How do you know if your child might have croup?

What can you do if they do have it and what can you do to keep others from getting it? I have eight other grand children and I don't want any of them to catch it.

If you're not sure if your child has croup, your doctor can diagnose it. The most common symptoms of croup are fever, hoarseness and a barking, hacking cough. Croup may also cause a crowing noise (called stridor) when the child breathes in through the narrowed windpipe. Croup symptoms tend to affect children 1 to 3 years old more severely and may worsen at night.

Most croup is caused by viruses, but similar symptoms may occasionally be caused by bacteria or an allergic reaction. The viruses most commonly involved are parainfluenza virus (accounting for most cases), adenovirus, respiratory syncytial virus, influenza, and measles.

Most children with viral croup are between the ages of 3 months and 5 years old. Croup is most likely to occur during the winter months and early spring, and symptoms are most severe in children younger than 3 years of age.

The symptoms of croup generally peak 2 to 3 days after the symptoms of infection start. Croup resulting from viral infection usually lasts less than a week.

the classic sign is a "barking seal" cough. i'm not sure if it's contagious or not. try webmd.com

Barky cough: A child will sometimes awaken from sleep with a croupy cough, and it can be frightening, for child and parent.

Fever: Often will be fever, but usually below 104.

Hoarse voice. This is also from the swelling of the voice box.

Stridor: This is the most concerning symptom of croup. Stridor is a harsh, raspy, whooping, gasping sound when your child breathes in.

Symptoms of the common cold can precede the croup or they can linger afterwards.

Croup often begins like a cold, but then fever, cough and difficulty breathing develop. The infection then causes the lining of the throat to become red and swollen. The child develops a hoarse voice and a cough that sounds like the bark of a seal. The air passage below the vocal cords may narrow, making if hard for the child to move air in and out. The viruses that cause croup are quite contagious until the fever is gone, or at least during the first 3 days of illness; so the best idea for your granchildren is to keep them apart until well again.

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　　Cystitis 　　Cystic Fibrosis 　　Cushing Syndrome 　　Cubital Tunnel Syndrome 　　CT Scans 　　Crutches 　　Croup 　　Crohn Disease 　　Cramps 　　Crack 　　CPR 　　Cough 　　Costochondritis

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