Monday, November 27, 2006

Joey has croup.

For the past two days Joey has been wheezing horribly, and he periodically makes a coughing noise that is lower and louder than his tiny body should be capable of producing. It turns out that this is "croup," a name which sounds as terrifying as the noises joey is making. Molly looked up croup on the "Ask Dr. Hippie Attachment Parenting Guy" website, and the results seem reassuring, though. It appears that most cases are mild, and you should only bring in a doctor if the child genuinely can't breathe. Other than that, Dr. Hippie Attachment Parenting Guy recommends steaming up the bathroom and more breastfeeding. I get the sense that Dr. Hippie Attachment Parenting Guy recommends more breastfeeding in almost any circumstance. Really, I don't think he wants to see your breast in your shirt for any reason.

Update: Mom says that when I was nine months old I was hospitalized and spent time in an oxygen tent because of the croup. Joey is feeling better now: he's not barking, but he's still wheezing. I think we will take him to the drs tomorrow.

1 comment:

Coffee-Drinking Woman said...

I haven't been paying attention to the weather in your neck of the woods, but if it's quite cool outside, taking Joey into a steamy room (like a bathroom with a very hot shower running) for about 15 minutes and then bundling him up and taking him out into the cool air works wonders for easing the wheeze (stridor, the wheeze has a name) and the barking cough. Croup is caused by a virus that inflames the airways, and this seems to soothe the inflamation - and which means that symptom relief is the best you can do. If he gets really bad, you can expect steriods - which work wonders on the inflammation, but make for cranky kids.