Joseph A. & Susan D. Fuerst

_____Sonia,
I am generally a lurker here and have not even been doing thayt much lately
as we prepare for our fourth child's arrival. I felt compelled to respond
to your post since our toddler has also had more than her share of croup
epoisodes. And she has gotten it last summer as well as this summer!
The virus causing croup is the same one that cause laryngitis in older
children and adults. Because its a virus, it will need to run its course;
though treating the symptoms is important!
You are correct that cold air is one treatment and steam a second. Our
physican explained that the reason cold air is the first treatment chioce is
due to the fact that it will reduce the swelling in the tracheal area of the
throat. Steam (cool air, if possible....warm if need be) can help also.
The difficulty lies in the fact that your child's airway can be potentially
blocked from the swelling, making breathing impossible if not difficult.
For this reason, the late night ER may be your best option.
We try a cool humidifier for 10-15 minutes during summer months. If
breathing remains labored and the barking cough is still present, we zoom
th ethe ER. Last summer, our dd did require steroid treatment to reduce
the swelling and keep her airway passage clear.
Our dau also has tracheo-laryngeal malaysia, a generally
non-threatening condition in which the thrachea and larnyx are not fully
open. This condition is something which she will, indeed almost has,
grown out of.
The croup virus is particularly harder on her because of her smallr
opening. The specialist who diagnosed her told us that many children have
this condition, but it is often undiagnosed because it doesn't particulary
cause any problems or even strong symptoms. (For dd, her breathing as an
infant was "too loud" to me, especially when she was asleep. I was
insistent with our physician that this was 'odd' and, had it checked
further because it related to such an important function as breathing!)
Best of luck to you! Summer croup is really scary!!
Susan___________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Hi Everyone,

I need some good motherly (Or fatherly!) advice. My 22 month old has
croup again. My other two children never had it and in my family I grew
up in none of us ever had it, so I'm not overly sure how to treat it. I
know about the steam and taking the child out into the cold air trick
but this is summer so what do I do? Also, when he's had it before (this
might be his 4th episode), it's always happened at night and by day he's
fine. This time it started at 8 this morning and is continuing through
the day...is it going to get worse tonight yet? He seems basically
fine, is not breathing with great difficulty, just wheezing alot. We
all do have bad colds right now so it's extra tough for him breathing
when he's so congested. Any advice, information or tips please? I'd
appreciate anything anyone has to offer. A friend in the past told me
to try homeopathy and I did try a couple of doses this a.m. and it did
not seem to help at all.

Thanks!

Sonia


________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

Message: 20
Date: Sun, 16 Jul 2000 18:27:47 -0400
From: "aworthen" <aworthen@...>
Subject: Re: help please!

Sonia,
It sounds to me like this is more than a simple case of croupe. It sounds
like asthma. I would suggest you talk to your pediatritian about getting him
going on some asthma meds (prob. albuterol and cromolyn mix) via nebulizer.
I am an asthmatic mom of three asthmatic children and believe me when I tell
you, diagnosing and treating asthma at a young age can mean much less
treatment and probs. I was not dx'd until this year and I have a lot of
damage to undo. All of my kids were dx'd early on in life and 2 out of the 3
only need meds when they have colds . Please talk to your dr.
Amy
----- Original Message -----
From: Sonia Ulan <sulan@...>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, July 15, 2000 5:13 PM
Subject: [Unschooling-dotcom] help please!


>
>
> Hi Everyone,
>
> I need some good motherly (Or fatherly!) advice. My 22 month old has
> croup again. My other two children never had it and in my family I grew
> up in none of us ever had it, so I'm not overly sure how to treat it. I
> know about the steam and taking the child out into the cold air trick
> but this is summer so what do I do? Also, when he's had it before (this
> might be his 4th episode), it's always happened at night and by day he's
> fine. This time it started at 8 this morning and is continuing through
> the day...is it going to get worse tonight yet? He seems basically
> fine, is not breathing with great difficulty, just wheezing alot. We
> all do have bad colds right now so it's extra tough for him breathing
> when he's so congested. Any advice, information or tips please? I'd
> appreciate anything anyone has to offer. A friend in the past told me
> to try homeopathy and I did try a couple of doses this a.m. and it did
> not seem to help at all.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Sonia
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Visit www.ibelieve.com today and get a FREE book by Chuck Swindoll!
>