From the time the attacks start to reduce in number, to the time they finish, it may be roughly 2 weeks to 2 months or more. Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is a highly contagious respiratory disease. Whooping cough gets its name from its most famous symptom -- a "whoop" sound you might make when you gasp for air at the end of a coughing fit. Some people who get infected with the whooping cough bacterium do not develop the choking cough to a noticeable degree and go unrecognised. Whooping cough is a very contagious respiratory disease. Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is a highly contagious respiratory disease. Article: Interference With Pertussis Vaccination in Infants After Maternal Pertussis Vaccination. To make a diagnosis, your doctor may do a physical exam, blood tests, chest x-rays, or nose or throat cultures. There may be a dry cough. In China it is called the ‘100 day cough’. The symptoms are usually less severe in adults than in children. Here are 4 different recordings of it. Pregnant? Order free posters in English and Spanish. Within 2 or 3 days it turns into a dry, “ordinary” cough. It is uncertain to what extent they might pass it on. Before there was a vaccine, whooping cough was one of the most common childhood diseases and a major cause of childhood deaths in the U.S. Now most cases are prevented by vaccines. It usually starts as a sore throat with a mild feeling of tiredness and being unwell. The number affected this (subclinical) way is not accurately known but could be 5 times as many. 75% of cases nowadays are in teens and adults. Hear how the cough may sound The average case lasts about 7 weeks. Help Protect Your Baby from Whooping Cough, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. it is now frequently referred to in the West as the ‘100 day cough’. The name comes from the noise you make when you take a breath after you cough. If whooping cough seems to come back again just when you seem to be getting over it, it usually means you have just caught a viral cough/cold. Only about 50% of sufferers ‘whoop’ but this is where the name comes from. Some of these cases can probably pass it on. Between the attacks there is usually no coughing at all. Pertussis is known for uncontrollable, violent coughing which often makes it hard to breathe. It causes bouts of coughing that usually go on for at least 3 weeks. Older children and adults can get whooping cough and can spread it to others, including babies. The name comes from the noise you make when you take a breath after you cough. In babies, the infection can sometimes lead to pneumonia and occasionally brain damage and can be even life threatening. It is also common to produce lots of saliva after a coughing fit. There may be a dry cough. These choking attacks happen as little as twice a day or as many as 50. Occasional intense bouts of choking coughing start to occur. The coughing spells can be so bad that it is hard for infants to eat, drink, or breathe. Whooping cough (sometimes called pertussis) is a serious respiratory infection that causes a long coughing illness. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cannot attest to the accuracy of a non-federal website. Sometimes the patient stops breathing after a severe bout of coughing, long enough to go blue. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! There is immense variation in severity and duration of the illness. There may be very thick, sticky, clear phlegm. Linking to a non-federal website does not constitute an endorsement by CDC or any of its employees of the sponsors or the information and products presented on the website. CDC twenty four seven. Whooping cough (pertussis) in a recognizable form come on over a period of 2 weeks. This persists, but may come and go over the next 7 to 10 days. It frightens onlookers as much as the sufferer. Tell me your whooping cough story. Early Symptoms. Anyone can get whooping cough, but it is more common in infants and children. It is sometimes stringy. Anyone can get whooping cough, but it is more common in infants and children. Whooping cough is an infectious bacterial disease that causes uncontrollable coughing. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Whooping Cough (Pertussis) - Fact Sheet for Parents, Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Pertussis Vaccines, health information in languages other than English, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. You may have choking spells or may cough so hard that you vomit. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The primary NIH organization for research on, MedlinePlus links to health information from the National Institutes of Health and other federal government agencies. It usually starts as a sore throat with a mild feeling of tiredness and being unwell. It's especially dangerous for infants. Between these attacks the sufferer usually appears feels perfectly well. Occasionally the patient faints as well. You may have choking spells or may cough so hard that you vomit. Whooping cough (pertussis) in a recognizable form come on over a period of 2 weeks. It is pronounced ‘hooping cough’ not ‘wooping cough’. It brings the whooping cough symptoms back temporarily. You will be subject to the destination website's privacy policy when you follow the link. It is caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. Maybe some catarrhal symptoms too, like a cold. If you have whooping cough, treatment with antibiotics may help if given early. After the above it becomes a more choking cough that lasts from 1 to 2 minutes, often with vomiting, severe facial congestion and a feeling or appearance of suffocation. They can get immunity from it however. Choking cough develops. It resolves by a slow reduction in the number of choking attacks. I would like to hear from you. English | en Español. Learn why Laura decided to get the whooping cough vaccine in her 3rd trimester of pregnancy and how her baby girl was born with some protection against the disease.