In this article
- What is whooping cough?
- How can I tell whooping cough from a normal cough?
- Is whooping cough harmful to babies and toddlers?
- How can I protect my baby against whooping cough?
- How is whooping cough treated?
- How did my child get whooping cough?
- How common is whooping cough?
- After having whooping cough, is my child immune to the disease?
What is whooping cough?Whooping cough is a bacterial infection that affects your baby's windpipe (trachea) and the two airways that connect his windpipe to his lungs (bronchi) (NHS Choices 2010). Whooping cough is also known as pertussis.
The name of the infection comes from the whooping sound that children make as they gasp for air between coughing fits (HPA 2012a, NHS Choices 2010).
How can I tell whooping cough from a normal cough?If your baby is younger than three months old, he may not be strong enough to make the whooping sound. Instead, he may gag or gasp (NHS Choices 2010, PRODIGY 2010).
Look out for the other symptoms of whooping cough. Early on, these seem like cold or flu symptoms, such as sneezing, a runny nose and a low-level fever (NHS Choices 2010, PRODIGY 2010).
Your baby may then develop a dry cough (PRODIGY 2010). These early phases tend to last up to two weeks before more severe coughing bouts begin (HPA 2012a, NHS Choices 2010, PRODIGY 2010).
Listen to whooping cough with whoop:
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Listen to whooping cough without whoop:
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If your child has whooping cough, he will cough, non-stop, for about 30 seconds and then struggle to breathe before the next coughing bout starts. Your child may cough up thick mucus or watery secretions with each bout (PRODIGY 2010).
Your child may have up to 30 coughing bouts in 24 hours, with more of these happening during the night (PRODIGY 2010). In between coughing bouts, your child may seem fairly well and be able to get some sleep (PRODIGY 2010). However, babies and young children may vomit after coughing (NHS Choices 2010, PRODIGY 2010).
It's distressing to see your baby or child coping with whooping cough. Your child may gag, gasp and stop breathing temporarily after coughing bouts. You may even notice his lips and nails turn a bluish colour as he struggles for breath (NHS Choices 2010). Rest assured that this usually looks worse than it is. Your child should quickly start to breathe normally (NHS Choices 2010).
The phase of coughing bouts is likely to last for about three weeks, even with treatment. That's because the cough continues for a while after the bacteria have been cleared (NHS Choices 2010).
Is whooping cough harmful to babies and toddlers?Whooping cough can be serious for babies and young children, as they are more likely to develop complications. Complications may include pneumonia, dehydration, breathing difficulties, low blood pressure or kidney failure (NHS Choices 2010). There's even a possibility that a baby or toddler could have convulsions, leading to brain damage (NHS Choices 2010).
If you think your baby or toddler may have whooping cough, take him to the doctor straight away. If your baby or toddler has trouble breathing, call 999 or take him to the nearest accident and emergency department. Also take him to A&E if he has persistent vomiting, seizures or is dehydrated.
How can I protect my baby against whooping cough?The best way to protect your baby is to make sure he is up to date with his immunisations.
The DTaP part of the childhood immunisation programme protects against whooping cough, as well as diphtheria and tetanus. The immunisations start at two months of age and are completed by the preschool booster vaccination offered from three years and four months (NHS Choices 2012a).
Apart from having your baby immunised, the best you can do is to be vigilant. The early stages of whooping cough are like many other less severe illnesses.
How is whooping cough treated?Whooping cough is treated with antibiotics. Your doctor may swab your child's nose or take a blood sample to test for the pertussis bacteria (NHS Choices 2010). However, if your doctor suspects that your child has whooping cough, she will treat him straight away and won't wait for test results.
What happens next depends on the age of your child. If your baby is less than six months old, your doctor is likely to admit him to hospital straight away. This is because young babies are more vulnerable to serious complications, such as pneumonia and brain damage.
