Croup Causes, Symptoms, Prevention and Home Remedies

What is Croup?

Croup is an inflammation of the area just below the voice box that causes swelling of the air passages and makes breathing difficult. It can affect children between 3 months or 6 years of age. Barking cough and rasping breaths wake them during the nights. Symptoms may subside within 3 to 7 days.

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Symptoms of Croup

1. Harsh, barking cough that usually occurs suddenly in spasmodic bouts.
2. Hoarseness.
3. Wheezy and shrilly inhalation.
4. Late at night the symptoms appear/worsen and continues through several consecutive nights.
5. There maybe fever which is less than 102 degree Fahrenheit.

Causes of Croup

• Usually during winters viruses cause croup, which can spread from child to child. For days the child will suffer flu-like illness or cold. Then the child’s small airways are blocked either with swelling or excessive secretions. This induces barking cough and labored breathing.

Home remedies for Croup

1. The child should be placed in a position in which he is able to relax and breathe. Maintain calm atmosphere as crying may worsen symptoms.
2. To moisten and loosen mucous and to prevent dehydration, give your child plenty of clear liquids like water, apple juice, ginger ale and tea without milk (because milk thickens mucous and coughing it up becomes difficult).
3. Maintain moisture in your bedroom by hanging damp sheets or using cool-mist vaporizer for several days until cough subsides.
4. Run hot water shower in bathroom to create steamy effect and place the child in the bathroom for 20 minutes, till breathing becomes easier.
5. Sometimes if heat does not work, open the bedroom windows and let the child breathe fresh cool air at night. This eases labored breathing.

Preventing Croup

1. Better keep your children away from croup infected kids. Automatically when the children are 7 years old they will outgrow it.

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