The early symptoms of whooping cough

The early symptoms of whooping cough could be vary in person to person, but generally those symptoms are similar to common influenza signs such as mild cough, sore throat, runny nose, sneeze, and low grade fever. Those symptoms may last for one-two weeks before the real symptoms which are severe and violent cough that accompanied with breath difficulties come.

Those who experience flu-like signs for more than one week should seek medical attention to get a proper diagnose, especially for those who have history of getting whooping cough or also known as pertussis in the past. Doctor will examine the patient condition including several tests to identify the presence of Bordetella pertussis bacterium. This bacterium is the main culprit of this type of cough.

After 6-20 incubation period of this bacterium, more severe symptoms including violent and rapid cough may start to attack. The cough can happen in 20 to 30 second make the patients having difficulty to breath. Once they pass their cough session, rapidly the body will force to inhale with a loud ‘whooping’ noise. In several cases, vomiting after coughing could possible.

The early symptoms of whooping cough in babies could be similar as in adult. Coughing may cause sleep and feed difficulty. Giving your baby much fluid including breast milk will help to alleviate the cough. Remember, this condition is caused by bacterium infection, so the only way to treat whooping cough is by giving antibiotics. Don’t give your children a cough suppressant drug because it won’t help.

The early sign of the disease is a respond of the infection. Same just like other infections, low-grade fever is a common indicator of presence of infection. Once the bacteria infect the patient, it will trigger mucus production in the airways and trigger the cough. In severe cases, whooping cough may cause breath difficulties in babies, this condition can be noticed by the presence of bluish color of your baby’s lip and face.

To prevent the presence of symptoms of whooping cough, babies and children are strongly suggested to receive pertussis vaccine. The vaccine is commonly available as a combo package together with other vaccine called DTaP. This vaccine will protect children against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis. This vaccine is given in three periods. The first shot is given at two, four, and six months of age, the second shot is given at 15 to 18 months of ages, and the last shot is given to children when at four to six years of age.