The "pre-croup" symptoms are generally those of a common cold or other viral upper respiratory infection, which then develop into the distinctive signs of croup.
Croup is a a common illness in children under three years of age. The main symptoms are barking cough and noisy breathing. These often last for a few days. Before the cough develops, the child may have a sore throat, temperature, red eyes, a runny nose, or be off their food.
Croup usually starts like a normal cold, with mild symptoms such as a fever, runny nose and cough. However, noisy breathing – known as 'stridor' – often develops suddenly during the evening or overnight because of the narrowing airway. It causes a squeaky and high-pitched sound when your child breathes in.
When the upper airway is infected with the virus that causes croup, tissues around the voice box (larynx) and the windpipe (trachea) will swell. When a cough forces air through this narrowed passageway, it may sound like a seal barking. Croup most often occurs in younger children. It usually isn't serious.
Conclusions: Epiglottitis and croup are often confused because they share symptoms and signs including stridor.
How is croup diagnosed and evaluated? Children with croup are usually diagnosed based on a clinical examination. Your physician may listen to your child's breathing with a stethoscope for wheezing and decreased breath sounds.
The first symptoms of whooping cough are similar to those of a cold, such as a runny nose, red and watery eyes, a sore throat, and a slightly raised temperature. Intense coughing bouts start about a week later. The bouts usually last a few minutes at a time and tend to be more common at night.
Self care
Symptoms of Croup are:
Kids with croup have a virus that makes their airways swell. They have a telltale "barking" cough (often compared to the sound of a seal's bark) and make a high-pitched, squeaky noise when they breathe.
Croup may appear after your child has had a cold for several days. Croup is usually caused by a virus and may last several days. Sometimes croup comes on suddenly in the middle of the night. It may occur more than one time in a child's life.
Both RSV and croup can start with cold-like symptoms, but croup usually includes a barking cough and stridor (a high-pitched noise when breathing in). RSV symptoms may include wheezing, rapid breathing, and decreased appetite. A medical provider can help confirm which illness is present with a test or exam.
Adults can easily catch the same viruses that cause croup in children. But because adults have bigger airways, adults don't get the barking cough and stridor that characterizes croup in children. "The reason croup happens in kids and not adults is that children have a smaller airway," Kirkham said.
Spasmodic croup
They will be hoarse and have stridor when they breathe in. They may also have a barky cough. Most children with spasmodic croup do not have a fever. This type of croup can recur.
Croup symptoms usually come on after a few days and are often worse at night.
Conditions that can be mistaken for croup include:
This type of difficulty breathing results in a high-pitched creaking or whistling sound when a child inhales (known as stridor) and a harsh cough that sounds like a seal's bark. This is different than the wheezing that occurs when a child has difficulty breathing air out of the lungs.
Usually after two or three days, the cough will change from a hard, harsh, barky, dry cough into a congested cough, which typically lasts another few days. Sometimes croup can cause episodes of severe coughing followed by vomiting. The symptoms are almost always worse at night.
Commonly, croup is caused by a virus. Several viruses can cause croup but in most cases it is the parainfluenza virus. The virus can be passed on by close contact with infected people, as well as contaminated objects and surfaces. It's often spread by breathing in droplets from infected coughs or sneezes.
Stridor (high-pitched or squeaking noise when inhaling) A pale or bluish color around the mouth. Drooling or difficulty swallowing. A fatigued appearance.
Published guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of croup advise using steroids as the mainstay treatment for all children who present to emergency department (ED) with croup symptoms. Dexamethasone, given orally as a single dose at 0.6 mg/kg, is highly efficacious in treating croup symptoms.
Symptoms of whooping cough
may make a "whoop" sound – a gasp for breath between coughs (young babies and some adults may not "whoop") may have difficulty breathing after a coughing bout and may turn blue or grey (young infants) may bring up a thick mucus, which can make you vomit.
People most at risk
Pertussis can occur at any age. There is an increasing number of adults and adolescents who are being diagnosed with pertussis. At present, the age groups with the most pertussis diagnoses are infants below one year of age, and adolescents between 10 and 20 years of age.
Croup is usually self-limited and clears up on its own within a week, while pertussis generally lasts for a longer period of time and may require antibiotics. Viruses that cause croup are spread person to person when an infected individual coughs or sneezes.
To get rid of croup fast, focus on keeping the child calm, offering fluids, and using cool or moist air (like a steamy bathroom or cool night air), as crying worsens symptoms; for moderate cases, doctors use steroids or epinephrine, but always seek urgent care if breathing is difficult, as antibiotics don't work for this viral infection, says Nationwide Children's Hospital.