Whooping Cough-Causes,Symptoms

 What Is Whooping Cough ?

Whooping cough or pertussis to give it its medical name, is an infectious illness that an be caught by children of any age. It is most common between the first and fifth year but after the age of nine it is rare. It is usually among childhood infections because of the length of time it lasts; it can take anything up to three or four months for a child to recover completely. During its course, children suffer numerous bouts of coughing that can be so severe that they are left gasping for breath. This gasping, combined with the narrowing of the air passage in the throat, causes the whoop as air inhaled-hence the name of the disease. Although largely preventable by immunization, public anxiety about the safety of the vaccine has led to fewer children receiving it in recent years and this has resulted in epidemics of the disease. 

Causes

The illness is produced by infection with a bacterium called Bordetella pertussis. When a person with the disease coughs, large numbers of the bacterium are expelled in tiny airborne droplets. If these are breathed in by people who have neither been immunized nor had the disease before, they may become infected. This infectious stage occurs during the first two or three weeks of the illness and children in the same house or classroom are likely to catch it.

Symptoms

At first, during the seven to ten day incubation period, there is no way of knowing that a child has caught whooping cough because there are no symptoms. The disease itself begins in exactly the same way as a common cold but, after about a week, it becomes obvious that it is no ordinary cold. Although the temperature is only slightly raised, the cough steadily worsens and the child has difficulty in clearing the nose, throat and air tubes of thick, sticky mucus.After about 10 to 40 days, true coughing spasms being to occur. The child can cough up to 20 or 30 times rapid succession. Because the child is unable to take a breath between each cough, the face can become red, then blue, often with the eyes bulging and mouth drooling. For a few moments the child may seem to have stopped breathing but then will take an enormous gulp of air, sometimes making a whooping noise as the air rushes past the vocal cords into the lungs. At the end of the spasms vary severity and frequency from one child to another and may occur as little as four times daily or as much as 40. This coughing-spasms stage lasts from one to two weeks, and the slightest upset, movement, change of room temperature or drought may provoke a spasm. Smaller children, particularly, are easily frightened during these spasms, and babies rapidly become exhausted. Babies under a year are the most seriously affected - probably because during the bouts of coughing their vocal cords close completely, temporarily preventing air from getting into the lungs. As the illness declines, the coughing bouts become less severe and the whoop disappears. An unpleasant cough may continue for two or three months, however, during which time the child feels generally under the weather. A few lucky children, including those who develop the illness despite being immunized, may shake off the illness in a much shorter time. In a typical case diagnosis is simple. However, some children neither whoop nor have prolonged coughing spasms so the disease should be suspected when any child has a bad cough that continues for more than two weeks. There are other illness which have similar symptoms to cough, such as infections causing enlargement of glands adjacent to the bronchi (large air tubes leading into the lung), and mild case may be difficult to distinguish from bronchitis. Also, an infant who inhales something - such as food going down the wrong way a small toy, bead, or peanut may cough is spasms, but this will not have been preceded by a period of mild coughing, a cold and a temperature the typical whooping cough symptoms. Where there is doubt, a doctor can confirm the diagnosis by sending a sample of mucus, taken from the back of the nose, to a laboratory for testing. Alternatively, a blood test will give a good indication of the presence of whooping cough.Learn More

Whooping Cough-Complication And Immunization

Complication

The most severe, although rare, complication is a convulsion. This may occur when the baby or child goes blue at the end of a spasm. In general, these first are harmless but sometimes they are a sign of encephalitis (brain inflammation) which can be fatal or leave behind permanent brain damage. Hospital treatment is essential in this case. It is possible that pneumonia may occur when the whoop disappears. This can be detected if the child develops rapid, shallow breathing and a rise in temperature. In other patients, thick mucus may block one or more of the bronchi (air tubes) causing parts of the lung to lose their air and collapse. Most of these children recover with the use of antibiotics and physiotherapy but some may be left with permanent lung weakness. Other complications are related to the force of coughing: the eyes may become very bloodshot, a hernia (rupture) may appear as a swelling at the groin or or navel, or there may be rectal prolapse (the lining of the lower bowel is forced out through the back passage). Drugs have virtually no effect on the illness. An antibiotics is often advised during the first two weeks but this is to prevent the bacteria from spreading to other children rather than to cure the sick child. Numerous remedies have been tried, including cough mixture, antispasmodics and drops which are supposed to paralyze the nerves involved in coughing. There is no firm evidence that any are effective but your doctor may think one or two of them are worth trying. Children who are fearful and anxious may be calmed by small doses of a sedative. Many parents find the illness too alarming to cope with in small infants so hospital admission may have to arranged through the family doctor. In hospital, oxygen and an electrically-driven suction device that removes mucus during a spasm are the mainstays of treatment. Those few children who have convulsions or collapsed lung can be treated with physiotherapy. Quarantine of contacts is not always possible but babies should be kept away from brothers or sisters with the illness. Nearly all children recover completely without any complications, and lifelong immunity is achieved from a single attack. Patients are no longer infectious after three weeks and can then return to school as soon as they feel up to it.

Immunization

There is a vaccine for whooping cough which can be given in three doses, usually combined with diphtheria and tetanus, at six-weekly intervals from the age of three months. The vaccine is highly, but not totally, protective. However, those who develop whooping cough despite being immunized tend to have it very mildly, often without the distressing whoop. In recent years, controversy has arisen over the use of whooping cough vaccine. It has been linked with brain damage and even death in your children. At present, there is no way of proving conclusively that the vaccine is responsible for these effects since idetical conditions can occur without the child ever having been vaccinated. Studies and medical statistics have shown that the risk of brain damage and death from complications of whooping cough is much greater than the apparent risks of vaccination. Children who are known to have a pre-existing brain disease, who have had fits or who have a parent, brother or sister who has epilepsy, not due to head injury, should not be immunized. So far as other children are concerned, parents must make a decision based on their feelings and the advice they receive from the family doctor.