Whooping cough is an acute infectious disease characterized by severe attacks of spasmodic cough. It is bacterial in nature and is caused by pertussis.
It is distributed by airborne droplets, and can be transmitted from a sick or bacterial carrier to children who do not have specific immunity.
The highest susceptibility to the disease is observed in children of early and preschool age, and for children who have not reached the year, whooping cough is deadly.
Today, there is an effective method to protect babies from this disease - DTP vaccination, the name of which suggests the administration of an adsorbed pertussis-diphtheria-tetanus toxoid to a child. It is directed against diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough. Vaccination is carried out in the first year of a child's life - at 3 months; 4.5 months and 6 months, that is, three times. Then they do it a year later and after the child reaches 6-7 years old (before he starts attending school).
Today there is a lot of talk about complications from vaccinations, however, medical statistics have data on only 5% of children who have a reaction to DPT vaccination in the form of temperature, decreased appetite, and a small rhinitis. Considering that another way to create a stable immunity for a child from the three most serious diseases today has not yet been invented, it seems that these reactions are not comparable with the protection that a child receives with vaccination.
Whooping cough in children - symptoms
In the initial period, the disease does not have any specific signs and in its course resembles a normal respiratory disease. It is manifested by a slight increase in temperature (usually not higher than 37.5 ° C), slight indisposition, mucous discharge from the nose, and a rare dry cough, which gradually increases.
By the end of the second week of the disease, its main symptoms appear - spasmodic attacks, which consist of a series of cough tremors, followed by a deep whistling breath. They alternate with cough, and depending on the severity of whooping cough, 2–15 such cycles per attack can occur.
The attack is very difficult, and is accompanied by the blue face of the child, hemorrhages on the sclera and conjunctiva of the eyes, swelling of the neck veins. In babies, breathing can stop, cramps can also develop. About the end of the attack can be judged by the release of a small amount of viscous vitreous sputum or vomiting.
A day can occur from 5 to 50 attacks, depending on the severity of the disease. They can last from 3 to 4 weeks, then they are replaced by a simple not convulsive cough, which lasts another 2-3 weeks.
Whooping cough in children - methods of treatment
Children under 1 year old, and children with complications should receive treatment in a hospital. Others can receive treatment at home. With such a diagnosis, it is necessary to provide the child with an environment that excludes the influence of possible irritant agents that can provoke an attack of spastic cough. It is also necessary to air more often the room where the sick baby is.
The use of antibiotics is advisable at the initial stage of the disease, before the appearance of spasmodic cough, to suppress the development of the causative agent of whooping cough. If the stage of spasmodic cough has come, the use of antibiotics will not be effective.
Drugs for treatment should be prescribed only by a doctor. As a rule, most often the treatment is carried out with the help of erythromycin and azithromycin, as well as antiallergic drugs and calcium preparations, as the pertussis toxin is the cause of serious allergization of the child’s body. The decision on the use of antihistamines is also taken by the doctor.
In the treatment of whooping cough, you need to provide your child with a dietary and balanced diet, which should be based on cereals, boiled meat, potatoes, fresh fruits and vegetables.
