It’s critical that all parents recognize what pertussis is important to understand. It’s not as easily described or recognized as you would like, especially given the fact that pertussis can cause life threatening infections in infants. Unfortunately, at the onset of pertussis, it can seem very much like the common cold with a pesky cough and an upper respiratory infection. But typically what we see, especially in elementary aged kids, is a progression of whooping cough that may start with an escalating cough over the course of a couple weeks but the cough doesn’t go away. Instead it gets worse. Then you have about two weeks worth of very significant coughing in bursts and episodes where children actually end up gasping at the end of the coughing spell. That gasping is what’s known as the whoop giving pertussis its other name, whooping cough. That whoop is children trying to pull air back into their lungs at an end of an episode of coughing.
Unfortunately, we aren’t always able to notice the whoop in infants under six months of age. In fact, children under six months, those most likely to be infected because they have not qualified to get all of their pertussis vaccines yet, are the ones who are least able to pull air back into their lungs effectively. Instead, these young children may end up gasping, gagging or even stop breathing from the infection. It’s very important that you be on the lookout for signs of a persistent cough, a cough that won’t go away and that’s very significant or severe. This cough can even be followed by vomiting. Make sure that you talk to your doctor as soon as you have any concerns about it or if you or anyone in your family has been exposed to somebody who has pertussis or whooping cough. Antibiotics may play a role early in the infection but only in the first week or so. Other than antibiotics, the only thing that we have available to us in modern medicine is supportive care. For infants, many end up needing to be hospitalized to get help with breathing, or even cardiac support.
Make sure you’re on the lookout for the signs, especially while we’re in the midst of what’s being considered the worst pertussis outbreak in 60 years. Make sure you get your child immunized on time at two, four, six months and during toddlerhood, kindergarten and 7th grade shots. If you haven’t been immunized, make sure that you get a pertussis booster so that you can protect your loved ones from getting the infection.
