Sick Happens

Croup isn’t always “just a cough.”

Most parents recognise the classic barking seal-like cough, but not everyone realises that a child with croup can start struggling to breathe very quickly.

As in… they-went-to-bed-totally-fine-and-woke-up-gasping-for-air-a-few-hours-later kinda quickly. It really can happen THAT fast.

In this video you can see several red flags in this child with croup:
🚩Intercostal retractions = sucking-in between the ribs
🚩Subcostal retractions = sucking-in where the ribs meet the tummy
🚩Stridor = the gasping sound when breathing in

Notice I didn’t mention the cough at all?

That’s because a barking cough on its own is not usually the red flag. The red flags are the signs your child is struggling to breathe.

Unfortunately, you can’t predict which child will develop croup, because many different respiratory viruses can cause it. And when a child does get croup, you also can’t predict how severe it will become.

What you *can* do is learn the signs, know how to assess your child, and know when to escalate care. That part is made easy with my app: Sick hAPPens. It’s sick day support at your fingertips.




Who’s dealt with the intense sudden onset of croup in the middle of the night before? It’s terrifying, right?

Tracking can look dramatic… and sometimes that’s because it is.

A red line moving away from a bite, cut, graze or sore can be a sign of inflammation in the lymphatic system. This is called lymphangitis.

But this post is about something bigger than one diagnosis. It’s about learning how to assess your child’s skin and notice when something is changing.

Because with rashes, redness, bites and skin infections… most parents get stuck trying to work out what it is. Often, the better questions to ask yourself are:
▶︎ Is it spreading?
▶︎ Is it becoming more red, swollen or painful?
▶︎ Is there fever?
▶︎ Is my child acting unlike themselves?
▶︎ Does this look worse than yesterday?
▶︎ Are there red flag rash or skin signs?

Knowing the answers to these questions matters *WAY* more than memorising every possible skin diagnosis because honestly… that’s an impossible task.

You do not need to diagnose every rash.
You need to recognise when your child needs help.

The key red flags with skin tracking are:
▶︎ Redness that is spreading*
▶︎ Your child becoming more unwell

Inside the Sick hAPPens app, I teach parents how to assess skin and rash symptoms, recognise red flags, and know what to do next without hesitation or second-guessing.




Have you ever seen tracking in real life before? It’s pretty fascinating to see.👇

When a sick child with a fever came through triage, I wasn’t rushing straight to the thermometer, or grabbing the medicine.

I was watching the child.

Because how the child looks and how they behave tells me so much more than any thermometer could.

A child with a high fever who was still:�▶︎ alert�▶︎ responsive�▶︎ and interacting normally

…was very different to a child who:�▶︎ was floppy�▶︎ not responding appropriately�▶︎ or not themselves

This is why focusing on one number or one symptom can be misleading.

You need to learn to not get distracted with the big-scary-thing, that you forget to check for the subtle-actually-serious-thing.

This is EXACTLY what I teach inside my Sick Happens course and Sick hAPPens app. You learn how to assess your child clearly, so you never miss anything serious (and avoid getting distracted by the wrong things). �.�.�.
Do fevers freak you out? I’d love to know why ↓

RSV. What actually matters?

RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) is one of the most common viruses in childhood.

Most kids will have had RSV by the age of two. Symptoms typically include a runny nose, cough, sore throat, fever or decreased feeds and/or sleep.

But for some, it can become more severe with:
▶︎ wheezing
▶︎ fast breathing
▶︎ increased work of breathing
▶︎ dehydration

The tricky part is: not knowing how severe your child’s symptoms will be. Plus, you don’t always know that it is RSV (unless you do a swab).

So here’s the mindset shift: Instead of focusing on the diagnosis, focus on what your child looks like (symptoms) and how they are coping.

If you do this, you’ll know what to do, and when to get help. This is exactly what I teach inside my Sick Happens course and Sick hAPPens app: it’s helping you understand what’s normal, what’s not, and what to do next.




Has your child had RSV before? What did it look like for them? ↓

💬 My child vomits every time they have a cold. Is that normal?

This is one of the most common questions parents ask me in my DMs.

When children have a cold (an upper respiratory infection like RSV, influenza or COVID-19), they often produce large amounts of mucus.

Unlike adults, they are not very good at blowing their nose or clearing those secretions. So they swallow it.
And that mucus ends up sitting in the stomach (delicious, I know.)

Often the stomach simply cannot tolerate it, which is why some children vomit mucus during a cold, especially:
▶︎ after coughing
▶︎ first thing in the morning
▶︎ when mucus has built up overnight

To save yourself the worry, try to think like a nurse and focus on the whole picture, not just one symptom. Ask yourself:
▶︎ Are they getting better, worse, or staying the same?
▶︎ Are there any other red flags of illness?
▶︎ What does my gut say?

Learning how to recognise normal illness patterns and notice when something is not right is one of the most useful skills a parent can develop.

It is exactly what I teach inside my Sick Happens course and Sick hAPPens app, where parents learn how to assess illness with confidence.




Have you noticed your child vomiting when they have a cold? I’d love to hear👇

“It’s just viral.”

Parents hear this all the time when they take their child to the doctor. And while it may be medically accurate, it can feel incredibly frustrating when you’re the one dealing with:
▶︎ sleepless nights
▶︎ endless coughing
▶︎ fevers that keep returning
▶︎ a child who is clearly sick

Remember: you don’t need to diagnose your child. But you do need to understand and recognise symptoms so you know when it’s time to seek medical attention, even if that means going back again (and again).

This is exactly what I teach inside my Sick Happens course and Sick hAPPens app, where you learn a simple 3-step system for assessing childhood symptoms so you never miss anything serious and always know what to do next. Comment ONLINECOURSE or SICKAPP if you want to unlock the framework. �.�.�.
Now tell me… have you ever been told “it’s just viral”? ↓