Whooping Cough!

[Bearvet]

I got a call from our neighbor (and good friend) last night that their son tested positive for whooping cough! Neighbor is an MD and explained that the effects of the vaccine wear off around age 10 and older children and adults will experience "milder" symptoms - persistant cough, but feel fine.

Since DS17 and DS13 have been exposed, he said we need to call their doctor and have them treated with antibiotics. You are contagious for 2 weeks before any coughing begins, so we're keeping our fingers crossed! Apparently there have been many confirmed cases at this boy's school!

Has anyone heard of current cases of whooping cough? I was so surprised!!

 

[1Prince2Princesses]

My son had it once a few years ago. I honestly thought his pediatrician was nuts. I kinda laughed about it after the fact and considered changing doctors. Now I feel bad.

 

[Crankyshank]

I got a call from our neighbor (and good friend) last night that their son tested positive for whooping cough! Neighbor is an MD and explained that the effects of the vaccine wear off around age 10 and older children and adults will experience "milder" symptoms - persistant cough, but feel fine.

Since DS17 and DS13 have been exposed, he said we need to call their doctor and have them treated with antibiotics. You are contagious for 2 weeks before any coughing begins, so we're keeping our fingers crossed! Apparently there have been many confirmed cases at this boy's school!

Has anyone heard of current cases of whooping cough? I was so surprised!!

Oh goodness yes - I'm surprised your area has been isolated from it. There's been periodic outbreaks for the past few years in Bristol County. There was a huge outbreak in North Attleboro just last year.

 

[mickeyboat]

We had an outbreak in our area last year. It was running rampant around the local hospital. It's not as uncommon as you think. There is a really good website

http://www.whoopingcough.net/

I am pretty sure I had it, but by the time I went to the doctor, it was too late to do anything about it. He didn't even test me.

Denae

 

[luvwinnie]

Yes, I've read whooping cough is "making a comeback".

 

[Hannathy]

Our middle schools have been hit pretty hard lately. I wouldn't rush with the antibiotics though if they aren't showing any symptoms. The over use of antibiotics is hurting everyone and making the bugs harder to kill. My DD spent the night with her friend 2 days before her DR. called with the positive results from the test. This girl had been fighting a cough for 2 weeks. My DD did not take antibiotics and Did not catch it even in that close contact. Her DR. said wait and if she starts to show signs will start, she didn't and therefore didn't take antibiotics for nothing and help boost the germs strength.

 

[Blondie]

This concerns me since my first son only had one dose of the DPT vaccine. He became shocky after the immunization and only received DT shots after that.

 

[Scutapipig]

My friend was diagnosed with whooping cough last week. She has been completely miserable.

 

[sumrmist]

goodness I feel for those kids dealing with this now. I had whooping cough when I was 10 and then went undiagnosed for over a month. Had coughing spells which lasted a long time, to the point of me passing out and someone having to clear my airway....then about the time they finally diagnosed me ...my sister gave me chicken pox...I missed 2.5 months of school.

 

[Christine]

I'm pretty sure I had this last spring. I came down with a "cough" that was horrific. I felt a little "off" the first few days of it, but nothing terrible. Of course, I didn't go to the doctor because I really wasn't that sick and they can't do anything for a cough anyway.

After about 3 weeks of hacking my lungs up, I did go to the doctor and he told me there was nothing he could do. He didn't test me or anything (most GPs for adults are tuned to look for Whooping Cough). I ended up coughing (bad) for months and the cough lingered for at least 6 months. In China, they call this the 100 days cough and it truly is.

Later, I went back and discussed with my doctor and he agreed it probably was whooping cough as, apparently, our county had an "explosion" of it last year.

 

[Bearvet]

Well, I guess this is more common than I realized. According to our Doctor-neighbor, our state requires treatment with antibiotics (Zithromax) if you have been informed that you have been in contact with a confirmed case of whooping cough. This is for 2 reasons - the first is in case you get it and the second is to try to stop it from spreading. Since you have been exposed, you are now a "carrier" and could unknowingly infect others. This is still a very dangerous disease in young children and they are trying to reduce the outbreak.

 

[golfgal]

It ran through our old town a couple years ago and about 3 years before that. Our clinic there seems to think it is a VIRAL infection so they wouldn't give anyone antibiotics. I knew different because before we moved there it hit where we were living before and we all had to take zithromax because our kids had been exposed.

