The Hot and Cold on croup!

I have something to talk about that to me is a bit of a breakthrough..it is about croup and the use of a cold-air humidifier verses the traditional hot air steamy humidifier. 

Croup for us with our young son occurred usually in winter time, came on without any warning signs like even a cough, would be worse if they stayed out after 4 in the afternoon weather, would last about 4 days (3rd night being the worst) and was one of the scariest thing that ever happened to us as a parent. 

We would sit in the hot steamy shower with our son who was basically turning cold, clammy and on one occasion nearly blue...we would call 000...trying to stay calm and waiting desperately for the ambo men to arrive to save our boy...it brings me to tears just thinking about it. The rest of the night was spent in the children's hospital with our child bouncing off the walls(because of the adrenalin they gave him to help him breathe)...but we didnt care..he was alive and breathing OK!!!

I have had two kids who have suffered from croup...my son (who is now 8) had 4 episodes that resulted in trips by ambulance to the emergency department and the need for days of predmix and adrenaline...he had a strider that was one of the most impressive the ambulance officers had ever heard (A STRIDER is what they call the sound of them when they breathe..sounds like a sea-lion barking!!) And yehhhh for having freakishly unusual medical things happen to us as a family!!!) He has since grown out of it...thank god!!! 

Last winter my now 3 year old had her first episode and it freaked me out...apparently boys are more prone to it than girls ..so I was a little disapointed that she has copped it too. We approached it the same way we had approached our son's...however ,we always make sure we have REDIPRED in the house just in case. I also started questioning the whole hot air humidifier...afterall we had the ambulance officers telling us to take them out into the cold night air instead of sitting in the hot steamy shower.


Apparently alot of croup cases resolve themselves as the child is taken out into the cold, moist night air to hospital. A friend of mine also recently told me that it had been suggested to them that a cold icypole was a great suggestion by their hospital.

In my kitchen...also doubles as an air freshner

This winter, as soon as we had one night of croup with my youngest, I started running the portable NATURE DIRECT cold air humidifer I had bought for my asthma sufferer (my eldest child). 

I feel alot safer with it in her room (with the old VICKS one I was using...I used to do the WHAT IFS...what if she knocks it over, what if she burns herself, what if it runs dry and starts a fire, what if it leaves the walls running with water and makes the mould in her little room worse...) 

The air purifier at nightime..it has a nightlight feature that my kids LOVE

The old hot air humidifer I was using (its not sitting on my front porch)

We now dont have to worry about any of those WHAT IFS...I havent had any other occurances yet...they may come...but I feel alot more confident now that we are doing the best we can to limit the episodes.

I admit, when I first saw the cold air humidifer I grabbed one...originally not for the croup..but for the congested 10 year old I have who suffers from asthma , eczema and allergies (it is not only a cold-air humidifer BUT it is also an ionizer that purifies your air...here is a link for more detailed info 
http://www.naturedirect.com.au/enviroair.html
http://www.naturedirect.com.au/enviro_facts.html

BUT after reading a fair few online articles I now understand better why cold air humidifers are the way to go..and I have the confidence to be rid of the old VICKS steamer and replace it with my Nature Direct one. In fact this month I am planning to purchase another so I can make the most of Nature DIrect's "host a demo" deal...and that is the god honest truth (especially after all my research this weekend)

Finally today I had an interesting email with an adult croup sufferer inquiring about our humidifers....she has been told that " cold steam is better for croup but she has found it hard to find". I am so thrilled that I am selling a state of the art product...and one that I am trialing and using at home..and can proudly say "it is so good that I use it for my own family and believe that it will benefit yours"

If you are interested in purchasing one please email me on tumblemonkey@optusnet.com.au and I can get one to you in time for the winter croup season!!!

**obviously I am not a doctor...only a mother of 3 (2 of which have croup)...so I in no way am suggesting you replace doctors advice with mine...but please consider my experiences when you are planning your attack