If your child has a viral coup, then you should be concerned. This condition makes it difficult for your child to breath. Coup irritates your baby's upper airways, which causes them to swell. The airway located below your vocal cords start to narrow. As this occurs, it becomes hard to breathe. Your child breathing will sound noisy and his or her cough will sound like a barking seal. This condition affects children between the ages of three months to five years old. Read on to find out how to treat your child for a coup.
Use A Humidifier To Ease Coughing
A barky cough is a common symptom of this condition. It can keep your child awake at night and cause him or her to be cranky. For these reasons, you can benefit from a cool-mist humidifier. Humidifiers put moisture in the air. Cool moisture air can ease congestion and coughing. If your baby's coughing is persistent, then it could help to sit in the room with the humidifier.
Keep Hydrated
It helps to ease symptoms when your child is hydrated. You want to give him or her plenty of fluids. Fluids take pressure off the vocal cords and loosen mucus. If your child is really irritated, then you can give him or her some fluid using a medicine dropper. It is also important not to force your baby to take fluids. Popsicles are a good way to get your child to take fluids and helps with fever.
Use Saltwater Nose Drops
A stuffy nose is another symptom o a coup. It is uncomfortable and makes it hard to breath. You can use saltwater nose drops to alleviate the symptoms. The drops are placed in the nostrils of your child. It decreases inflammation in the nasal passages and removes mucus.
Do Not Use Cold Medicine
Coup may have symptoms that are like a cold, but they are not the same. You should not give your child cold and cough medicine. It can make your child's condition worse because the cold medicine may cause more symptoms.
Coup starts with a fever and can be contagious. The infection can spread inside of a household. If your child has coup, then you should not send him or her to school. You do not want to pass the condition on to other children.
Administering home treatments to your child should be done short-term. If your child is having persistent symptoms, then it is time to make an appointment with a pediatrician like Ada Pediatrics PA.
