I might be an adult victim of whooping cough or what we once called pertusis. For three months, I have been coughing, mostly at night. As a sufferer of bronchitis, I assumed it was reoccurring bronchial infections. However I might have been wrong. At this point, there really is no way to tell. The virus does not stay active for the entire length of the illness and if I actually was infected, the test might come back negative. If you too think you might have whooping cough or pretusis, there are a few clues to look for.
1) Dry Cough. A cough due to whooping cough is a dry with very little sputum. Most bronchial and lung infections result in a productive cough. Most people suffering from whooping cough complain of a dry cough.
2) Unique Cough.The cough of someone suffering from whooping cough is different than those of other illnesses. The patient is prone to have coughing attacks lasting sometimes as long as 30 to 60 seconds. The name whooping cough comes fro the sound made when the person is trying to catch their breath after the long coughing attack. However, not everyone has that distinctive sound at the end of the attack.
3) Intermittent Attacks. Those suffering from other lung infections tend to have a fairly steady cough. Patients suffering from pertussis find that they can go hours at a time without an attack. Something as simple as a smell or breeze might trigger a coughing attack.
4) Length of Illness. Generally, bronchitis or pneumonia responds to steroids, cough suppressants and antibiotics. Three emergency room trips and three doctor visits with countless medications made no difference in my symptoms. Therefore, the cough persists. It basically has to run its course. Some people recover in as short a time as a month, while others require several months or longer to get well. In China, the disease is often called the 100 day cough due to its length.
5) After the initial several weeks of illness, patients often state that besides an irritating cough, they feel well. If the illness was some other type of infection, it is doubtful that sufferers would report good health.
How are adults catching whooping cough? Several factors are in play. More children are acquiring the illness as some parents opt to forgo childhood vaccines. On top of that, doctors and scientists are discovering that the vaccine we received as a child is not life long effective. Doctors suspect that be age 50, the vaccine may have lost all of its protection. Some are even encouraging adults to receive a ten year vaccine against pertussis.
The good news is, early detection of whooping cough requires an antibiotic which helps shorten the disease and reduce sytmpoms. However, the treatment needs to begin in the first few weeks of the illness. Most patients that are finally diagnosed, do not receive the cause of their illness till after this time has passed. that point, the disease merely has to run its course.
Only your doctor can verify if you have pertussis or whooping cough. A simple nose swab ensures if whooping cough is indeed the culprit of chronic coughing. If you are like me and have been coughing and nothing works, suggest that your physician check you for this age old disease. A simple test will set your mind at ease and your physician can get to the bottom of what truly is causing the incessant coughing. The quicker you are diagnosed, the faster your life can get back to normal.
