What is croup and what symptoms should you watch for in children?

When youre a parent you know the familiar sounds of kids in the house giggling highpitched squeals and the pitterpatter of their little feet.
What you may not expect to hear however is something that sounds like a barking seal on a wildlife TV show.
But thats a definite possibility if your child has croup. Its a common respiratory illness that occurs mostly during fall and winter and causes inflammation in the upper airway.
The second sign of croup stridor. Stridor is the highpitched sound your body makes when you can only partially breathe through your airways thanks to stuffiness or blockage. It also sounds like a wheezing or whistling sound which can be a sign of difficult breathing.

While no parent likes to see their child sick its important to stay calm. If a child with croup gets anxious it can make breathing even harder for them.
Other symptoms vary as the illness moves from the nose to the lungs. These symptoms include fever runny nose and losing your voice. Symptoms tend to get worse as the day progresses into the evening.
Who gets croup?
Croup tends to affect children from age 3 months to 5 years but its most common in 2yearolds.
The reason younger children are impacted is because of the small size of their airways Dr. Wadhawan said. Since their airways are smaller than those in older kids and adults any inflammation restricts their breathing. That results in the barking cough and stridor.
Croup is contagious so its important to keep children out of school and their child care centers while they have croup.
How long does croup last?
Like many viruses croup lasts about three days to a week. However the cough may linger for a few weeks.
How long croup is contagious for varies depending on the severity. Your child is considered contagious for three days