Whooping cough is a highly infectious disease suffered mainly by children and is caused by a bacterial bug, called Bordetella pertussis. This bug enters the air passages and damages the lining of the windpipe and the main air passages in the lungs. The inflamed airways produce mucus, which triggers the irritating cough. The bacteria spread from person to person by the infected mucus during coughing.
Symptoms
Contact your health provider if your child has continued coughing spells, especially if these spells:
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- Make your child turn red or purple
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- Are followed by vomiting
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- Are accompanied by a whooping sound when breathing in after coughing.
Symptoms develop 7 to 10 days after being exposed to the bacteria. Whooping cough usually runs in a six week cycle in three stages, each lasting about two weeks, but it can last for up to three months. The first stage produces an irritating hacking cough, loss of appetite, sneezing and possibly a slight fever. It is highly contagious at this stage. The second stage is characterised by sudden attacks of an irritating cough which often ends in a whooping sound as the child takes a breath. Vomiting can also occur. The third stage is when the coughing and vomiting starts to subside.
Complications can include ear infections and pneumonia. In severe cases of whooping cough, insufficient oxygen reach the brain and can result in permanent brain damage, paralysis, deafness or blindness.
Adults and adolescents who suffer from whooping cough may have milder symptoms, such as a persistent cough without the coughing spells or the whooping sound.
Treatment
Seek medical care if you think your child has whooping cough symptoms. The diagnosis is made based on the person’s history, a doctor’s examination and special swabs taken from the back of the nostrils.
An antibiotic, called erythromycin, may reduce the symptoms if given early enough in the illness. It can reduce the infectious period to less than a week. Some cases can be treated at home while others will need to be treated at a hospital.
If your child is being treated at home, treatment such as small healthy meals, lots of fluids and steam inhalations may be useful.
Prevention
Immunisation is the best way to prevent whooping cough. Whooping cough is most severe in babies, which is why the immunisation schedule starts as young as six weeks of age. The immunisation is not normally given to children over seven years of age because whooping cough is a milder sickness in older children. The vaccine can wear off later in life, which is why some adults can get whooping cough despite immunisation as a child.