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Asthma

Croup or Asthma

09/16/2003

Question:

My 6 year old son seems to get croup every year. So sudden that he almost stops breathing and we call 911. They say he is acting like he is having an allergic reaction to something, but they diagnose him with croup at the hospital. We have had multiple tests done, a bronchoscopy, and several trips to the er and dr. office. Someone told me that it sounds more like asthma than croup..

Answer:

Children with croup often are having a viral infection such as RSV/bronchiolitis that causes inflammation in the lungs. These children are at a much greater risk of having asthma. You child most likely is behaving like an asthmatic and requires further evaluation by an experienced allergist to determine his risk factors (i.e., personal history of allergies, family history of allergies and asthma, croup, persistent wheezing, eczema, passive smoke exposure all are risk factors for developing asthma). There are controller medications that he probably needs to placed on that will prevent his recurrent ER and hospitalizations. Get him to the appropriate allergy specialist ASAP!

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Response by:

Jonathan Bernstein, MD Jonathan Bernstein, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
College of Medicine
University of Cincinnati