There are two types of croup, viral and spasmodic. Viral croup begins with a cold that develops into a bark y ing cough. The airway swells , making breathing noisy and more difficult. Some children may run a fever as high as 104 degrees F ahrenheit . The greatest danger is if the windpipe swells so much that breathing is impossible.
Spasmodic croup causes spasms that occur during the night and early morning.
The child will awaken g r asping for breath within 1 to 3 hours after going to bed. During the spasms, hoarseness, and a bark y ing cough are evident. A raspy whistling type noise , called stridor wheezing , may be heard when the child breathes in and out . The spasms usually do not occur during the day and . T t here are often signs of improvement in both breathing and hoarseness during the day as well.