Whooping Cough

Our Approach

For adults and children, whooping cough can usually be managed at home. But infants may need hospital care because the disease can be dangerous for them.

At Franciscan Health, our doctors may prescribe antibiotics, which kill the bacteria causing the cough. Doctors don't recommend using cough medicines because they don't relieve the coughing. Other care measures include:

• Avoiding smoke
• Eating smaller meals
• Fluids
• Rest

How is whooping cough diagnosed?

Whooping cough can be difficult to diagnose. Its symptoms are like other respiratory illnesses, including bronchitis, cold and flu.

Doctors can sometimes diagnose whooping cough with a physical exam and symptom check. But you may also need medical tests to confirm the diagnosis, including:

• A chest X-ray
• A nose or throat culture
• Blood tests

What is whooping cough?

Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is a very contagious bacterial infection of the respiratory tract. It can affect people of all ages but was once considered a childhood disease.

Pertussis is a common infection and has become more common in recent years. It can be life-threatening, but deaths are rare. Infants are most likely to get pertussis before receiving the full series of the pertussis vaccination.

How do you get whooping cough?

Infected people release tiny droplets of bacteria when they cough. You can get whooping cough by inhaling these droplets. The best way to prevent whooping cough is to get the pertussis vaccine. This vaccine is recommended for infants.

Whooping cough symptoms

Whooping cough can easily be mistaken for a cold. You may have whooping cough for a week or more before showing symptoms, which include:

• Coughing
• Fever
• Runny nose or congestion
• Watery eyes

Symptoms usually get worse after a week and can progress to:

• A "whoop" sound when you try to inhale after coughing
• Exhaustion from coughing
• Prolonged, repeated, often violent coughing episodes
• Red or blue face
• Vomiting