Suggest Treatment For Recurrent Croup In A Child

Posted on Tue, 9 Jun 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 9 Jun 2015 Answered on

Tue, 30 Jun 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : My son has had croup 6 times in the past 7 months. He is only 5 years old. Tonight will be the third night of croup. It is no longer so much a barking cough as it is a mucous cough. He was up half the night last night choking on his own mucous. No matter what position I changed him to, nothing helped him. I have put vicks on his feet and have a cool mist humidifier in the room as well. He also has asthma and is on the blue puffer, the orange puffer, and a pill, singulair. We also have a nebulizer we use on him as needed. What can I do to help him?

Answered by Dr. Diptanshu Das (34 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Nebulization at home would be the best treatment to offer.

Detailed Answer:
Thanks for asking on HealthcareMagic.

Croup is a viral infection of the respiratory tract. Nebulization is the best treatment that you can provide to your son. I would suggest you to give him nebulization with 2 ml of 3% NaCl (Hypertonic saline) an intervals of every 4 hours. It will help in diluting the mucus and would provide relief. If it leads to wheezing (since you mention that he has asthma), you can give nebulization with normal saline (0.9% NaCl solution) instead.

You may continue giving him Singulair. You may give the puffs, but no other medicine is necessary unless the child has other complaints. If the child becomes lethargic, you would need to seek medical attention. Otherwise, the problem should resolve in 3-7 days.

Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T