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Help for brother with croup

Posted By Linn (Los Angeles, Ca) on 10/06/2009

i am looking for home and natural remedies for croup. my little brother has had it on and off for years and now the dr is saying he should take steroids. I don't want him to do that because he is only 13.

Replied by Lisa (Thousand Oaks, Ca, USA) on 10/07/2009

That is very caring of you. To not want your younger brother to have to take meds is wonderful. I would suggest you look at the hydrogen peroxide page. Go slowly. Have you used alternatives before? I have a sneaking suspicion that he has an overabundance of mucus and that eliminating that would take care of the croup. Also, what about his diet? Try to eliminate dairy and sugar. I know it's hard for kids at that age to get them to do that but it would make a big difference as well if he isn't already doing it. It took my daughter until she was 23 for me to convince her of this correlation and through her own hard knocks with a continual throat and inflammation of her tonsils and the dr. giving her antibiotics over and over again and her not seeing results, she finally succumbed to asking me in tears what she needed to do. I asked her to listen to what she needed to do in order for her to see a change. It has been 8 mo. since she has been sick now. That's huge for her. Let us know what you do and take care.

Replied by Linn (Los Angeles, Ca) on 10/07/2009

Thank you for your advice and concern, Lisa. I myself have been cured and been experimenting with a myriad of natural remedies over the years.

My brother is much younger than I. While our mother believes in healthy eating (the reason it rubbed off on me!) she doesn't have much experience or inclination with natural cures to the point where she feels she can experiment and goes to a regular doctor. She is however, open to using natural remedies. I talked to her about finding natural ways to help the croup.

I thank you for describing the mucous and sugar/food connections. I'll keep researching and checking the earth clinic page. I really don't know anything about Croup myself! Thanks again.

Replied by Betty (Plant City, Fl) on 01/25/2010

When I was a child, my native american grandmother had lots of 'home remedies' that she used on us. My grandfather was very Irish (with pale skin, red hair, freckles,ect). I don't know if that matters in the way her remedies worked on us, but, we were always cured.

My grandmother would take a teaspoon of sugar and put turpentine on it, several drops to make the sugar harden. use your own discretion as to size of child. give the teaspoon to the child as a lollipop. Turpentine was also used on paper cuts or any cuts to keep the soreness away. Pour straight turpentine on any type cute. It will heal w/o being sore.

Replied by Wendy (..., Canada) on 05/23/2011

Hi there, I just wanted to comment on the correlation someone mentioned between sugar/diet and croup. In our case, it would strongly disappear. My kids were born at home with midwives, breastfed til they were at least 2, they are homeschooled on 100 acres, they eat 95% organic homemade meals, we juice our own veggie juices, we sprout, we try to buy stuff not in a package, and we are wheat & dairy free. While they might have the odd smidge of honey or agave, they do not eat sugar at all, they've never had pop, chips, candy, cakes, or choclate ever in their lives. They eat lots of raw food, veggies etc. , in fact my 6 yr old loves salads, in fact there it would be hard to find something my children will not eat... we are not vegetarian. Point being: they've had chronic croup for years... They never got a regular cold, it was always croup.

However, with homeopathic treatment from a professional my oldest finally stopped when he was 8, and my daughter is way better, it's not full blown croup now, but still there ;-( we use natural remedies like oil of oregano, garlic, mega c, d, herbal tincutres, zapping, you name it and with those things even in high doses, I cannot stop croup even when I know she is coming down with it.... UNLESS I use homeopathic remedies once she has it. As many sites will tell you homeopathic aconite, then spongia, then hepar sulph work amazing MOST OF THE TIME. It worked every time for my son, but my daughter presents a bit differently so I sometiems have to use other homeopathic remedies that better suit her symptom profile. We've never had to go to the ER and we can usually get past the worst part quickly, but not with just the other remedies. The other remedies like oil of oregano and C, hydrogen peroixide etc are great for colds but I can't seem to get at the croup ;-( Many people over the years have pointed to our indoor environment as the stressor. We do have dog, cat, bunnies etc. And lots of dust and we live near a highway. My childrens hair analysis are VERY high in heavy metals!! Interesting point too is that my first 2 children who suffer from chronic croup were born and breastfed WHILE I had 12 amalgam fillings. My 3rd child was born after I had my amalgams removed at Dr. Huggins clinic in Colorado 4 yrs ago and he has NEVER had croup - he is 2.5 yrs now. He also is hardly ever sick.

Over this last year we have discovered we are pretty sure we have mold in our house! So perhaps that is the common denominator for kids with croup? My friend feeds her child tons of junk, her teeth have fallen out, she has crowns by 4 yrs of age etc and her child hardly ever eats real food- but she lives in a gorgeous 'martha stewart' house. Her daughter has NEVER had croup in her life, goes to school, and rarely gets sick - she is the same age as my daughter. Genetics? who knows but thought I would add our experience for those who think the answer is always diet. Not that imporving the diet won't help, but there may be more at play then just that.

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