WHOOPING COUGH

What is it?

Whooping cough is an infection of the lung caused by a certain type of germ.

Who gets it?

Children are much more likely to get this infection than adults. If adults catch it their symptoms are likely to be mild but the younger a child is when they catch whooping cough the more likely they are to be very unwell with it.

What are the symptoms?

The symptoms of whooping cough are often very drawn out. Children may start by being off their food, a bit feverish and 'coldy' with a mild dry cough. This stage can last for a week or two but the cough will gradually become worse. Children may have spasms of coughing which they cannot stop and which cause problems breathing in. When they try to breathe in it sounds like a 'whoop'. The coughing may be bad enough to make children vomit or go blue and afterwards they will be worn out. Between spasms of coughing children will have no trouble breathing. However these coughing attacks may persist for six weeks or more. The complications of whooping cough include pneumonia, fits and brain damage.

When should I go to the GP?

Children have coughs and colds all the time and most of them settle down within a few days on their own. Most of them are caused by viruses and there is no medicine that will cure them - antibiotics only work for bacterial infections not viral ones. If a child is generally unwell with a cough that persists for several days though, you may want to make an appointment with your GP. If a child's cough suddenly gets worse and he or she appears to be having trouble breathing, you should speak to your doctor more urgently.

Can I stop it happening?

All babies are offered vaccination against whooping cough as part of their first batch of vaccinations. It is generally a very safe injection and the risk of brain damage, if it exists at all, is tiny. The risks of brain damage from whooping cough are much higher if babies are not vaccinated against it. Children who are vaccinated against whooping cough are much less likely to catch it and it will be a much milder form than usual if they do get it. Doctors used to recommend that some groups of children should avoid having the whooping cough vaccination but it now seems that it is safe for almost everyone, including children with a history of epilepsy in the family. If a child has a particularly bad reaction to their first whooping cough vaccination - severe swelling around the injection site or very high fever or fits - your doctor may advise you not to let the child receive further doses.

What is the treatment?

Time is the only real cure for whooping cough. Your doctor will advise paracetamol to ease a child's pain and fever and perhaps steam to help with spasms of coughing. There is one antibiotic that sometimes makes the symptoms a bit milder and so is sometimes used, but it does not cure the illness.

Will my child have to go to hospital?

This depends on whether he or she has a complication from the illness or how bad the symptoms are. The younger children are, the more likely they will need to go to hospital. Although the hospital will not be able to provide a cure, the doctors may be able to settle the symptoms by sucking out the airways and giving oxygen.