In hospital, depending on how severe your baby's illness is, the medical team may give him:
- antibiotics via a drip
- steroids to reduce the swelling in his airways
- oxygen to help him breathe (NHS Choices 2010)
The earlier your child has antibiotics, the sooner he'll start to recover. If given later, antibiotics may not shorten the course of the illness, but will help to prevent it spreading further. Antibiotics remove the bacteria from your child's mucus, which he can spread through sneezes and coughs.
Beyond that, you can't do much more than wait for the cough to subside. This waiting may seem to go on forever, as it is likely to take more than three weeks for the cough to clear (NHS Choices 2010).
Upsetting though it is, bear in mind that coughing is what your child's body does naturally to clear the lungs of mucus. So there's no need to give your child cough suppressants. If you suppress your child's coughs, you may be slowing down the healing process. If your child's cough gets worse, though, even if he's having antibiotics, call your doctor immediately.
Help your child to recover by giving him plenty of fluids and helping him to rest. Paracetamol at the correct dosage for your child's age may also give him some relief from discomfort (PRODIGY 2010).
How did my child get whooping cough?Whooping cough spreads easily because the bacteria can be carried in droplets of moisture in the air. Your child could get it from direct contact with someone who's infected or by simply breathing air infected with the bacteria.
If you have had your baby immunised with the DTaP part of the childhood immunisation programme, his protection will increase with each vaccination. So he's less likely to get it after he's had his preschool booster (DH 2006).
Even then, your child has a small chance of coming down with whooping cough. The vaccine isn't 100 per cent effective and the level of protection falls as time goes on (Campbell et al 2012, HPA 2012a). However, people who get whooping cough after they've had all their vaccinations as a child are less likely to be very ill (HPA 2012a).
If your child missed out on any of the early scheduled vaccinations, you can have him vaccinated now by calling your surgery and making an appointment (DH 2006).
How common is whooping cough?Each year the number of reported cases tends to be in the low hundreds, unless it's a peak year (HPA 2012b). Whooping cough cases are cyclical and peak every three or four years.
The most recent peak started in late 2011 and continued through 2012. By the end of 2012, the total number of cases in England and Wales was about 9,741 (HPA 2013). This is compared with 422 cases for the whole of 2010.
Though it mostly affects people age 15 years and over, by the end of 2012, 429 babies under three months had whooping cough. During this time, 14 of these babies sadly died of complications. Babies this age are particularly vulnerable because they have either received only part of their immunisation, or no immunisation against the disease.
After having whooping cough, is my child immune to the disease?No, although any later infection is usually much milder than the first (HPA 2012a). So, because your child is still susceptible to the illness make sure he finishes the series of immunisations. The DTaP vaccine also protects your child against the serious diseases, diphtheria and tetanus.
Last reviewed: July 2012
ReferencesCampbell H, Amirthalingam G, Andrews N, et al. 2012. Accelerating control of pertussis in England and Wales. Emerging Infectious Diseases 18(1):38-47 wwwnc.cdc.gov [pdf file, accessed July 2012]
DH. 2006. Pertussis. Chapter 24 in Immunisation against infectious disease – "The Green Book". Department of Health. www.dh.gov.uk [pdf file, accessed July 2012]
HPA, 2012a. Whooping cough in children aged 1 year or older, adolescents and adults. Health Protection Agency. www.hpa.org.uk [pdf file, accessed July 2012]
HPA. 2012b. Whooping cough outbreak continues. www.hpa.org.uk [Accessed October 2012]
HPA. 2013. Cases of whooping cough decline after record numbers in 2012. www.hpa.org.uk [Accessed February 2013]
NHS Choices. 2010. Whooping cough. NHS Choices, Health A-Z. www.nhs.uk [Accessed July 2012]
NHS Choices. 2012a. Vaccination checklist. NHS Choices, Health A-Z. www.nhs.uk [Accessed July 2012]
NHS Choices. 2012b. How vaccinations work. NHS Choices, Health A-Z. www.nhs.uk [Accessed July 2012]
PRODIGY. 2010. Whooping cough. PRODIGY Clarity, Clinical topic. prodigy.clarity.co.uk [Accessed July 2012]