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Doctors at Seattle Emergency Pediatric Center calculate: Option doubles cases
A new trend in the course of omicron in children is announced by the Emergency Department of the Pediatric Hospital in Seattle, Washington. Doctors at the center report a sharp increase in the number of cases in which the current variant of coronavirus disease is croup. Their findings are published in the Science Direct and are confirmed in the comments of doctors from other countries. Bulgarian pediatricians also have patients with whooping cough.
Croup is a relatively common childhood upper respiratory disease, usually associated with the parainfluenza virus. It leads to a hoarse voice, a barking cough with a very specific sound, wheezing and difficulty breathing.
The sound is compared in frequency to the “barking” of seals – the vocalization used by intelligent animals as a signal of danger and marking territory.
Emergency center registries show that during the omicron jump, the frequency of croup has doubled compared to the percentage in previous months. At the same time, the number of detected cases of parainfluenza viruses is decreasing and cannot be attributed to them.
According to some doctors, the symptoms of croup during omicron are more accurately called pseudocroup. Regardless of the classifications, it is good for parents to be warned about the characteristic symptom in order to react properly.
Croup is associated with swelling of the airways, including in the area of the vocal cords, which causes the specific sound of coughing and breathing.
The condition can also be called laryngotracheobronchitis.
It is more common in young children. In most cases it is mild, but doctors advise, especially during the spread of coronavirus, all such complaints to consult a doctor and the child to be examined.
In the more severe cases described by the Seattle Emergency Center, pediatricians have managed in hospital the condition of children with corona infection and croup with a synthetic version of the hormone adrenaline – epinephrine.
In case of a mild course or remission of the disease, doctors usually recommend home treatment and to provide more humid air.
Parents say that crises become more frequent in the evening and at night. To control a persistent bout of coughing at home, your doctor may advise you to use simple but effective methods. For example inhalations. Or even more accessible: the child to stay for 10 minutes in the bathroom with a shower with hot water to fill the room with steam.
In cold weather, it may be helpful to take the child outside for a few minutes to breathe cool air.
It is important to drink plenty of fluids throughout the illness to prevent dehydration.
A doctor should be consulted immediately if the child is ill from the beginning or later begins to deteriorate. Or with breathing problems; if his mouth turns pale or blue; swallowing hard; it becomes very sleepy. As with dehydration, babies can’t even shed tears when they cry.
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