Another name for croup and what it means

Clinicians commonly use the shorter word croup. The longer name identifies the affected airway structures; it does not refer to a separate illness or automatically indicate greater severity.

Inflammation narrows the upper airway and can produce a harsh, barking cough, a hoarse voice, and stridor, which is a high-pitched sound when breathing in. Fever and symptoms resembling a common cold may occur before the cough. Croup often becomes more noticeable at night or when a child is upset.

Severity is judged mainly by breathing effort, alertness, colour, and whether stridor is heard while the child is calm. The loudness of the cough by itself does not show how narrow the airway is.

Keep the child calm and upright, offer fluids if swallowing is comfortable, and watch their breathing closely. Crying can make noisy breathing more pronounced. Do not expose a child to hot steam because scalds can occur, and do not give cough remedies unless a clinician confirms that the product is suitable.

A child health consultation can confirm the diagnosis and assess breathing. Depending on severity, a clinician may give medicine to reduce airway swelling; nebuliser treatment may be used in urgent care when clinically indicated.

Seek urgent medical care if there is stridor while resting, the skin pulls in between or beneath the ribs, breathing looks hard or unusually fast, or the child is becoming exhausted. Call emergency services for blue or grey lips, pauses in breathing, marked drowsiness, drooling with difficulty swallowing, or inability to speak or cry because of breathlessness.

Ask how to recognise stridor at rest, which treatment has been given, when another assessment is needed, and what to do if noisy breathing returns during the night.