 

[taximomfor4]

A girl my dd dances with, age 12, came home with it from camp last summer. She piggy backed it with strep throat, too. She had a lingering cough on exertion for a few months, but is now perfectly back to normal.

The cases these kids are getting, years after immunization, are generally much milder (not the life-threatening cases of old).

Beth

 

[Tiggeroo]

eight years ago my sons, myself and my dd had this. I can honestly say this is one of the most painful awful things to get. My sons will definitely say this is the worst thing they've ever had. You cough so badly you throw up. I cracked a rib. Your ribs hurt constantly. It took a couple visits before they diagnosed this, then we went on antibiotics. The ones who were on antibiotics early on got a less severe case. My boys got it right after they turned 10 and it had worn off. The son who hadn't been fully vacinated due to allergies got it less bad.
We were on antibiotics, cough w/codein and another cough syrup. Everybody lost weight as we felt too bad to eat.

 

[UnderTheMistletoe]

Yes. I had it severely about 3 years ago- I was early 20s.

It is awful. Just awful. You cough so hard that you can't breath becuase you can't bring anything up and you can't get any air down. It's incredibly scary.

Both my parents are physicians and freaked when I announced, "Mom, I am pretty sure it's Whooping Cough," after I called her in tears and scared becuase I couldn't breath. We were living in a new house, too, and I had just been in the ER for my gallbladdar. It wasn't a good time.

I was on nebulizers for months becuase of it. At the time, when I saw a physician to be treated (parents won't treat me), they gave me a Neb Treatment, a Kenalog shot (for inflammation), anti-biotics, and cough syrup. I spent the next several days in bed and my mom took off work from her (brand new) job in Florida. I was nursing that whole time prior to moving and didn't get sick... I swear to you I got it from the plane.

I visited with DHs parents at the Contemporary on Christmas morning- he was deployed to the Middle East- and actually had to excuse myself from the breakfast table to take a Neb in the bathroom.

Even now, I still have the remnant of the whooping when I cough, which was never there previously. I had someone ask me if I was a smoker. When I answered, "No. Never. I've had this since I got whooping cough several years ago," they usually look at me like I'm crazy.

It is no joke. Get them in and get them in ASAP. You and they do not want to deal with it.

 

[frndofpooh]

Outbreaks of pertussis are increasing every year - the vaccine just does not hold up over the long term. We stop vaccinating for it after age 7 because after that age, the risks of the vaccine outweigh the risks of the disease for the patient. Of course, they can still carry and expose others.

We have had three outbreaks here in two years. Many times, adults get it and don't get treated because they just think it is a cold (adults don't tend to whoop like kids do) and it spreads with lightning speed

 

[lovingthemouse]

I was sure i had seen a thread on this topic, so i have resurrected it. It appears that my DH has whooping cough. He is in the hospital now, and was told that the treatment takes about 7-10 days before he can come home.
As we think back, there is one incident that triggered a possible root cause. For Feb vacation, we were off on a vacation, and at the airport in Hartford there was a woman who was hacking away. Since it was a Southwest flight, many of us were standing around, and also since the flight took nearly 6 hours, it is possible that many of us breathed in the droplets she was coughing. Nothing conclusive, but it is possible.
Although the test results have not come back yet, the hospital staff believes it is whooping cough. The Health Dept has been notified of this possibility, and they will contact the necessary people etc...
I was with my DH, but so far have had no side effects. If the results are positive, I will take antibiotics.
Thanks for the heads up - I would never have thought this still was going around. Guess those shots we took so long ago, really can lose their potency.

 

[Blondie]

I think my son had it last April He was so, so sick and had all the typical symptoms. As an infant, he only had one dose of the DPT. Due to a severe reaction he had from then on out he only got the DT immunization. I think the likely hood that he had whooping cough (Pertussis) was very high. I was told he could only be tested in the emergency room at a follow up appt. with his Pediatrician after I had already taken him to the ER.

I don't know if it's like that all over, or just here.

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

My niece had this last spring. She coughed really badly for the first 45 days or so. Ended up in the hospital a few times since she couldn't breathe. Had the nebulizer, steroids, antibiotics, the whole works. And every time she would start hacking away, she would end up throwing up. Poor thing started walking around with the little spit tray they have at the hospital. She still coughed when exerting herself for about a total of 3 months.