Baby Your Baby - All About Croup

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If you have a newborn or a young child, you may have heard a lot about croup. In this article, we answer some common questions you may have about this illness.

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Croup is a type of upper respiratory infection that can affect the voice box, vocal cords, and the windpipe. These infections are more serious in infants and small children because these children have smaller airways than adults.

What happens in croup?

Children with croup usually have these symptoms:

  • A “barky” cough which sounds like a dog’s or seal’s bark, noisy breathing, and sometimes heavy movement of the chest when breathing.
  • The cough may be bad enough to cause gagging or vomiting.
  • They may have a runny nose, fever, or both.
  • Some infants are quite fussy, sleepy, and have poor appetites.

How does a child get croup?

Your child can catch croup if he comes in contact with another person’s mucus (for example a sneeze, used tissues, touching hands if the person has not washed their hands). The illness usually begins two to three days after being exposed to the virus.

How do you treat croup?

Treatments for croup include:

    • Use a cool-mist humidifier in your child’s room.
  • Do not give your child aspirin. Aspirin can cause brain, liver, and kidney damage and Reye’s syndrome in children.

Are there complications from Croup?

The most common complications of croup are ear infections and pneumonia. The most serious complication is complete blockage of breathing. This is rare, but you will need to get help right away if you are worried about your child’s breathing. This could be life-threatening.

Call your doctor if…

  • Your child has a hard time swallowing or is drooling.
  • Your child is having so much difficulty breathing that he is restless and can’t sleep.

Go to the nearest hospital if…

  • Your child refuses to swallow or lie down.
  • Your child has a bluish color on his lips or face.
  • Your child’s chest severely sucks in with each breath.
  • Your child has noisy breathing at rest. Your child is having trouble breathing.
  • If your child is in severe distress or cannot breathe, call 911.

For a list of trending pathogens around the state of Utah, including croup, check out GermWatch.