Whooping cough how do you know you have it

The first symptoms of whooping cough are similar to those of a cold , such as a runny nose, red and watery eyes, a sore throat, and a slightly raised temperature. The bouts will eventually start to become less severe and less frequent over time, but it may be a few months before they stop completely.

A person with whooping cough is infectious from about six days after they were infected — when they just have cold-like symptoms — until three weeks after the coughing bouts start. While you're recovering at home, it can help to get plenty of rest, drink lots of fluids, clean away mucus and sick from your or your child's mouth, and take painkillers such as paracetamol or ibuprofen for a fever. Avoid using cough medicines, as they're not suitable for young children and are unlikely to be of much help.

If you or your child are taking antibiotics for whooping cough, you need to be careful not to spread the infection to others. Other members of your household may also be given antibiotics and a dose of the whooping cough vaccine to stop them becoming infected. These vaccines don't offer lifelong protection from whooping cough, but they can help stop children getting it when they're young and more vulnerable to the effects of the infection.

Older children and adults aren't routinely vaccinated, except during pregnancy or a whooping cough outbreak. Older children and adults tend to be less severely affected, although they may experience problems caused by repeated coughing, such as nosebleeds , bruised ribs or a hernia. Home Illnesses and conditions Infections and poisoning Whooping cough. Symptoms are often less severe in adults who have gained some protection against whooping cough from a previous immunization or infection.

This symptom may be absent in adults with whooping cough. It usually takes about seven to 10 days after being exposed to the infection to start showing symptoms. Full recovery from whooping cough may take two to three months. Doctors divide whooping cough into three stages :. Stage 1: The earliest stage of whooping cough may last one to two weeks. During this time, symptoms are similar to the common cold.

Stage 2: Severe, violent coughing spells develop during this stage. Between coughing spells, people often gasp for breath, salivate, and get teary-eyed. Vomiting and exhaustion may follow severe coughing fits. This stage usually lasts one to six weeks, but may last as long as 10 weeks. On This Page. Pertussis in Babies. Related Page. Pertussis Frequently Asked Questions.

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At the end of a spell, the child may make the characteristic whooping sound when breathing in or may vomit. Between spells, the child usually feels well. While many infants and younger kids with whooping cough develop the coughing fits and accompanying whoop, not all do. And sometimes babies don't cough or whoop as older kids do. Infants may look as if they're gasping for air with a reddened face and may actually stop breathing this is called apnea for a few seconds during very bad spells.

Adults and teens may have milder or different symptoms, such as a prolonged cough rather than coughing spells or coughing without the whoop. Pertussis is highly contagious. The bacteria spread from person to person through tiny drops of fluid from an infected person's nose or mouth. These may become airborne when the person sneezes, coughs, or laughs.

Others then can become infected by inhaling the drops or getting the drops on their hands and then touching their mouths or noses.

Infected people are most contagious during the earliest stages of the illness for up to about 2 weeks after the cough begins. Antibiotics shorten the period of contagiousness to 5 days following the start of antibiotic treatment. Whooping cough can be prevented with the pertussis vaccine , which is part of the DTaP diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis immunization.

DTaP immunizations are routinely given in five doses before a child's sixth birthday. For additional protection in case immunity fades, experts recommend that kids ages get a booster shot of the new combination vaccine called Tdap , ideally when they're 11 or 12 years old. The Tdap vaccine is similar to DTaP but with lower concentrations of diphtheria and tetanus toxoid.