What is the best treatment for croup?

Depends on age: If you have an older child that is not having problems breathing (just has a barky cough), then steaming the bathroom is probably adequate. However, if you have a younger child, especially less than a year of age, you may want to take them to their pediatrician or to the emergency department for a steroid shot. Caution: sometimes asthma can look like croup, so seek medical advice if unsure.

Supportive care: Mild croup is often treated with cool mist to the face, or, at home taking the child in a bathroom with steam. If moderate- to- severe, the child may require care in the doctor's office, emergency department or admission to the hospital. Standard treatments may include, among other measures, steroid medication and racemic Epinephrine to alleviate airway obstruction (swelling).

If mild: Croup is usually mild illness managed at home. Help with cool m​ist, placing child near vaporizerI if you do not have a cool mist vaporizer, even a simple humidifier in child’s bedroom may be helpful. Seek ER if cool mist not clearing up stridor in 15 minutes, repeated episodes of stridor or trouble breathing child’s chest or stomach retracting, bluish lips,lethargy,drooling,neck pain,stiffness