18 month old prone to croup? 2nd bout !!!

[Scottish mum]

Girls just looking for any mums who have had experience with this?

My lo is 18 months and has had and currently still going through croup twice! Both resulting in hospitalization. The first was by far the worst. We were rushed into a&e by ambulance and he was put to sleep and a tube was inserted down his throat he was transferred to our sick kids hospital and he was in a coma for 5 days!! Very scary and traumatising for us then yesterday he was displaying the same symptoms but we took him to a&e ourselves and he was given steroids, paracetamol and that mask thing ( can't recall it's name. As he's older he coped better but we stayed overnight and we got home today but have to go back to hospital to stay tonight for observations!

It's just horrible and I don't know why he suffers so bad. Anybody else have experience with this? X

 

[AnneD]

No experience really as mine only had croup once and not as bad as your son, but wanted to send hugs. It's so scary, I hope Joseph makes a speedy recovery xx

 

[Scottish mum]

Thank you. I'm just at the end of my tither : ( poor lo. Just wish I could click my fingers and he be better x

 

[FAB mama]

My LO had croup twice between about 12 and 14 months old. He wasn't anywhere near as bad as that though. I may not have taken him to the doctor as fast as I should have… didn't realize how serious it could get, but he just got a steroid shot and some meds to treat his ear infections that he also had. I don't think his was really too serious. I co-sleep and that helped some since I always knew right away if he woke up or was getting sicker.

A cool mist humidifier was recommended and seemed to help. Did you try that? Maybe run it often to prevent it… but you do want to be careful not to start a mold problem.

 

[Scottish mum]

Ah I had thought about a humidifier but I might even buy one now! Thanks for the reminder x

 

[A_Z]

I could have written the exact same post, except that my daughter's croup, while bad, isn't as severe as your son's. She had her first bout at 12 months, and her second a few weeks ago at 18 months.

It must've been so scary for you and your LO to have him intubated and in the ICU. And it's so rare for it to be that severe! Poor you guys.

Our second bout, like yours, wasn't nearly as bad, but we also acted a lot faster. Took her straight to the ED when the stridor sounded bad, got the mask and a massive dose of steroids, and got sent home in the morning (with loads more steroids to keep it under control).

We keep oral steroids at home, so that we can administer them at the first sign of the croup cough. We also have a nebulizer that we can use with saline or a steroid solution.

I think they just gradually outgrow it, and there's nothing to be done until then. It's usually totally gone by 5-6, and by 3-4 is rarely severe. But unfortunately some kiddos are just prone to it.

I hope your little guy is feeling better!