Whooping cough can it kill

Stage 1 : People are highly contagious in the early stages of the disease. At first, whooping cough causes mild cold-like symptoms that last for 1 to 2 weeks, such as:. Stage 2 : After some time, people can develop a severe, persistent cough that leaves them gasping for air. People are still contagious at this point, and stage 2 symptoms may last anywhere from 1 to 6 weeks. Stage 3 : In the final phase, the cough gradually improves, and coughing fits occur less often.

At this point, people are no longer contagious, but they run the risk of developing other infections, which can slow down the recovery process. Doctors might sometimes misdiagnose whooping cough as a common cold or another respiratory infection because whooping cough in adults does not typically cause severe symptoms.

If an adult is experiencing a persistent cough, the doctor may recommend further medical tests to diagnose the problem. These tests might include a nasopharyngeal swab, which involves a doctor collecting a sample of mucus through the nose to analyze for B. Adults can develop secondary complications from whooping cough.

Violent coughing fits can cause fainting or fractured ribs. Treatment depends on the duration of the illness and the severity of its symptoms. Whooping cough treatment usually involves antibiotic therapy. Early antibiotic treatment may reduce symptom severity, speed up recovery time, and prevent people from transmitting the bacteria. A healthcare professional might prescribe antibiotics for other members of the household as well. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC , antibacterial treatments are most effective during the first 2—3 weeks of infection or before coughing fits begin.

However, people rarely receive treatment early enough to experience these benefits. Whooping cough does not respond to traditional cough medication. The American Lung Association advise against treating whooping cough with cough medications.

Recovering from whooping cough can take several weeks, and a cough can continue to linger for many months.

Whooping cough is highly contagious, and whooping cough vaccinations wear off as people get older. Adults who have not received the whooping cough booster vaccine Tdap tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis have a higher risk of contracting whooping cough. Adults can protect themselves and their children from whooping cough by having vaccines against the disease. Both vaccines protect against tetanus , diphtheria , and whooping cough. Around the world, an estimated 16 million pertussis cases — yes, 16 million — are reported and about , children die every year.

A pertussis cough can sound a lot different than other coughs. Whooping cough has the most serious effect on babies especially those under 6 months old. Whooping cough may be passed on to babies and young children by their own family members. You may wonder if the culprit was that kid hacking away at the mall food court or on every toy at your latest play date.

But it might actually have been you — or your spouse, grandma, grandpa, or your older child or teen.

The effectiveness of the pertussis vaccine can fade over time. Any adult should get the Tdap booster shot if they have close contact with an infant 1 year old or younger. At first, pertussis may seem like a common cold or the flu. And, during particularly bad coughing fits, they may turn blue from lack of oxygen and even stop breathing.

A hospital stay may be necessary for some infants and younger kids with whooping cough. Babies younger than 6 months almost always need to be treated at a hospital because whooping cough can be life-threatening for young infants. Pertussis lasts a long time — children and adults can be sick with pertussis for months. Whooping cough once killed about 9, people in the United States each year. But in the s, a vaccine was developed and the annual number of deaths declined to fewer than But over the past two decades, whooping cough has had a resurgence.

In , there were nearly 50, U. According to Dr. Feemster, the increase is due in part to the switch in the s from a whole-cell vaccine to one with fewer side effects. A article in The New England Journal of Medicine reported that the immune response to the new vaccine wanes after a few years, leaving people susceptible to infection.