dr Miriam Stoppard

New Babycare
Copyright © 2009 Dorling Kindersley
Text copyright © 2009 Miriam Stoppard

Posted 03.11.2010

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