Has your child ever had WHOOPING COUGH?!?

[niklynn1]

Need some support from the moms out there; I'm sort of freaking out right now. My 11 year old son has had 4 recent cases of whooping cough in his class. He was been vaccinated (as were the other kids who have it) when he was a baby/toddler. He is scheduled for his physical this summer in July when he is due to get his DaTp booster for tetnus and whooping cough. According to the school nurse, the 6th grade kids are vulnerable because their immunity has worn off and many have not yet received their booster.

When the school sent home a letter about the 4 cases, I called the pediatrician to see about moving the booster shot up instead of waiting until July. However, before we could get in for the appt., DS11 developed a mild cough. Dr. wouldn't do the booster and instead did the nasal test for whooping cough since he has been exposed and now shows possible symptoms. We won't know until Wed or Thurs the results but I am really, really worried. They did put him on antibiotics, as well as me, just in case, but I've read that doesn't really help much with the illness, it just stops the spread to other people.

The waiting is killing me. I'm worried about him, worried about the rest of the family contracting it, and also worried that now that the swine flu doesn't seem to be jeopardizing our Disney vacation in June, this very well might. He would no longer be contagious to others by then, but if he is coughing until he vomits or can't breath, obviously we wont' be going on vacation.

Does anyone have experience with this or reassuring words? Any parents of kids who have had it so I know what to expect just in case? Right now I'm praying hard that it is just a spring cold.

 

[DisneyAsh32]

Hi! Well I had whooping cough around the time that I was eleven. It was actually around the time that we were going to Disney world. From what I remember I didn't feel bad at all I just coughed a lot and felt like there was something at the back of my throat and a little trouble breathing when I coughed. The emergency care center I went to before we left prescribed a cough syrup that didn't have much effect but when I got home i received antibiotics from my doctor and it was cleared up in no time. I may have had a milder case though, not really sure. But I will tell you that I still had a fantastic time in Disney World. Hope this helped.

 

[cindermomma]

I got whopping cough either from WDW or the plane, as I had was sick right about when we got home 4 years ago. I felt like I had a cold at first, with a cough. I finally went in and it was whopping cough. My DH and DS (5 at the time) never did get it. Wash you and your families hands constantly. Also, lysol door knobs, toilet handles, counters, ect. daily. I really didn't feel too bad after the first couple weeks. It was just an irritating cough that absolutely wouldn't go away. It took 9 months for my cough to completely leave. I didn't feel sick, just coughed. Get your DS the antibiotics and cough syrup (if they give that to him). I also swore by that chloraseptic throat spray. It seemed to numb my throat, which helped settle down my cough. I will reply again if I can think of anything else to pass along! Good thing you took him to the Dr. - I think the sooner they catch this, the better! Good luck with everything!

 

[minniesmama]

Pertussis (whooping cough) is typically not very serious for healthy older kids and adults. Lots of people actually walk around with it, only having a prolonged cough (no "whoop") and thinking it's a cold they can't kick. There are thousands of cases of pertussis every year in the US. The big risk is to infants, who can have fatal disease. If your son tests positive - try not to have him around babies! Depending on when he was exposed and how long he's been coughing, your son may be prescribed antibiotics and may be excluded from school for a while. But chances are, he'll be absolutely OK in a short time.

 

[PrincessParty]

My DD had it when she was in 2nd grade. She had also been vaccinated. I just wanted to send you a and tell you "this too shall pass." Hang in there! No one else in our family got it if that is any comfort.

 

[Hollytigs]

My daughter had a very mild case earlier this year at about age 16 months. The doctor gave her a single dose of steriods (I think??) and it went away within about 24 hours. This doesn't sound similar to anyone elses story, so maybe we have a different name or different treatment over here in the UK?

 

[niklynn1]

Thank you so much to those of you who offered a few kid words of support. We're still waiting for the test results (later this afternoon or tomorrow the nurse said), but I did keep DS home from school today, even though the doc said he could go because he's already on the antibiotics and won't be infecting others.
He had a rough night last night with coughing, which has definitely gotten worse since Monday. He (and consequently, I) were up A LOT last night. He seems to feel fine other than the cough which is nearly constant. I wish I hadn't read all the horror stories that I researched on google, because it makes me think the next several weeks will be MISERABLE for all of us if he does have Whooping Cough. I cant imagine trying to enjoy Disney if he's still coughing like this.

 

[bumbershoot]

I only read the first post.

Check out mothering.com's discussion boards, in the Health section. There is a WEALTH of excellent info from been there done that, this is NOT as big a deal as we are led to believe, mothers. The main help for WC is a powdered form, a very specific form, of vitamin C...I'm not going to attempt to dredge my brain for it, just go read there and find out. Most people over there don't have a tough time with WC at all, you just want to support the immune system, NOT try to control various symptoms. It'll be OK.

