Cough, Cough - #3

For a moment there our household was on the verge of being treated for Whooping cough. For those of you who do not know what that is, basically it is a highly contagious disease that can be fatal if not treated. Now there is a vaccine for Whooping cough and I personally have had it. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get it, you just won’t necessarily die from it. Our two year old, Lenka, had been coughing for about six days, so we decided to take her to the doctor over Thanksgiving break. We noticed a sign on the front door of the doctor’s office about an outbreak in Whooping cough in the area. After our doctor looked at Lenka, he said it was either a cold or the dreaded Whooping cough. So we were off to the hospital for her to get tested. When we took her to the hospital she had to wear a surgical mask as to not infect any one. It was a little sad for Angela and I to see her looking like a diseased child, but I tried to look at it as this is what she’ll look like when she is older and is a doctor and making tons of money and supporting her mom and dad. She took the painful swabs up the nose and after a few days we found out that she did not have Whooping cough. If the tests did come back positive our whole family would have to start treatment for the cough and Lenka would be out of daycare for two weeks; quite a hassle for two working parents and a six month old.

Since this disease is so contagious and overall very dangerous, here are some symptoms to watch out for. Be sure to check with your doctor as soon as you think your child, or you, might be suffering from Whooping cough.

• A runny nose


• Nasal congestion


• Sneezing


• Red, watery eyes


• A mild fever


• Dry cough


• General feeling of being unwell and loss of appetite

After a week or two of the above symptoms things seem to just get worse if left untreated.

• Severe coughing attacks that bring up thick phlegm


• Coughing attacks — up to 15 coughs in a row — that end with a high-pitched "whoop" sound during the next breath of air


• In children, severe coughing that leads to vomiting or causes a red or blue face from the effort


• Fatigue from the exertion of coughing

*In adults, signs and symptoms of whooping cough may resemble those of bronchitis, a respiratory infection that causes a nagging cough. Babies and infants with whooping cough may not whoop at all, or at least not as loudly as older children do. Some children with whooping cough may experience choking spells and turn blue in the face as they struggle to breathe after extended coughing. Severe coughing can result in tiny red spots caused by ruptures in blood vessels at the skin's surface in the upper body, as well as small areas of bleeding in the whites of the eyes. You may even bruise or break a rib if your coughing episodes are severe. Coughing may be worse at night.
*From MayoClinic.com