Any truth to this?

[PenelopeJune]

I'm thinking not.

My friend's 1 year old son got croup, and she panicked and took him to the ER. The doctor gave him steroids and told her to use humidifier, steamy shower, out in the cold, blah blah blah.

Then he tells her that his croup shouldn't get that bad since he had the flu shot. WTF? She was acting like it was so fantastic that they had just gotten the first half of the flu shot a week or so earlier, and planned to get a second dose very soon. After he told her this, about the flu shot making croup less severe, she was saying she'd DEFINITELY get that second dose.

Now, she's very pro-vaccine, pro-doctor, so she'd get the shot anyway. But is there ANY truth to the flu vax having an effect on croup? I couldn't find anything, and basically think the ER doc gave her a BS story.

[mama2peyton]

Sorry no solid information, but it doesn't sound right to me either.

[Ruthla]

WTF???

DS had croup when he was about a year old- when the flu vax was only approved for adults. At the time, DS was completely unvaccinated (he got most of his vaccines around age 3.)

I was given the same advice about the steamy showers/cold air, etc. My primary concern for the ER visit was dehydration- he'd hardly been nursing or drinking anything else, wet diaper production went down, etc. He was observed for a while and then sent home- they didn't even need to give him any IV liquids.

He was fine a few days later, although he did lose some weight. Once he recovered and his appetite came back, he regained the weight without difficulty.

So, let's review the facts:

12mo gets group
croup lasts less than a week
no medical treatment was indicated at any point during the illness

Would you call that a "mild" case?

OK, ok, I know that the plural of "anecdote" is not data, so stop and think about the science for a minute. How can the flu vax, which "protects" against 2-3 strains of influenza virus, possibly have ANY effect on the croup virus?

[Fyrestorm]

Isn't that like saying "Let's put a cast on your leg, that way if you break your arm, it won't be too bad"

[carriebft]

He is probably operating from this viewpoint:

-The flu shot works
-croup is associated with flu in young children
-so, if you get the flu shot, it should help prevent a more invasive case of croup


or something along those lines....


Premise 1 and 2 have serious flaws though, which makes the third one pretty useless.

[Gitti]

I think the doc is just totally brainwashed and therefore talking out of the wrong end of his body.

Nothing to it. The child may be weakened from the flu shot and therefore more inclined to come down with other infections such as colds, croup, other strains of the flu, or worse.

Too bad no one is trusting their own body any longer. Everyone has to run to a doctor for croup. And the doctors don't have any magic other than to pump a child full of poisonous medicine. Steroids for a croup is child abuse imo.

Steroids damage the heart and create life long patients.

[PenelopeJune]

Okay, guys, thanks. Pretty much what I figured. It's a good thing I was on the phone with her when all this went down, because my eyes were rolling around in my head the whole time.

She had never heard of croup before and didn't know the 'barking' sound was a sign of it. (Not rolling my eyes at that, I can't make fun of anyone for simply not knowing something.)

I agree about the steroid thing, Gitti. And she didn't even know what she was giving him. At first she told me antibiotics and I'm all, "WHAT? He shouldn't be getting them for a viral infection!" so she went and looked and found out they were steroids. Yikes, though. I can't imagine just giving my kid a drug without knowing what it was and what it's for.

[Yulia_R]

I wonder if the flu shot a week prior the croup weekened his immune system and helped him to get croup on the first place.

[MyBoysBlue]

Originally Posted by PenelopeJune

She had never heard of croup before and didn't know the 'barking' sound was a sign of it. (Not rolling my eyes at that, I can't make fun of anyone for simply not knowing something.)

I always think of Anne of Green Gables when I hear of the croup. That's the only reason I know about it. I remember it from the movie. I know silly.

[Emmeline II]

Croup isn't a disease itself, but a description of a group of conditions involving inflammation of the upper airway that leads to a cough that sounds like a bark, particularly when a child is crying; whereas Pertussis is an infection of the respiratory system caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis (or B. pertussis).

Viral croup is the most common. Other possible causes include bacteria, allergies, and inhaled irritants. Acid reflux from the stomach can trigger croup. Croup is usually (75 percent of the time) caused by parainfluenza viruses, but RSV, measles, adenovirus, and influenza can all cause croup.

[Pandme]

I would think the flu shot may have helped contribute to the child getting the croup.

[applejuice]

Ask for any double blind, scientific studies to support that claptrap.

There was a doctor in my hometown who told all parents that their children would not get colds, or fewer colds, if they would allow him to perform a tonsillectomy on each of their children. He made a tidy income performing tonsillectomies for a long time. As far as I know, most of those people still get colds and the flu. Who is to say if they are getting fewer colds?

Tonsillectomies are not as popular as they were forty years ago. Are our children getting more colds?

[In Exile]

Well yeah, you fall down the stairs- make sure you get a Tetanus shot. Don't see the logic? Doesn't matter, people. Don't question, living live as a sheep is a lot less complicated.

[Heavenly]

My kids have all had croup multiple times and I've never even taken them to the doctor and they certainly didn't get steroids! That is insane!