Whooping cough is not just a problem for young children. People of all ages and genders can get sick. It causes chronic coughing that lasts for months. Which can be quite a nuisance to daily life.
Whooping cough is a contagious respiratory disease that is not only found in small children. But adults can also get sick if they do not take good care of their health. Which can result in a weak immune system. Today, we invite you to study information about whooping cough, what causes it, what are the clearly observable symptoms, and how to treat and prevent the disease.
What is whooping cough?
What causes it?
Whooping cough (Pertussis) is an infectious respiratory tract infection caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis (B. pertussis). The bacterium infects the mucous membranes in the upper respiratory tract, causing inflammation and irritation, which results in severe coughing.
How is croup transmitted?
Whooping cough is easily transmitted through coughing, sneezing, and contact with secretions of an infected person. The incubation period is approximately 6-20 days, or an average of 7-10 days. However, if you have been exposed to the disease for more than 3 weeks and have no symptoms, it means that you are not infected.
Who is at risk for whooping cough?
This disease is often found in infants to older children. Especially young children, if sick, will have a high risk of severe complications because they are a ทางเข้า ufabet group of people with low immunity and have not been vaccinated against pertussis.In adults, some people may not have symptoms even after being infected, or may not have symptoms like whooping cough. However, patients with whooping cough may have symptoms in people with low immunity, people with underlying diseases, and the elderly.
Whooping cough, what are the symptoms?
Whooping cough symptoms can be divided into 3 stages:
Initial stage
Symptoms are similar to a common cold, such as a stuffy nose, runny nose, dry cough, low-grade fever, red eyes, and watery eyes. These symptoms last for about 1-2 weeks, which can be confused with a common cold. Doctors often do not diagnose it as pertussis.
Phase 2
A severe cough occurs in a series of 5-10 or more rapid bouts that make it difficult to catch your breath, followed by a deep breath that makes a whooping sound (the origin of the name whooping cough). This symptom will last for about 2-4 weeks or longer, but there is no sputum. The patient will cough until the face is red, the eyes water, or the veins in the neck may bulge. Some people may also have fatigue, loss of appetite, and body aches.In young children, this stage is quite dangerous because they may vomit after a series of coughs or may suffer from lack of oxygen. Some people may have complications during this stage, such as bleeding in the brain, seizures, pneumonia, etc.
Stage 3 or recovery phase
Frequent coughing gradually improves in both frequency and intensity, but the coughing continues for another 6-10 weeks.
How dangerous is whooping cough?
Small child
Children under 1 year old or children who have never been vaccinated against whooping cough often have more severe symptoms. They also need to be careful of complications such as difficulty breathing, bleeding in the conjunctiva, seizures from lack of blood supply to the brain, bleeding in the brain, phlegm blocking the bronchial tubes, and pneumonia, which are often the cause of death in young children from whooping cough. Therefore, if your child has an unusual cough, you should take him/her to see a doctor for diagnosis.
adult
Although whooping cough in adults is not as severe as in young children, it can cause many problems, such as coughing that affects work, disrupts sleep, causes physical fatigue, exhaustion, loss of appetite, and an inability to live a normal life. In addition, some adults who are infected but do not show symptoms may be carriers of the disease to others, especially young children in the family.
How to treat whooping cough?
Whooping cough is caused by a bacterial infection, so antibiotics are used to treat it, to kill germs in the patient’s throat and reduce the spread of the disease, along with symptomatic treatment, such as cough medicine, antihistamines, drinking warm water, eating healthy food, getting enough sleep, staying in a well-ventilated area, free of dust and cigarette smoke, etc.
How to prevent whooping cough
- Getting vaccinated against whooping cough is the most effective way to prevent the disease. Although the vaccine is not 100% effective, it can reduce the severity of the disease.
- Wash your hands frequently, especially after coughing, sneezing, or touching dirty things.
- Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing with a tissue or use the crook of your elbow to cover your mouth and nose instead of using your hands to cover your mouth.
- Avoid close contact with people who have whooping cough.
- Get enough rest and sleep.
- Choose to eat healthy foods.
- Exercise regularly to build good immunity.
When to get the pertussis vaccine?
Whooping cough vaccination is one of the most important measures to prevent the spread of this disease. The vaccine helps the body build immunity to the germs that cause whooping cough, allowing the body to fight the germs. Even if you have whooping cough, the symptoms will not be as severe as in people who have not been vaccinated. Therefore, children or adults who have never been vaccinated against whooping cough or have been vaccinated for a long time should receive the following vaccines:
Children under 6 years of age should receive four to five doses of the whole cell diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTWP) vaccine:
- 1st time: at 2 months old
- 2nd time: at 4 months old
- 3rd time: at 6 months old
- 4th time: at 18 months old
- 5th time: It is a booster shot given at age 4.
However, if you are over 7 years old, you cannot get the whole cell diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus vaccine because of the high risk of side effects. Therefore, you must get the diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus acellular vaccine (Tdap or TdaP) instead. In adults who have received the pertussis vaccine, you should get a booster shot every 10 years.For pregnant women, one dose of the vaccine should be given between 27-36 weeks of pregnancy because this is the period when the most immunity will be transmitted to the baby, to prevent the baby from getting infected or to reduce the severity of the disease.
However, while vaccination is the best way to prevent whooping cough, it is also important to follow other preventive measures to reduce the risk of getting infected and spreading it to others.