My son has what I am 99 % positive was croup including barking cough, hoarse voice and wheezing while breathing. I have been giving him medicine (steroid medicine and a nebulizer and he woke up this morning with a fever of 101 and his cough sounds deeper like he is trying to cough something out of his lungs. Any ideas. I know he needs a doctor but I have no insurance right now and husband has car at work. all these answers are great advice. but i have to tell you, do not give him cough syrup, because sadly, it doesn't work. what it does is stop the body's natural reflex to expell air when coughing. in other words, you still feel like you need to cough, but you just can't. i've had many coughs in my lifetime, and trust me, the syrups don't work at all. it just makes you want to try harder to cough, and you end up being more awake, and exerting yourself more. i hope the little guy gets better soon! Your sons health is way more important then lack of insurence. Take him to a local hosiptal clinic, he may have pneumonia, or just bronchitus (Sp?) Either way get him to a doctor soon, because if its pneumonia he could die. These signs and symptoms are common with croup:
A loud cough that sounds like a barking seal
A wheezing or grunting noise while breathing
Hoarse, raspy voice
Cold symptoms - runny or stuffy nose, FEVER, feeling tired
Home treatments for croup
Most cases of croup are mild and don't need medical treatment. If your child has a mild case of croup, there are many things you can do at home to help him feel better:
Stay calm. Croup can be scary for children - staying calm and speaking quietly will soothe your child and make breathing easier. Try reading stories, listening to music or playing a quiet game.
Sit your child upright to make it easier for him to breathe.
Give your child moist air to breathe. Turn on the hot water in the shower and close the door. When the bathroom is steamy, shut off the water, close the door, and then sit with your child in the steamy air for 10 - 15 minutes. Be sure to keep your child away from hot water to avoid burns.
Take your child outside at night for a few minutes to breathe the cool night air. Be sure to dress your child in warm clothing if it's cold outside.
If it's cool outside, bundle your child up warmly, and buckle him into his car seat. Keeping your car heater turned off, drive around for 10 or 20 minutes. Sitting upright in cool air will help your child breathe easier.
Give your child lots of clear fluids to drink - diluted juice, water, and popsicles are good choices.
If your child has a fever and is uncomfortable, treat his fever with acetaminophen (for example, Children's Tylenol).
Sleep in the same room as your child or within hearing distance to monitor his breathing. If symptoms are not getting better with home care (steam, night air, sitting upright), see your doctor.
Don't give your child cough syrups or other medicines unless a doctor recommends it.
Medical treatment for croup
In more serious cases, the doctor may prescribe corticosteroids to reduce the swelling in your child's airways and make breathing easier. Antibiotics are not used to treat croup since a virus causes it.
Sometimes oxygen with mist (humidified) or cool mist is given to children coming to the hospital with croup. This treatment helps to open the airways and reduce swelling and irritation.
When to seek emergency treatment:
Seek emergency medical help right away if your child has any of the following signs or symptoms:
Drooling or trouble swallowing
Blue lips/fingers
High fever - above 39 C (102 F)
Difficulty breathing, the skin between the ribs pulls in with each breath
A high-pitched, squeaking sound when your child takes a breath (stridor)
http://www.lung.ca/diseases-maladies/a-z... If we offered you a miracle remedy that cures "Whooping Cough/Pertussis" would you buy it? Certainly you would. You won鈥檛 find it in a Pharmacy but at the Grocery Store.
Try the Natural Cures for Whooping Cough/Pertussis.
Whooping cough or pertussis, as it is called in medical parlance, is a contagious disease. Unlike some other diseases, a new born baby has no immunity to this disease, and can get it any time after birth. It commonly affects infants during the first year of their life, when it is very severe and most of the deaths due to it occur during this period. Many cases occur in children up to 5 years of age. In some cases children up to 12 years may also be affected. The disease may cause serious trouble in the lungs.
