Symptoms and first aid for false croup in a child

Symptoms of false croup in children, treatment

False croup is an acute respiratory viral disease of an infectious nature, characteristic of children under the age of six. Medicine considers it as a complex of certain symptoms during inflammation of the trachea and larynx, which is accompanied by severe swelling in these places. Treatment of false croup in a child involves the provision of qualified medical care, folk remedies are unacceptable.

Disease manifestations

Symptoms of false croup in children:

• voice suddenly becomes hoarse;
• cough acquires a "barking" tone;
• breathing is characterized as difficult, whistling and clucking.

In addition to these signs, there may be others in the background that are more characteristic of a common cold: elevated body temperature, nasal congestion and runny nose, chest pain due to a strong cough, headache, muscle aches. Most often, this condition progresses in the evening and at night, as well as during sleep, when the child is in a horizontal position.

In official medicine, four stages of the severity of the course of the pathology are distinguished. If at the first stage of development the child is conscious and describes his well-being as "normal", then at the last stage there is a sharp slowing of the pulse and heart rate, respiratory depression, loss of consciousness, and a drop in blood pressure. In any case, the help of a doctor will be needed. In case of extreme severity of the course, specialists carry out resuscitation measures.

It is very important to immediately differentiate false croup from other dangerous pathological conditions - diphtheria, pharyngeal abscess, and so on. Signs of true and false croup differ. In the first case, there will be no hoarseness of the voice (the patient just hums), and the body temperature does not rise.

First aid for false croup

The optimal option is to call the "Ambulance" team, but if this is not possible, then parents or guardians should know what to do in case of an attack of false croup:

• take the child in your arms or give him a raised position in bed - the upper part of the body should be in a vertical position;
• if it is possible to calm the patient - excessive excitement, anxiety will only intensify the attack;
• open the shutters or windows - the room should be cool and fresh, in extreme cases you can use a humidifier or air ionizer;
• give the patient a warm drink without restrictions - water, unsweetened tea, compote, fruit juice.

You also need to know how to relieve an attack of false croup - pour warm water (the maximum permissible temperature) into a basin or bath and lower the baby's legs or hands into it. Such manipulation will provoke the expansion of blood vessels at the reflex level, which will quickly ease breathing and help relieve a suffocating cough.

First aid for false croup is provided before the arrival of the medical team, but if the "Ambulance" has not yet arrived, and the patient's condition worsens despite the measures taken, then you can give him:

• an anti-allergic drug can be Loratidine or Cetirizine, Diazolin (the choice depends on the age of the baby);
• spasmolytic agent - No-shpa or Papaverine in tablets;
• any drugs with the presence of salbutamol in the composition - for example, Instaril or Bronhoril in the form of syrups.

No more measures can be taken, an illiterate choice of therapy can worsen the child's condition. The patient must be admitted to the inpatient department of a medical institution, where he will be prescribed inhalations - in case of false croup, they allow to quickly relieve the attack and prevent its recurrence. If the child was admitted to the hospital in a critical condition, when respiratory depression is already occurring, jet or intramuscular injection of Prednisone would be appropriate. The drug will quickly alleviate the patient's condition and allow for further treatment.

Prevention of false croup

It is quite possible to prevent an attack, you must follow the following rules:

• it should be cool in the room where the patient is;
• the air should be moist and fresh;
• the patient should be given a lot to drink.

You can learn more about the causes of false croup and what can be done to quickly stop an attack from experts. Such information is also available on the pages of our website https://dobrobut.com/.

Related services:
Ambulance call 5288