What
is Pertussis, or whooping cough?
It
is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by a bacterium called Bordetella pertussis that lives in the
mouth, nose and throat of an infected person.
Who
gets pertussis?
Pertussis
can occur in people of all ages. Pertussis is most severe in infants less than
one year old. More than half of these
infants who get the disease must be hospitalized. Older children and adults can
also get pertussis as protection against pertussis decreases over time, but it
is usually not as serious. Many infants who get pertussis catch it from their
older brothers and sisters, or from their parents or other caregiver who might
not even know they have the disease.
How
do people get pertussis?
Pertussis
is very easily spread from person to person, especially before coughing starts.
A person can spread pertussis up to three weeks after symptoms appear. When an
infected person talks, coughs or sneezes, the bacteria are released into the
air and enter another person’s body through the nose, mouth or throat. People
can also become sick if they come in contact with the mucus or saliva (spit) from
an infected person.
What
are the symptoms of pertussis?
The
first symptoms of pertussis are like the common cold and include:
•
Sneezing
•
Coughing
•
Runny nose
•
Fever
After
about a week:
·
the cough becomes more serious with episodes of rapid uncontrollable coughing
spasms followed by a high pitched “whoop” sound when the person tries to take a
breath.
·
The coughing spasm may also be followed by gagging or vomiting.
·
Young babies and some adults may not “whoop.”
·
These coughing spells can make breathing, eating and sleeping very
hard.
·
They may have difficulty breathing after a coughing bout and may turn
blue or grey (young infants).
·
They may bring up a thick mucus, which can make them vomit.
·
They may become very red in the face (more common in adults).
·
A final recovery stage with coughing may last weeks or months.
Babies
under 6 months old with whooping cough have an increased chance of having
problems such as:
•
dehydration
•
breathing difficulties
•
pneumonia
•
seizures (fits)
Whooping
cough is less severe in older children and adults but coughing may cause
problems including:
•
sore ribs
•
hernia
•
middle ear infections
•
pee leaking out when you cough (urinary incontinence)
How
is pertussis diagnosed?
A
health care provider will observe the signs and symptoms and collect a sample
of saliva from the throat for laboratory testing.
What
is the treatment for pertussis?
Treatment for whooping cough depends on your age and how long you've had the infection. Hospital treatment is usually needed if you have severe whooping cough, or your baby is under 6 months old and has whooping cough.
If whooping cough is diagnosed within 3 weeks of the infection, you'll be given antibiotics to help stop it spreading to others. Antibiotics may not reduce symptoms.
If you've had whooping cough for more than 3 weeks, you're no longer contagious and do not need antibiotics.
Important: Keep taking the antibiotics until you've
completed the course, even if you feel better. Stopping treatment too soon
could lead to the infection coming back.
How
long whooping cough is contagious
If
you have whooping cough, you're contagious from about 6 days after the start of
cold-like symptoms to 3 weeks after the coughing starts.
If
you start antibiotics within 3 weeks of starting to cough, it will reduce the
time you're contagious for.
Important: Stay out of school for 5 days after starting antibiotics, or 3 weeks after symptoms started if you've not had antibiotics.
How
to ease the symptoms of whooping cough:
There are some things you can do to help ease the symptoms of whooping cough.
Do
•
get plenty of rest
• drink lots of fluids
Don’t
•
for a child under 16 always check first with a GP before giving
paracetamol and/or ibuprofen. Do not give them at the same time.
•
do not give aspirin to children under 16
• do not take cough medicines – they're not suitable for young children and do not help with this type of cough
Please report any cases of whooping cough/pertussis to the School Nurse (847) 385-2014 or email me at nurse@christianliberty.com
Final note: For those that prefer a holistic approach to treatment you may like this article:
https://deeprootsathome.com/vitamin-c-for-whooping-cough-by-suzanne-humphries-md/
and methods to reduce fever without using OTC medication:
https://deeprootsathome.com/fever-attack-dog/
.
