What is Whooping cough and the best medicine to get rid of it?

Whooping cough in a recognizable form evolves over a period of 2 weeks. It usually starts as a sore throat with a mild feeling of tiredness and being unwell, that within 2 or 3 days turns into a (usually) dry, intermittent "ordinary" cough. This persists, but may wax and wane over the next 7 to 10 days by which time the cough may become a little productive of small amounts of sticky clear phlegm, and occasional intense bouts of choking coughing start to occur.

Fever is usually limited to the first week and is only mild. There may be a runny nose like a cold in the early stages. After the first 2 weeks, the characteristics described below are redominant.

Major Symptoms (usually from 2 weeks onwards). Attacks of a choking cough that lasts from 1 to 2 minutes, often with vomiting, severe facial congestions and a feeling or appearance of suffocation. Between these attacks of coughing the sufferer appears and usually feels perfectly well.These choking attacks of coughing happen as little as twice a day or as many as fifty. Between attacks ('paroxysms' is the technical name) the sufferer may not cough at all.'Whooping' is a noise that comes from the voice box after a paroxysm when the sufferer is suddenly able to take a breath in again.

Only about 50% of whooping cough sufferers 'whoop' but this is where the name comes from. Sometimes the patient stops breathing after a severe bout of coughing, long enough to go blue. Occasionally the patient faints as well. Recovery is usually rapid however, and back to normal within a couple of minutes

Whooping cough lasts at least 3 weeks and can frequently go on for 3 months or even longer. I am told that in China it is called the 100 day cough.

Late symptoms. Whooping cough resolves by a slow reduction in the number of choking attacks. From the time the attacks start to reduce in number, to the time they finish, it may be roughly from 2 weeks to 2 months or more. The average case of whooping cough lasts about 7 weeks. But for people with whooping cough visiting this site, it is likely to last longer, because only more severe cases are likely to get hereImportant points

The crucial point for clinical diagnosis is attacks of severe choking cough separated by long intervals of NO COUGHING AT ALL. There is immense variation in severity and duration of the illness.MOST CASES GO UNDIAGNOSED BECAUSE THE PHYSICIAN NEVER HEARS THE PATIENT COUGH AND CANNOT BELIEVE IT IS AS SEVERE AS HE/SHE IS BEING TOLD. AND LISTENING WITH A STETHOSCOPE INDICATES NORMAL LUNGS IN WHOOPING COUGH!

For the average case of whooping cough there is no treatment likely to make a difference to the course of the illness or materially reduce the symptoms. It will generally take its course no matter what. Attempts to get benefit from bronchodilators, cough suppressants or antibiotics are generally futile

One exception is in those who get severe illness. This is most often infants, particularly those under 3 to 6 months, but it also applies to the frail or very elderly and those debilitated by other illness or malnutrition. In such cases treatment with steroids can reduce the severity and antibiotics might be used to prevent complicating infections. Supportive measures with hydration and oxygenation may be necessary. Such cases would obviously be in hospital. It should be noted that in the developed world one would not expect even 1% of cases to require hospitalization because most cases are mild

Pertussis, you usually get vaccinations (DPT) against it. It is a respiratory infection mostly occurring in infants and children. It is characterized by a "whooping" sound during coughing and breathing, lasting 4-6 weeks. Erythromycin is most often prescribed or another antibiotic. This is dangerous and if you have a child that you think has whooping cough you should get medical help asap.