Whooping Cough

Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is a respiratory infection. The infection is named for the bacteria Bordeella pertussis that causes the infection and for the "whooping" sound an infected individual makes when trying to breathe or cough. Whooping cough is highly contagious disease that is spread through the airborne bacteria of an infected person.KidsHealth: Whooping Cough (Pertussis)

While whooping cough can inflict people of all ages, infants and children are most often the victims.MedlinePlus: Whooping Cough According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the CDC, whooping cough use to be one of the most frequent childhood infections, but it has been reduced dramatically through a pertussis vaccine given as part of many routine infant vaccination. The vaccination may be a stand-alone injection, or may be included with other inoculations for diphtheria and tetanus.http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/whoopingcough.html The Nemours KidsHealth resource states the number of whooping cough cases has started to increase since 2004 in infants who are not old enough to have the full immunization cycle and in older children whose immunity has started to fade.http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/bacterial_viral/whooping_cough.html

The most pervasive symptom of pertussis is a hacking, strong cough. The dry cough can make it difficult for infected patients to breath. In some cases, patients cough hard enough they start vomiting.http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/whoopingcough.html In addition to coughing, whooping cough symptoms can include sneezing, a runny nose and a low fever. Typically, symptoms worsen after about a week or two. Some patients only present the "whoop" sound after a cough and do not have any other symptoms.http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/whooping-cough/DS00445/DSECTION=symptoms

Treatment for whooping cough generally varies by age. Infants are usually placed in the hospital for constant monitoring. Young children may require intravenous fluids if they are unable to eat or drink due to their coughing spells. Most patients are given antibiotics as the primary method of treatment.http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/whooping-cough/DS00445/DSECTION=treatments-and-drugs

The content in this page is not a substitute for professional medical advice. If you think you have whooping cough, please consult your doctor.