Cough and the Common Cold (Photo credit: RobertFrancis)
I thought we were safe. We’d made it through all of our (admittedly mild) winter without a single emergency room trip for M. No sickness, no hands slammed in windows, nothing. Then, two days into Spring, M. woke up at 1 in the morning with a bad case of croup. She was coughing and choking so hard she actually broke blood vessels in her cheeks, so now she looks like she has freckles, only she doesn’t.
The usual in and out of the steam and the cold(er) air outside didn’t help, but it rarely does with her, so off we went at 2. She had a vapor treatment, a nebulizer treatment and 2 doses of steroids since she threw up the first dose. We got home finally around 5 a.m. and she needed a snack because her stomach was now empty and she was hungry. I finally got her back in bed, and went to sleep myself for less than an hour before I had to drive S. to school, get H. out to her bus and then call work to say there was no way I could run “Toddler Time,” or drive there to do so, on this little sleep. My boss happens to be very understanding and not easily rattled, so she said not to worry, they’d figure out coverage and I should stay home.
Since my mom was coming to watch M. while I worked, she just came anyway so she’d be here when M. woke up so I could sleep for a more reasonable amount of time.
M. is doing ok now. She still sounds a little scratchy and coughs every once in a while, but she’s on steroids for 4 days and has her inhalers too. She’s just such a cheerful little thing. Even at the hospital, she just wants to be friendly and tell everyone things about her birthday, and her toys, and her brother and sister. She’s like a friendly little puppy.
How is your spring going?
debtfreedecorating
March 25, 2012 at 5:08 pm
Wow! Poor baby. I just hate it when my kiddoes are sick. The weather changes around here are brutal on a persons allergies. We could be in shorts one day, wearing a light sweater the next, and in a full flegded coat and gloves a day later. Then it’s back to summer like heat. I think that’s almost calmed down but boy does it make our throats and noses hate us. I find for us that a little Belladona or Pulsatilla (if the child is weepy) works well and I’m starting to learn the benefits of homemade chicken broth in fighting a resporatory problem. Planning on putting that to the test next time, but I’m way more familiar with my regular remedies. I hope she’s already out of that whole sicky thing by the time I post this and back to feeling herself (she right? I may be guessing–sorry).
Lara Johnson
March 26, 2012 at 5:49 pm
She’s fine now for the most part. I asked my mother-in-law how old my husband was when he finally stopped getting croup, and she said she thinks it tapered off by the time he was five. It would be nice if this would be our last bout of it, but at least she recovered quickly this time. She loves chicken broth either from chicken soup or from wonton soup, so she’s had plenty of that this weekend. We had a fruit platter too, and I think she ate her body weight in pineapple, so that dose of vitamin C should help too. I hear you about the weather though. We were loving the 70-80 degree days last week. This week our high is supposed to be in the low 50′s mostly, so it’s back to long sleeves and coats for us.
debtfreedecorating
March 26, 2012 at 7:30 pm
Mmmm…pinapple! I must be hungry. I’m glad she’s feeling better. We live on Vitamin C during season changes.
Jolina
February 20, 2013 at 10:15 am
The coughs are the worst! My baby girl broke blood vessels in her cheeks from coughing so hard, too. It broke my heart! Hope yours is on the mend now, Lara!
Lara Johnson
February 20, 2013 at 11:18 am
She still gets minor cases of croup now and then (like last night!), but she seems to be outgrowing them. We can treat them at home now instead of always having to go to the hospital, which is better for everyone.