Originally Posted by Jewels:
My own son used to get croup with every single cold, my pediatrician has always told me The "croup " itself is not contagious, its the virus that caused the croup which is contagious, and its just a cold, some kids bodies just turn it to croup, my son when he was 6 months old got a cold and then croup, and ever since he got it once, he got it every time, in my daycare with children here, no one else ever caught his croup, but they would all get a cold, I do have another boy now who gets croup, and as long as he is fever free, he can come, the cough sticks around for a while, I still worked the first year and a half my son was a baby and when he came down with croup once I kept him home for the 3 days he was pretty bad, but he was fever free, and the doc said he could resume daycare, but my provider said not until all symptoms were gone, I understand he still sounds bad, but he usually has the cough for 2 weeks, I could not take 2 weeks off of work, so that was his last day, it was mainly the last day because I felt she was grossed out by my son, and just didn't want him around her kids at all, since he was her only daycare child. But anywaybecause really its all its I treat croup just like I treat a cold, because really its all it is.
In some respects you are right... Except one very important thing... Although some kids are more predisposed to croup than others, the virus that typically causes croup is NOT usually the common cold.
Generally croup is caused by parainfluenza, RSV, and sometimes adenovirus. It's not generally just from a common cold. The common cold is generally from rhinovirus or corona virus. Two very different viruses than RSV and parainfluenza. RSV and parainfluenza are also generally much more harsh than the viruses that cause the common cold. And for kids with underlying allergies or reactive airway problems, the two most common croup viruses can be deadly.
most kids who have RSV or parainfluenza generally only show signs of a common cold and don't get the swelling of the airway that signifies croup.
My daughter had croup tons of times, usually to the point of retractions and blue lips. Because she has asthma, every bout of croup was serious and potentially deadly.
However, the important part of my rambling is that infectious-wise, the viruses that cause croup and the common cold should be treated exactly the same. They are contagious as long as there is a fever. The danger is generally over with croup when the fever and barking itself is gone. The cough may linger for a while with both and shouldn't itself be a reason for exclusion any more than the common cold should be.
Both generally start with a clear runny nose and progress from there.
Important though, most true croup symptoms, especially in children with breathing problems historically, is that sometimes the airway swelling needs treated with steroids, breathing treatments, and even antibiotics if bacterial croup is suspected.