Shortness of breath is never pleasant. But when children experience this, a panic reaction can arise. After all, the child does not understand why it is more difficult for him to breathe. There are various causes for shortness of breath. One of them is pseudocroup. This is also referred to as simply croup, but croup is actually a very old name for diphtheria. Pseudocroup mainly occurs in children between one and five years old. It no longer occurs in older children. So the child grows out of it. Symptoms include shortness of breath, a barking cough and hoarseness. Attacks often occur at night. Sometimes treatment is necessary, even when it concerns spasmodic croup.
What is croup?
Croup is also called croup. It is a very old name for diphtheria of the larynx. This concerns a respiratory infection that can be compared to a severe throat infection. Croup now refers to pseudocroup . And pseudocroup concerns a swelling of the mucous membrane around the vocal cords.
Causes
Pseudo croup or false croup (nowadays simply referred to as croup) is caused by a viral infection. The first cold is often caused by a virus. In most cases this concerns the parainfluenza virus or normal influenza virus. This virus causes a cold and sometimes a mild fever. Sometimes it is caused by the measles virus. True croup or diphtheria is caused by a bacterium. This immediately makes the difference between the two. In pseudocroup, the virus causes inflammation of the mucous membrane in the airways. This mucous membrane then swells.
Pseudocroup occurs mainly in young children between the ages of one and five years. It can also occur in slightly older children. Pseudocroup is rarely seen in children over six years old and in adults. Because the cold virus is mainly active around the autumn and winter months, we also see pseudocroup occurring around this period.
Symptoms
Pseudocroup is often preceded by a (mild) cold. This can be recognized by a watery discharge from the nose or a snotty discharge. The child is not very ill and has at most a mild fever. They just play and often go to school. No reason to worry. The symptoms of pseudocroup come on very suddenly. Often when the child has been sleeping lightly for several hours. It then suddenly wakes up and suffers from shortness of breath.
In addition to shortness of breath, there is a hoarse and barking cough. Wheezing also occurs. When the child cries, it sounds hoarse. The hoarseness decreases when the child is calm. It is remarkable that there is no fever. There are also no complaints of sore throat. The mucous membrane around the larynx is swollen, hence the shortness of breath. This can cause the child to become anxious.
Therapy
The shortness of breath occurs in attacks. This means that the child may experience it several times a night. These attacks often last for several days. It mainly occurs at night.
Treatment initially consists of keeping the child calm. Panic or anxiety worsens the symptoms. At rest the child will be less hoarse and less short of breath. It is therefore up to the parents to remain calm and reassure the child. Sometimes it helps to hold the child above/next to a steam bath. It is also possible to turn on the shower tap and close the windows and door in the bathroom. The space then quickly fills with steam. This allows some children to breathe better. The steam widens the airways. Breathing cool air is often also effective. It takes some experimenting to see what the child responds better to.
The child rarely suffers from a fever, at most a slight increase. If the child does develop a fever, paracetamol can help. A throat softener can help with a sore throat.
If it appears that the child is very short of breath, has difficulty breathing or even turns blue, it is advisable to consult a doctor immediately. He can give you an inhaler. This contains corticosteroids, which are hormones that are normally used by the adrenal glands and mainly come into action during inflammation. In very serious cases, admission to hospital is required. Here the child will be artificially ventilated. The child will remain in the hospital for as long as deemed necessary. Additional research will often be conducted.
Spasmodic croup
Then we have spasmodic croup. This croup is also caused by the influenza virus or the measles virus. This is a chronic croup or croup that keeps recurring. So the child does not heal on its own. The attacks regularly return or persist. There may also be a period when the child is free of complaints. This is often due to an allergic cause. The doctor may then decide to prescribe a corticosteroid inhaler. Sometimes the cause really needs to be sought and it can be remedied, for example by avoiding the allergen (substance that causes an allergic reaction). In this case, spasmodic croup may disappear.
