Colds and flu are quite common this time of year and then throw croup in the mix.

Along with the common cold, croup is a common respiratory illness in children caused by a virus.

Knowing if your child has a cough from a cold or flu, or if it is croup can be a little confusing.

Judy MacDonald, AHS, Medical Officer, says croup can start like the common cold with a runny nose and general unwell feeling but what distinguishes it, is the sound of the cough.

"Croup is really characterized by a sharp "barky" cough. People like it to the sound of a seal. It's quite a distinctive cough. That's the main symptom that you hear with croup."

This sound happens because the virus causes swelling of the throat including the vocal cords and windpipe narrowing the airways.

This can lead to difficulty breathing and when a child tries to take a breath in another high-pitched sound can happen as well.

"Sometimes when a child takes a breath in because of the narrowed airway they also have a squeal that we call a stridor."

Although, the sound of a croupy cough can be very alarming and scary for a parent to hear, the "bark" so to speak is typically worse than it's "bite". 

"Generally, croup is not serious. There are certain things you can do for a child that has it. The best advice is to help them breathe humid air."

MacDonald suggests taking the child into a bathroom and running a hot shower creating steam, using a cool mist humidifier or even dressing the child warm and taking the them outside to breath the cool air. This helps shrink the swelling in the upper airways and settles the cough.

If your child's croup attack is not getting better within a half hour of them breathing in humid air and they are finding it increasingly harder to breathe, MacDonald advises to seek medical attention.

 A croupy cough tends to last 2 to 5 days and is found mostly in young children but that doesn't mean it isn't contagious to adults.

"You wouldn't typically see croup in adults, now that doesn't mean that whatever respiratory virus is causing that croup couldn't cause some other respiratory illness in an adult, it just wouldn't sound like croup."

Because croup is a virus antibiotics won't help fight it.

MacDonald adds many viruses are self-limited and eventually the croup virus will go away on its own. What you need to do is manage the symptoms.

To find out more information about croup go here.