This highly infectious disease is caused by bacteria. It spreads rapidly from one child to another by droplet infection. This is especially so during the early catarrhal stage, but once the typical spasmodic bout starts, the infectivity becomes negligible. This disease has a prolonged course of 8-10 weeks.
The disease has a catarrhal and a spasmodic stage. For the first week, the cough is like an ordinary upper respiratory catarrh. At the end of a week, it becomes spasmodic and comes in bouts, initially more often during the night, but later during the day as well. The child goes on coughing. His face becomes red and suffused, the tongue protrudes and the eyes begin to water. At the end of the bout, the child takes a deep breath, and there is a prolonged croaking sound which is called a whoop. This sound is produced by the air entering through a partially closed glottis (entrance to the larynx). This gives the disease its name. The child brings out a sticky secretion from his nose and mouth and very often vomits. At the end of the bout, the child lies back exhausted. Gradually, over the next three or four weeks, the bouts of cough and their duration become less and disappear in about 8-10 weeks from the beginning of the disease. In immunized children, the disease is mild and atypical.
Due to the severity of bouts of cough, bleeding can occur into the eyes, from the nose, the lung, and, in rare cases, into the brain, resulting in convulsions. In many young children, lung complications such as collapse of a part of the lung are common because of the thick sticky nature of the secretions blocking the passage of air to a part of the lung. Secondary infection may result in pneumonia. They may be convulsions, and, in rare cases, inflammation of the brain.
Causes: Whooping cough is caused by the micro-organisms Bordetella pertussis and Bordetella parapertussis. Of these, the first one gives the rise to more severe infections. Whooping cough is also associated with various adenoviruses, para-influenza, and respiratory viruses. The actual cause of the disease, however, is wrong feeding of children with refined and demineralised foods and absence of a sufficient quantity of fresh fruits and salad vegetables in their dietary. This results in accumulation of excessive quantities of catarrh and mucus in the child鈥檚 system. The disease is an attempt on the part of the nature to throw out this catarrh and mucus. The use of drugs to treat other diseases can also lead to whooping cough.
In the beginning of the treatment, the child should be placed on a fast, on orange juice and water for few days. He should be given the juice of an orange diluted with warm water on 50:50 basis. He should not be given milk or anything else. He should be given warm water enema daily during this period to cleanse the bowels. In case of constipation, a mild laxative, preferably castor oil, should be administered. This will also relieve the pain in the abdominal muscles which are usually strained during the paroxysms of coughing. Cold packs should be applied to the throat and upper chest as required. Epsom-salt baths will be beneficial during this period. After the more sever symptoms have cleared, the patient should be placed on an exclusive diet of fresh fruits for a few days. In this regimen, we should take fresh juicy fruits such as apple, orange, pineapple, and papaya. After further recovery, he can adopt a regular well-balanced diet, according to his age. The emphasis should be on fresh fruit, fruit, and vegetable juices and milk. When the convalescent stage has been reached, the child should be encouraged to spend as much time as possible out of doors.
Home Remedies: Certain home remedies have been found beneficial in the treatment of whooping cough. The most effective of these remedies is the use of garlic. The syrup of garlic should be given in the dosage of 5 drops to a tablespoon 2-3 times a day for treating this condition. It should be given more often if the coughing spells are frequent and violent.
Ginger (adrak) is another effective remedy for whooping cough. A teaspoon of fresh ginger juice, mixed with a cup of fenugreek (methi) decoction and honey to taste, is an excellent diaphoretic. It acts as an expectorant in this disease.
A syrup prepared by mixing a teaspoon of fresh radish (muli) with equal quantity of honey and a little rock salt, is beneficial in the treatment of this disease. It should be given thrice daily. Almond (badam) oil is valuable in whooping cough. It should be given missed with 10 drops each of fresh white onion juice and ginger juice, daily thrice for a fortnight. It will give relief.
Hope this helps, Good Luck. |
