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How to help your baby fight off croup:

Croup is a viral infection that primarily affects babies, toddlers, and young children.  The virus causes inflammation of the vocal cords, which triggers a barking cough.  Although croup is not typically a serious infection, it's very important to treat croup early and monitor your child when he or she has the croup. 

The croup usually lasts for about a week and gets worse at night.  Symptoms will normally get better during the day, when the child is moving about.  A cool mist humidifier should be run at night and is typically the main treatment for mild cases of the croup.  Fever of up to 104 degrees accompanying croup can be treated with Tylenol or Ibuprophen.

There are also some homeopathic remedies available to help alleviate the symptoms of croup.  I've included a link to one natural product by Native Remedies to the right. 

 If your child has difficulty breathing, it is imperative that he or she be watched closely to determine if the infection has become more serious.  If a strider is present (a whistling sound with inhale), it's best to take your child to the doctor or ER to insure that the proper treatment will be administered. Other serious symptoms are paleness, blue lips, and extreme effort with inhale.  Serious croup infections can cause a child to have difficulty breathing, and a steroid may be prescribed. 

*As always, if you don't know what is causing the illness in your child, don't take chances.  It's better to take your child to his or her physician, or to the Emergency Room, than to let a health problem go undiagnosed, leading to serious complications or death.  Our information is to help and inform you but, under no circumstances should it be a substitution for proper medical care.

Elaine Russo- BioWeb Concepts