What is whooping cough in toddlers?

It usually takes about seven to 10 days after being exposed to the infection to start showing symptoms. Full recovery from whooping cough may take two to three months. Doctors divide whooping cough into three stages: Stage 1: The earliest stage of whooping cough may last one to two weeks.

Early symptoms can last for 1 to 2 weeks and usually include:

Runny nose.

Low-grade fever (generally minimal throughout the course of the disease)

Mild, occasional cough.

Apnea – a pause in breathing (in babies)

They both refer to a pattern of sound heard either as the person, most often a child, coughs, which is the croup, or after a vicious coughing fit as the person is trying to breathe in, which is the whoop. Croup is described as a barking cough sound, a lot like a seal.

Whooping cough, or pertussis, is an infection in your lungs and breathing tubes. It is most dangerous for babies, but adults and teens are actually more likely to get the illness. When older children or adults get it, there’s a good chance they won’t know it. You can pass it on even without the telltale cough.

Azithromycin (Zithromax), clarithromycin (Biaxin), erythromycin (E-Mycin, Eryc, Ery-Tab, PCE, Pediazole, Ilosone), and sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim, Septra) are antibiotics that have been shown to be effective in treating whooping cough.

The whooping cough bacteria are spread from person to person in airborne droplets or by direct contact with infected throat or nasal discharges. Coughing and sneezing are the most common modes of transmission.

Still, there are two things you can do to reduce the symptoms and spread of whooping cough, should this bacteria sneak into your family circle:

Wash your hands. Hand hygiene is a universal recommendation.

Cover your nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing. Encourage children to do the same.

Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is a highly contagious respiratory disease. It is caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. Pertussis is known for uncontrollable, violent coughing which often makes it hard to breathe.

Vaccines. The best way to prevent pertussis (whooping cough) among babies, children, teens, and adults is to get vaccinated. This is a combination vaccine that helps protect against three diseases: diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis. The childhood whooping cough vaccine (DTaP) protects most children for at least 5 years

Q: How common is pertussis? A: Even with the success of pertussis (whooping cough) vaccines, the disease is still common in the United States. Since clinicians do not diagnose all cases, not every case is reported. In recent years between 10,000 and 40,000 cases are reported each year.

Whooping cough often starts with cold or flulike symptoms – sneezing, runny nose, and a mild cough, which may last up to two weeks before the more severe coughing spells begin. Your child may also have a fever.

Whooping cough is very serious, especially for babies and young kids. Whooping cough can cause pneumonia, seizures, brain damage, and death. Babies younger than one year of age who get whooping cough may be hospitalized or even die.

The course of whooping cough is divided into three stages. The first stage of whooping cough is the catarrhal (runny nose) stage. This phase typically lasts for one to two weeks. Symptoms during this phase resemble that of an upper respiratory illness: runny nose, nasal congestion, sneezing, and occasional cough.

If pertussis is circulating in the community, there is a chance that even a fully vaccinated person of any age can catch this very contagious disease. If you have been vaccinated, the infection is usually less severe.

Most of the deaths each year are in babies younger than 3 months of age. Since 2010, up to 20 babies die from it each year in the United States. Even though it seems like these are a lot of cases, the United States no longer has the 200,000 cases per year like it did before whooping cough vaccines were available.

Call the doctor if you suspect that your child has whooping cough. To make a diagnosis, the doctor will take a medical history, do a thorough physical exam, and may take nose and throat mucus samples to be checked in a lab. Blood tests and a chest X-ray also might be done. Whooping cough is treated with antibiotics.

Pertussis is a very contagious disease only found in humans. Pertussis spreads from person to person. Infected people are most contagious up to about 2 weeks after the cough begins. Antibiotics may shorten the amount of time someone is contagious.

Pertussis disease can be divided into three stages: Catarrhal stage: can last 1–2 weeks and includes a runny nose, sneezing, low-grade fever, and a mild cough (all similar symptoms to the common cold). Paroxysmal stage: usually lasts 1–6 weeks, but can persist for up to 10 weeks.

Healthcare providers generally treat pertussis with antibiotics and early treatment is very important. Treatment may make your infection less serious if you start it early, before coughing fits begin. Learn more about pertussis treatment recommended by CDC.

Once you become infected with whooping cough, it takes about seven to 10 days for signs and symptoms to appear, though it can sometimes take longer. They’re usually mild at first and resemble those of a common cold: Runny nose. Nasal congestion.

Originally posted 2022-03-31 02:13:06.