 

[niklynn1]

Well, the test came back and it's POSITIVE for Whooping Cough. Now the whole family is on "preventative" antibiotics. I've been on them for 5 days now already, just in case, but all his other contacts are now starting them as well.
Maybe it's just in my head, but today I woke up with a scratchy throat and a slight tightness in my chest. DS11 seems a bit better today actually. His coughs are further between, but I hope to God I'm not coming down with it now.
My question, we'll be going to Disney in just about a month. DD11 obviously is not longer contagious after today when his course of antibiotics is over, but the doctor says a lingering cough can hang on for WEEKS and can be triggered by different things. I'm wondering about the Florida heat and humidity. Does anyone know if this type of weather can irritate a cough?

 

[bookgirl]

warm and humid might actually help a cough, like a giant steam bath


just keep lozenges or hard candies with you to help soothe his throat and water and I'd think you'd be fine.

 

[PrincessAbby'sMom]

My daughter got whooping cough 2 years ago when she was in 1st grade.

1st be very glad your school even told you of the other cases. In my situation there were 3 suspected cases & school didn't want to alarm anyone & decided since they weren't positively tested - only suspected that they didn't inform the parents.
If you are not tested w/in the 1st week of illness (when it only seems to be a cold) you will never get a positive test.
We dealt w/3 weeks of over 100 degree fever - the doctor insisted it was a virus until I caught wind of these "suspected" cases (they weren't tested early enough) - these students aren't immunized for medical or religous reasons.
The principal & myself & husband(police officer) had a few words with each other that she took our childs health in her hands, etc.

Anyway - it was long drug out for us, but it was thought to be viral & antibiotic's wouldn't help virus's. Once on the antibiotic & she got over it - it wasn't bad. It is known that you can get a reacurring cough for up to 1 year after having it - which she did - but not bad cases anyway.

Hope you the best

 

[anabelle]

He had a rough night last night with coughing, which has definitely gotten worse since Monday. He (and consequently, I) were up A LOT last night. He seems to feel fine other than the cough which is nearly constant. .

Poor baby. I would just let him rest. The body needs rest to help those antibiotics work. It is so hard for them to recover when they have to think at school.

 

[phillmolly]

My three week old son spent 3 nights in the hospital with whooping cough. It was awful, I am getting tears in my eyes thinking about him in that hospital crib. Thankfully he is fine now, he is seven months old and you would never know that he was so sick. What I think happened is that my MIL had it and passed it on to my son. I did have the Dtap booster in the hospital which they recommend to all new moms ( I also got a measles booster) but was Rx'ed with Pneumonia when he was 10 days old. Because of this I had Will at the Dr's every other day convinced that he was coming down with pneumonia. The Dr. kept telling me he was fine, his lungs sounded clear and that his cough was okay. When he was 21 days old my mom and I noticed that his lip were turning bluish every time he coughed but since he had just been at the Dr I decided to wait a day before I did anything, plus I didn't want to be that mom calling everyday. The next day, halloween, I went back and forth all day about calling the Dr, he seemed fine, except for the cough. Finally I called and the Dr. said to go ahead and take him to the ER. So I called my DH at work and told him to meet us there. I was so thankfull that the ER is only a 1/4 mile from us because as soon as I got him there he had a coughing fit and his whole face started turing blue! I was soooo glad we were there and not at home because even the nurses were worried about him. They did a chest xray there and started an IV (I won't even go into about how awful that was!) and decided to send us to Childrens Hospital by ambulance. When we got there they did the swabs and started treating him for whooping cough. The first night was horrible, his oxygen kept dropping and at one point they were talking about putting a breathing tube in! After a few hours he was able to keep his oxygen levels up during the coughing spells and he was able to get some sleep. We were put in an isolation room and everyone who came in the room had to wear mask. He was such a little trooper through the whole thing, he never messed with the oxygen tube in his nose and the IV didn't seem to bother him to much. My DH and I both spent the entire time with and we slept on shifts, we wouldn't leave him for anything! We were both given antibotics. I was sick with a cought for about two months, it was more annoying than anything for me, I didn't feel bad I just had this crazy cough that bugged me more at night than during the day.

I know that some people are anti -vac but having that experience I am now very pro-vac. If my MIL had had a booster she would never have gotten sick, and I wouldn't have gotten sick and my little baby never would have had to spend three nights in the hospital. My DH had a Tdap booster about two years ago, he never got sick. The whooping cough vac isn't given untill one month so it would not have kept Will from getting sick, but if the people around him were vaccanited he wouldn't have been exposed.

The Dr.'s and nurses said they are seeing so many more cases of whooping cough because the Vac. wears off and people aren't getting boosters. When older children and healthy adults get whooping cough it is more of an annoyance than anything but when a newborn who is not yet protected gets sick it can be very dangerous! That is why it is important for all of us to be vaccinated.

I hope your son starts feeling better soon! I think you should be fine for your disney trip, but you might just want to plan on taking it easy with lots of breaks. The couging can get worse if you are overtaxing yourself but if you just take it easy it should be okay.