As we study extinct diseases/infections like I have been bringing and writing about for a while now, today, I am sure you will be delighted to read about whooping cough also known as pertussis, please permit me to take you through the basics you need to know and understand when it has to do with whooping cough.
Whooping cough is a very contagious respiratory tract infection, it is a bacterial bacteria that can find its way into the nose and the throat. It can affect people of any age but is more deadly for infants and young children. Right before the development of the vaccine, the whopping cough was initially considered a childhood disease, but now, whopping cough primarily targets children who are too young to have completed the full course of their vaccination, and also teenagers and adults who have had their immunity faded. Death cases associated with whooping cough are not so common, but happen more with infants when it happens, the more reason why it is more than necessary for pregnant women to get vaccinated, alongside people who are closely knitted with kids.
Whooping cough is caused by the bacteria Bordetella pertussis, when an infected person begins to sneeze or cough, tiny germ-laden droplets get sprayed into the air and breathed into the lungs of any person who is nearby.
The symptoms of whooping cough do not begin to show instantly, it usually takes around 5-10 days after contact with the bacteria for it to take effect, some symptoms do not even begin to develop until after three weeks. There are three stages of these symptoms, we have the early symptom stage, the later symptoms stage, and finally, the recovery stage (if it gets to that point), let's explore them one after another to see what each stage entails.
Stage 1: The Early Symptoms Stage.
- Low-grade fever.
- Apnea (life-threatening pauses while breathing).
- Cyanosis (Kids turning purple or blue).
- A runny or stuffed-up nose.
At this early stage, you may confuse the symptoms for nothing beyond a common cold, this way, doctors will not suspect or diagnose it until a more severe symptom appears.
Stage 2: The Later Symptom stage.
This later symptoms stage happens 1 or 2 weeks after the symptom initially started, people with a case of whooping cough may start to develop paroxysms, rapid, violent, and uncontrollable coughing fits, this fit could last for as long as 1-6 weeks, but can progress into lasting for up to 10 weeks. These coughing fits gets worse as the illness progresses further. Coughing fits would get even worse and become a more common act as the illness progresses. Coughing fits will make those involved;
Vomit during or after the cough fits, feel exhausted after the fit, but appear to be well in between the process
You should see a doctor at this early stage if your infant is showing any of these symptoms;
- Begins to turn purple or blue.
- Begin to cough violently.
- Coughs rapidly, over and over.
- Failure to take in sufficient fluid.
- Finding it difficult to breathe.
Stage 3: The recovery stage.
Recovering from whooping cough could be a slow process, as recovery happens, the cough becomes milder and less common as you get better. Coughing fits could stop for a while but can come back again if there is another case of respiratory infection. After a passed phase, coughing fits could return again.
Cases linked with whopping cough happen more in adults, babies who have whooping cough do not cough at all, rather they would turn blue and find it very hard to breathe, it may look like a common cold for the entire illness stage and not just the beginning phase. Often a milder case in teens and adults than it is with babies and young children, adults, and teens who have gotten vaccinated against whopping cough are on the brighter side, the whoop in whooping cough certainly isn't for those with milder illness.
However, adults and teens can develop a very serious case of whooping cough, especially those ones who have failed to get vaccinated, they may have a section of lengthy coughing fits that deprive them of sleep at night, and people with such episodes often describe it as the worst cough situation of their lives, it will create severe disruption to daily activities.
Vaccination is important as those who have been vaccinated may not get it but they could still get it. However, even if it happens that they get the infection, the whopping cough will usually not last for a long time, cases of coughing fit, and vomiting after coughing is highly less common, and cyanosis and Apnea are less common as well. One other thing about vaccination that most people do not know is that the vaccination received as a child wears off eventually, and certainly it leaves teenagers and adults with an open option to the infection when there are outbreaks. But still, infants who are younger than 12 months and who have not been vaccinated appropriately, stand a greater chance of having serious complications leading to death.
While it is possible for teenagers and adults to recover from whooping cough without any difficulty, it is also possible for certain lingering sie effects to hang around; Abdominal hernias, Bruised or cracked ribs, and Broken blood vessels in the skin or the white part of the eyes. For infants, cases of complications include; Seizures, Pneumonia, slowed breathing, dehydration, and brain damage, and that is the reason why common death cases are more in children and infants.
The best way to prevent whooping cough is by taking the pertussis vaccine, doctors often give this vaccine in combination with others, this is to act against two other serious diseases; diphtheria and tetanus. The vaccine is typically given to children at 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 15-18 months old, and when they get to 4-6 years.
If you have been previously exposed to a person with a whopping cough, medical experts may provide antibiotics to protect you against every form of possible infection, there is a higher chance of being exposed to the virus if; You are pregnant, a child younger than 12 months, live with a person who has whooping cough, you are a health care provider, or maybe you live with someone who has complications from whooping cough.
Make sure to visit the hospital for proper tests and medication for a whopping cough as the counter medications will not work, in addition to the treatments gotten from the hospital, also get lots of rest, and eat small meals as often as you want to, take in large meals at a time may contribute to your vomiting, also try to stay in a place with clean air, free of smoke and other irritants.
Conclusion.
Whooping cough was a rather worse case before vaccination came along, but even with vaccination, it is still a dangerous case that has to be treated with special car. Please do not take over-the counter medications for the treatment of whooping cough, instead go to the hospital for proper diagnosis, test and treatments.