(HealthDay News) -- Croup occurs when the larynx (voicebox) is infected by a virus. It is most commonly identified by a hoarse voice, tight breathing, and a low-pitched cough that sounds like a seal's bark.

The Lucile Packard Children's Hospital offers these suggestions to help soothe your child's croupy cough:

• Let your child stand in a hot shower and absorb the steam (be careful that the water is not hot enough to burn).
• While the child is in the shower, hold a wet washcloth near your child's face, and have the child breathe in.
• Add warm water to a humidifier in your child's room.
• To avoid pneumonia, it is important that your child cough up mucus that has built up in the lungs. So the idea is to promote a "productive" cough, the hospital says, not prevent a cough entirely.