[Mummy to HJ]

Hi,

I basically am looking for support people...those whose bubs have gone through the awful whooping cough.....

Little background - DS2 woke up 2 weeks ago with a cough....just sounded like a cold, so I shrugged it off....after a week it was still there so DH took him to his clinic....at first the stupid dr gave him a high does of prednisolone utlimately overdosing him ( all that happened was bad nappies luckily) for a chest infection....it wasnt working so DH ook him back to the same clinic but different dr....this dr said chest infection still and was put on ABs.....3 days later no improvement, so I decided to take him to my dr....the dr was puzzled to the cough and told me continue with the ABs but get a test for whooping cough to rule anything out (in that time he developed a rash due to the Abs - penicillin reaction!!).....after an anguising 2 days (and a cough that slowly sounded more whooping) I got a call from the dr say yup he had WC (FYI he is fully immunised)....so off to the dr we trot.....the whole family was put on ABs but a higher dosage.....we have almost finished the ABs but the cough is still going and apparently this cough will last 100 days!!!

sooo, anyone can help me through this time....seeing him scared coz of the cough is heartbreaking

[hiccamups]

I'm so sorry OP. It must be heartbreaking to see your LO so sick. I have no personal experience as such (although it was suspected mine had WC - they were older) but I've known a few people who had little ones younger than 1 who had WC and although not fun at all, they all got through it with flying colours.

Most went to extra efforts to boost their child's immune system through diet and supplements, although I have no idea if this helped their recovery, I think I'd do the same.

[Natttmumm]

Both my kids had it a while ago and also fully immunized. 10 kids at daycare got it too. DD1 was 3 yrs and did cough mostly at night. She was bad for about 2 weeks, all night coughing. Then it lasted on and off for about 3 months. It was tough but she was ok and didn't end up in hospital or anything like that. She would cough and cough for about 5 mins but still breathing well and then vomit and then be ok for a few hours. The worst part was being tired and DD being exhausted but it eventually passed. DD2 was only sick for a week and nothing else and the cough was only around for a few days but she did test positive. I can see your baby is younger but not really young. The doc told us its really bad for young babies but after about 6 mths usually not too bad and even more mild if immunized. DD1 was 3 and DD2 was 1 yr and Dd1 was much worse even though older.
I hope all is ok for you and your bub

[new~mum~reenie]

I'm so sorry for you and your bub OP.

The Govt will finish up their free pertussis vaccinations this year.

The 'new strain' of pertussis is not covered in the current vaccine schedule. Vaccinated people are getting it, although milder, but as you can be 'contageous' for 20 days at the beginning, it is being rapidly spread ('just a niggly cough' I'll go to work/send kids to school etc)

It has made me very concerned, I'm 32 weeks pregnant and I know I will be more vigilant not to go to crowded places etc with this baby!

“The prolonged whooping cough epidemic in Australia that began during 2008 has been predominantly caused by the new genotype of B. pertussis,” said one of the study authors, Associate Professor Ruiting Lan, of the UNSW School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences.

“The genotype was responsible for 31 percent of cases in the 10 years before the epidemic, and that’s now jumped to 84 percent – a nearly three-fold increase, indicating it has gained a selective advantage under the current vaccination regime.

https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/health/sh...-whooping-cough

How whooping cough is spread
The Bordetella pertussis bacterium is spread by air-borne droplets from the upper respiratory tract (when the infected person coughs or sneezes) and is highly infectious. The time from infection to appearance of symptoms (incubation period) for whooping cough is between six and 20 days. A person is infectious for the first 21 days of their cough or until they have had five days of a 10-day course of antibiotics. In countries where immunisation rates are high, the risk of catching whooping cough is low..

my bold

http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/b.../Whooping_cough