Does any one know any thing about croop?

Question

Is it contageous? What are the symtoms? I think my son has it and got it from another child. Is this possible? Please help...

Answer 1

croup is a respiratory illness, you could get some basic information form places like webmd.com, mayoclinic.com good luck

Answer 2

Yes croop is contageous. The major system is continous coughing. There could be swollen glands. This is very hard for children.My best advice is to take him to a doctor as soon as possible. and ask a phramcist to advice on a cough medinine. Good luck Curious 2006

Answer 3

My children had croup. The cold that causes the bronchial spasm that result in croup is contagious - croup in and of itself is not. You should take your child to a pediatrian as soon as possible - like tomorrow - be make sure that he/she has the croup and not something more serious. You also need to know how to treat the croup condition. I used to take my children into the bathroom and run the shower to create steam to break up the congestion and lessen the symptoms of the croup. You need to ask you doctor if this is something you should do. Your beautiful child is to precious to do anything less.

As a mother or father the best rule of thumb is: when in doubt, call you physican.

Answer 4

Croup (sometimes referred to as croup syndrome or laryngotracheobronchitis) is a respiratory disease which afflicts infants and young children, typically aged between 3 months and 5 years. The respiratory symptoms are caused by inflammation of the larynx and upper airway, with resultant narrowing of the airway.


1 Symptoms
2 Causes
3 Treatment
4 Prognosis
5 External links


Symptoms
Croup is characterized by a harsh 'barking' cough, stridor (a high-pitched sound heard on inhalation) and fever. Hoarseness is usually present. More severe cases will have respiratory distress.

The 'barking' cough of croup is diagnostic. Stridor will be provoked or worsened by agitation or crying. If stridor is also heard when the child is calm, critical narrowing of the airway may be imminent.

In diagnosing croup, it is important for the physician to consider and exclude other causes of shortness of breath and stridor, such as foreign body aspiration and epiglottitis.

Causes
Croup is most often caused by parainfluenza virus, primarily types 1 and 3, but other viral and possibly bacterial infections can also cause it. It is most common in the autumn but can occur year-round, with a slight predilection for males.

The inflammatory response to the infection causes the respiratory distress, not the infection itself. It usually occurs in young children as their airways are smaller and differently shaped than adults, making them more susceptible. There is some element of genetic predisposition as children in some families are more susceptible than others.

An entity known as spasmodic croup also occurs, due to laryngeal spasms.


Treatment
The treatment of croup depends on the severity of symptoms.

One of the simplest ways to treat or help with croup is to inhale cool mist. This was the sole treatment for croup throughout the 19th (and most of the 20th) century. Hospitals today use a "blowby" apparatus for this purpose, but taking the child outside (or driving with the windows down) in moist night air may achieve the same result. Alternatively, steam from a shower or humidifier will have a similar effect. These simple methods may help a lot. However, they may not be enough to completely get rid of the symptoms, and there is very little hard evidence to support their efficacy.
Mild croup with no stridor (or stridor only on agitation) and just cough may simply be observed, or a dose of inhaled, oral, or injected steroids may be given. When steroids are given, dexamethasone is often used, due to its prolonged physiologic effects.
Moderate to severe croup may require nebulized adrenaline in addition to steroids. Oxygen may be needed if hypoxia develops. Children with moderate or severe croup are typically hospitalized for observation, usually for less than a day. Intubation is rarely needed (less than 1% of hospitalized patients).

Prognosis
Viral croup is a self-limited disease, but can very rarely result in death from complete airway obstruction. Symptoms may last up to 7 days, but typically peak around the second day of illness. Rarely, croup can be complicated by (or confused with) an acute bacterial tracheitis, which is more dangerous.