CROUP, Spasmodic
Categories:
Respiratory Diseases
This disease gives the parents a terrible shock if they
have never seen any attacks of the kind. The symptoms which attend the
attack are out of all proportion to the real danger. It is generally the
result of exposure to cold or to the cold wind. Irritating, undigested
food, often causes it.
Symptoms. Usually the child goes to bed perfectly well, or has a slight
cold and wakes up an hour or two later, coughing
nd gasping for breath,
due to a spasm in the wind pipe. The cough is shrill, more like a bark;
the cough is repeated at intervals and soon the patient breathes quickly
and laboriously. It must sit up for it can breathe easier sitting. The
voice is oftentimes nearly or quite lost, or at least only a hoarse
whisper; the face is bluish or perspiring. The spasm lasts for a variable
period, but rarely exceeds one-half hour, sometimes only a few minutes.
The croupy cough and oppressed breathing may last longer than this, but
these too subside after a time, after which the child drops to sleep and
usually rests quietly for the rest of the night. There is a tendency to
recurrence on succeeding night unless obviated by treatment.
Treatment. Preventive. Guard against such children's exposure to cold
winds and dampness, dress them warmly. The living and sleeping rooms
should not be too warm. Do not give them food hard to digest at any time,
especially before bedtime. Foods hard to digest frequently cause the
attack.