Can whooping cough be life-threatening?

Whooping cough can catch one off guard. Why it isn’t diagnosed at an early stage has a lot to do with its early flu-like symptoms that don’t raise an alarm. It is this stealthy nature of whooping cough that could spell trouble, especially for infants many of whom do not even cough at all. Instead, they experience apnea, which could make the little ones struggle to breathe. These life-threatening pauses in breathing can lead to cyanosis apparent in the bluing of skin. According to the CDC, for some babies, whooping cough may seem like a common cold for the entire illness, not just at the beginning.
While the early symptoms of whooping cough range from runny nose, mild cough, low fever, to sneezing, as the days turn into week, the disease takes a serious turn with paroxysms of coughing fits. Highly uncomfortable, they may last 1-6 weeks, and in some cases up to 10 weeks. It may even lead to vomiting, pneumonia, brain bleeding, and even rib fractures in some cases.

Why it’s called whooping cough

A child suffering from whooping cough make a high-pitched “whoop” when they inhale after a coughing fit, a telltale sign of the disease considering it leads to pauses in breath. This symptom is particularly noticed in older infants and toddlers as kids younger than 6 months do not display the ‘whoop’, but they may face shortness of breath.
A child may feel unusually tired after the fit, but would be fine in between the fits. In any case, whooping cough does give you sleepless nights which can add to the discomfort from the disease.
Pertussis is caused by Bordetella pertussis bacterium that can live in the human respiratory tract. It can spread through secretions, sneezes and coughs. Symptoms usually start a week after the exposure.

Dangers of whooping cough

Whooping cough mostly affects infants, children and adolescents. For adults, its implications aren’t that serious. But in case of an unvaccinated infant, it can spell serious trouble, and a nightmarish situation for parents.
“Most of the severe disease and complications from pertussis occur in very young children, who either haven’t been vaccinated or haven’t completed their vaccinations yet,” says Harry Keyserling, MD, professor of pediatric infectious disease at Atlanta’s Emory University.
It doesn’t help if an adult is vaccinated for pertussis as they can still pass on the disease to their infant who could face serious repercussions.
However, children who are vaccinated are protected from life-threatening effects of pertussis and they may experience a mild illness.

Can whooping cough be life-threatening?

For infants younger than 6 months, who do now have ‘whoop’ or who develop breathing difficulties may be at risk of life-threatening complications from whooping cough. They would need hospital treatment in such cases. Children are typically given suctioning to clear their airways.
Whooping cough can be prevented by DTaP vaccine, which can protect approximately 98% of children within a year of vaccination. Tdap vaccine on the other hand is administered to adolescents and adults.
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