I have whooping cough. Anyone know how long it lasts or anything about it?

Pertussis (whooping cough) has two phases:

1. Catarrhal - manifestations similar to a common cold - runny nose, sneeze, and mild cough. In this stage the bacteria (Bordetella pertussis) is multiplying and is sensitive to antibiotics. Many different types of antibiotics work - erythromycin is the drug of choice. Unfortunately, this stage looks just like a viral cold, so almost no patients in this stage receive the proper treatment.

2. Paroxysmal - this is the "whooping" phase - worsening hacking cough with gasping and choking that occurs intermittently. Between episodes, they have no respiratory problems. In infants, it can cause them to stop breathing, which makes this infection deadly. In this phase, most of the bacteria is no longer present - ANTIBIOTICS ARE NOT EFFECTIVE IN THIS STAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The bacteria already made the toxin that causes the whooping, and the only treatment is supportive care.

That being said, physicians will still give erythromycin to patients in the whooping stage, but not to improve symptoms and shorten duration (since that will not occur). Antibiotic treatment has been proven to help prevent the spread of disease, so antibiotic use is purely a treatment for public health

It takes 14 days of antibiotics to get rid of it.

Whooping cough, like diphtheria a bacterial disease, occurs more frequently than diphtheria because immunity to it wears off, especially in the older child in whom the disease may appear as a severe bronchitis. Whooping cough can be very serious in young babies because it can cause them to choke and be unable to catch their breath. if your child does contract whooping cough, call your physician immediately. The doctor may give a specific drug against the organism that causes the disease as well as a specific antitoxin against the poison which the bacillus releases. It is advisable to immunize children against whooping cough as early as possible. The effective triple vaccine known as DPT provides immunization not only against whooping cough, but against diphtheria and tetanus as well.

Whooping cough is rare, however I hear it is coming back, if that makes sense. GO to the doc!