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| It’s Baaack…
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| And it’s scary! On the rise again, whooping cough is the disease that time forgot, however, should you experience it, you can be sure it will be one of life’s more memorable episodes.
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For those who live in fear of illness—have we got a germ for you.
Whooping cough is on the rise, an age-old disease often referred to as the hundred-day cough—three months of coughing, vomiting and gasping for air—that often morphs into gastrointestinal reflux disease.
“Whooping cough is a huge problem with adults around the world,” reports Dr. Richard Irwin, professor of medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
“It’s increasing in frequency. If you develop this disease as an adult, it …may leave you with a chronic cough because the coughing is so violent. Whooping cough can be so bad in adults that they are forced to emergency rooms. And it’s still a disease that kills infants. But between 60 and 80 per cent of all the new cases are among adolescents and adults. The reservoir of the organism that causes the disease is mostly in adolescents and adults. So this is a disease that is making a comeback, but it can be prevented if we start immunizing adolescents and adults. The good news is that a safe and effective vaccine is now available not only for kids but adolescents and adults.”
Whooping cough or as it’s more formally known, pertussis is a highly infectious bacterial infection, and is
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characterized by violent coughing spasms that interfere with breathing.
A “whoop” sound is emitted during inhalation, the latter mercifully occurring just in time to prevent unconsciousness. Vomiting is another distinguishing feature of this distressing illness, and happens solely as a result of prolonged coughing fits.
Those suffering from whooping cough can expect as many as 50 coughing episodes a day, a devastating total that often leads to other health complications, such as the development of pneumonia.
“The biggest myth about whooping cough,” comments Dr. Irwin, “is that once you have it you can’t catch it again. That’s not true. We have no natural immunity to this disease whatsoever. A healthy, robust person is just as vulnerable to it as the weak and infirm. An estimated one million Americans contract it each year. Although it’s unlikely to kill an adult, it can make them incredibly sick. The cough is so bad it makes you vomit, you develop cough-vomit syndrome.”
Dr. Irwin believes every adult should be vaccinated for whooping cough. Until recently only children could be vaccinated, leaving adults vulnerable, but that’s no longer the case.
The new, safer vaccine is widely available, and should be easily obtainable.
“Among the more notable medical breakthroughs of the last few years,” says Dr.Irwin, “is development of a reliable vaccine for pertussis. The old vaccine couldn’t be used on adults because of the possibility of neurological damage.”
Transmission of whooping cough occurs either from aerosols or though direct contact.
Its incubation period lasts between 10 and 21 days. The disease features three distinct phases, the first characterized by low-grade symptoms. Known as the catarrhal phase, it bears all the hallmarks of the common cold.
People rarely seek treatment during this stage of the disease. Its duration is one week, the same as most head colds.
Soon enough, however, symptoms intensify, marking the beginning of the paroxysmal coughing phase, which lasts a month or longer. Symptoms include violent coughing spasms, vomiting and shortness of breath.
The much-welcomed convalescent phase is not without its difficulties, but this is the period when symptoms finally subside and strength returns.
For adults, whooping cough is almost too much to bear, and frequently proves to be a life- altering experience.
Cough Drops:
There’s no antidote for whooping cough, and no escaping its punishing symptoms. Prolonged and intense coughing may give rise to any one or all of the following conditions:
- Vomiting
- Pneumonia
- Gastrointestinal reflux disease
- Convulsions
- Malnutrition
- Hernias
- Leaking blood vessels in the eyes
- Oxygen deprivation
- Increased blood pressure
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