Dr. Schiffman received his B.S. degree with High Honors in biology from Hobart College in 1976. He then moved to Chicago where he studied biochemistry at the University of Illinois, Chicago Circle. He attended Rush Medical College where he received his M.D. degree in 1982 and was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. He completed his Internal Medicine internship and residency at the University of California, Irvine.
Dr. Mersch received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, San Diego, and prior to entering the University Of Southern California School Of Medicine, was a graduate student (attaining PhD candidate status) in Experimental Pathology at USC. He attended internship and residency at Children's Hospital Los Angeles.
Dr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.
Croup usually can be managed with cool mist or steam therapy, which dissolves sticky or dried mucus in the child's breathing passages and lubricates the throat and windpipe. Because the condition commonly worsens at night, many doctors recommend that you sleep in the same room with your child or use a baby-monitoring device to listen for any change in the child's condition. Be ready to get medical help if your child doesn't improve.
Doctors recommend home care for all but the most serious cases of croup. Antibiotics are not helpful for treating viral croup. If the symptoms are severe enough, the child will be given inhaled medications such as racemic epinephrine in the emergency room. If the child is still not better, an X-ray may be taken and the child may be kept in the hospital overnight.
Oral corticosteroids (Prednisolone, dexamethasone, and others) are sometimes used to reduce inflammation and swelling. This treatment is prescribed for those with the worst symptoms, and as a precaution for those children found to have stridor during the day, knowing that the stridor will always increase at night. The treatment starts to work in 1-2 hours and has maximum effect by 8-12 hours after it is taken.
Croup is an infection of the larynx, trachea, and the bronchial tubes usually caused by viruses, less often caused by bacteria.
Croup is contagious, especially during the first few days of illness.
A cough that sounds like a barking seal and a harsh raspy "Darth Vader" sound during inhalation are symptoms of croup.
Treatment of croup can include cool moist air, saltwater nose drops, pain and fever medication, fluids, and very rarely antibiotics. Over-the-counter decongestants, cough and cold medications, and aspirin should not be given.
The major concern in croup is progressive breathing difficulty as the air passages narrow.
Close monitoring of the breathing of a child with croup is important, especially at night.
What is croup? What causes croup?
Croup is an infectious illness of the respiratory system involving the vocal cords (larynx), the windpipe (trachea), and the upper airways of the lungs (bronchial tubes). The majority of a
child's symptoms reflect involvement of the larynx. Croup is usually a viral infection and maybe caused by many different viruses, including those responsible for the common cold and influenza. Rarely, croup is caused by a bacterial infection. Croup is more common in children between 6 months and 3 years
of age and rarely occurs in children over 6 years of age. It is more commonly seen from late fall through the early winter months. It has a slightly higher frequency in boys than girls. Bacterial croup is an infection of the same structures that are affected during the viral process. Therapy varies depending on whether there is a viral or bacterial cause.
Is croup contagious?
Croup is contagious and is usually spread by airborne infectious droplets sneezed or coughed by infected children. When a healthy child inhales infectious droplets, symptoms can develop in two to three days. The infection can also be spread by infected mucus deposited on doors, furniture, toys, and other objects. A healthy child can become infected by accidentally touching the infectious mucus and transferring the infection into his/her mouth.
What are croup symptoms?
Viral croup may have two distinct presentations both of which are a consequence of swelling of the vocal cords and therefore narrowing of the airway. The more common variety causes symptoms of fever (100
F-103 F), mild hoarseness, and sore throat two to three days after virus exposure. The characteristic dry "barking seal"
cough is soon to follow. The barking cough may be associated with a harsh, raspy sound during inspiration. (This sound, called "stridor," has been noted to resemble the breathing of the
Star Wars character Darth Vader.) The symptoms commonly last for four to
seven days.
A less frequent form of croup is called "acute spasmodic croup." Children with this form of croup will appear totally well when put to bed at night only to awaken their parents in the middle of the night with the above described barky cough and stridor. Fever and sore throat are not noted in these children, and the symptoms completely resolve within
eight to 10 hours from onset. The child then appears totally well until this same acute onset recurs the following night. This on/off pattern may occur over
three to four nights in a row and then transition into symptoms similar to the common cold
-- mucoid nasal discharge and a "wet" cough for several days.
These two different forms of croup are the result of which particular virus has infected the child. Manifestations of croup may vary from mild (common) to life-threatening (rare). The severity of symptoms is proportional to the amount of relative narrowing of the breathing airway. The more severe the vocal cord narrowing the more effort is required to inhale. A severely sick child will refuse to lie down
and demand to remain in an upright position. They will show retractions of the skin above the collarbone and between the ribs with inspiration and may develop
facial blueness (cyanosis). Apparent exhaustion and decreased respiratory effort are indicators of impending respiratory failure and are cause for immediate paramedic evaluation and transport to the emergency department of the closest hospital.
Most sore throats are caused by viruses or mechanical causes (such as mouth breathing) and can be treated successfully at home. However, a person should be seen by a health care professional if they have a sore throat that has a rapid onset, and is associated with a fever or tenderness of the front of the neck; a sore throat that causes the person to have difficulty swallowing (not just pain swallowing) or breathing; or if a sore throat lasts for more than a week.
Chronic cough is a cough that does not go away and is generally a symptom of another disorder such as asthma, allergic rhinitis, sinus infection, cigarette smoking, GERD, postnasal drip, bronchitis, pneumonia, medications, and less frequently tumors or other lung disease. Treatment of chronic cough is dependant upon the cause.
Although a fever technically is any body temperature above the normal of 98.6 degrees F. (37 degrees C.), in practice a person is usually not considered to have a significant fever until the temperature is above 100.4 degrees F (38 degrees C.). Fever is part of the body's own disease-fighting arsenal: rising body temperatures apparently are capable of killing off many disease- producing organisms.
Laryngitis is an inflammation of the voice box (vocal cords). The most common cause of acute laryngitis is infection, which inflames the vocal cords. Symptoms may vary from degree of laryngitis and age of the patient. Common symptoms include croup, hoarse cough, fever, cold, runny nose, dry cough, and loss of voice. Chronic laryngitis generally lasts more than three weeks. Causes other than infection include smoking, excess coughing, GERD, and more. Treatment depends on the cause of laryngitis.
Good parenting helps foster empathy, honesty, self-reliance, self-control, kindness, cooperation, and cheerfulness, says Steinberg, a distinguished professor of psychology at Temple University in Philadelphia. It also promotes intellectual curiosity, motivation, and desire to achieve. It helps protect children from developing anxiety, depression, eating disorders, antisocial behavior, and alcohol and drug abuse.
Children's health is focused on the well-being of children from conception through adolescence. There are many aspects of children's health, including growth and development, illnesses, injuries, behavior, mental illness, family health and community health.
Causes of laryngitis include upper respiratory infection or
cold; excess
talking, singing, or shouting; reflux laryngitis;
chronic irritation of the vocal cords; or stroke.
Laryngitis is contagious if it is caused by an infection.
The most common symptoms of laryngitis are hoarseness, loss of voice,
and throat pain.
Symptoms of laryngitis in adults include
dry cough, sore throat, fever,
swollen lymph nodes, pain with swallowing, and a feeling of fullness in the
throat or neck.
Symptoms of laryngitis in infants in children include croup, hoarse
barky cough, and fever.
Chronic laryngitis, in which the symptoms last for weeks, may be caused by
by gastroesophageal reflux disease, smoking, or alcohol use.
Chronic inflammation due to laryngitis may cause nodules or polyps to form on the vocal
cords. /...