My Preemie Toddler Has Croup…..Again

Okay, so I’m starting to wonder if it’s a preemie thing to get croup this often or if my preemie gets the croup so often because she was so early (27 weeks), and because she had chronic lung disease for so long.  Since one week before this past Christmas my preemie toddler has been sick with croup I think five times.  Five times!  That’s almost once a month.  She’s been to the emergency room at least three of those times and even got pneumonia following one of the episodes.

Croup can be a bit frightening because with croup the air passages swell up and tighten, making it difficult to breath.  If your preemie gets croup their cough will sound like a dog bark or a seal bark and these poor little preemies just cough and cry and wheeze and are so miserable.  If your child starts turning blue then they really can’t get enough oxygen and emergency care is needed; however, they should probably be taken to a doctor long before that happens.  Most often, your pediatrician can give your child a breathing treatment for croup that might help, along with a steroid dose that helps to open up the airways.  If your preemie’s case is not severe then they will probably tell you to go home, keep an eye on your preemie for breathing struggles, give them cold drinks and popsicles to reduce airway swelling or bring them outside where they can breathe in cold air, and use a humidifier.

We’re noticing that our preemie gets croup almost every time she’s exposed to other children with colds, she gets croup in the winter and the summer, and even though she’s two and a half years old we still have to keep her on a partial quarantine.  Our struggle is that we want her immune system to get stronger but we don’t want her to be sick all of the time – it’s miserable for her and for us!

Have any of you faced this same issue?  If so, does your preemie also have asthma?  I would love to hear your experiences.  Thank you.

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