Introduction
The croup syndrome or pseudocroup occurs in 99% of cases in connection with acute laryngitis (acute subglottic laryngitis) and mainly affects children between six months and three years of age. In some cases, children up to the age of six years are also affected, older ones rather rarely. Meanwhile, it has been observed that slightly more boys than girls develop a pseudocroup.
The main reason for the predominant occurrence in infancy (baby) is the small diameter of the larynx. Even minimal movement can lead to critical constriction, resulting in breathing difficulties. A swelling of the laryngeal mucosa by 1mm increases the respiratory resistance in adults by a factor of three.
In infants/babies, however, it is 16 times higher. In addition, the nest protection decreases at the age of 1 to 3 years. This means that the child’s immune system is no longer supported by that of its mother after weaning.
The child’s immune system now has to fight the pathogen itself. Since the antibodies or immunity against certain pathogens are only formed after the first contact with them, a baby is more likely to be affected by bacteria, viruses, etc. This also increases the probability of contracting acute subglottic laryngitis at this age and developing pseudocroup.
A first infection is usually much more pronounced than a second infection in later childhood. This in turn suggests that infants in particular are affected by an initial infection in full development of a pseudocroup. In addition, the risk of infection with bacteria and viruses is increased, especially in the crawling and kindergarten age, as the children explore their environment and touch as many objects as possible, put them in their mouths and usually have close contact with their playmates. Ultimately, about 12% of all children fall ill with pseudocroup once in their life, which means that this disease occurs relatively frequently. and cortisone in babies
