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Whooping cough is an acute and highly contagious respiratory infection. Its causative agent is the Bordet-Gengou bacillus. During infection, bacteria attack the nasopharynx, trachea and lungs, weakening the immune system. Whooping cough is characterized by a paroxysmal cough, followed by a wheezing, convulsive inhalation (reprise). Whooping cough is a very long-lasting disease, which, even in a mild form, can last for several months. After recovery, a person develops immunity to this disease for a period of 4 to 20 years. But you can get whooping cough a second or third time. Currently, more and more people aged 18 years and older are becoming ill with whooping cough. This is largely due to the fact that, having been vaccinated against whooping cough in childhood, people do not get a second vaccination against it. Whooping cough is most dangerous for infants because it can stop breathing.

How is whooping cough transmitted?

Whooping cough is transmitted by airborne droplets. When talking, sneezing or coughing, pathogens enter the air through droplets of saliva, then into the respiratory tract and settle on the mucous membranes. Whooping cough can also be transmitted through kissing, and in rare cases through shared cutlery or dishes. The incubation period, that is, the time between infection and the appearance of the first signs of the disease, ranges from 7 to 20 days, the disease usually manifests itself after two weeks. If whooping cough is not treated, the person who has it will remain contagious for six weeks after the onset of the disease. During the first two weeks, the risk of infection is greatest, and after the sixth week it decreases slowly.

Whooping cough: symptoms

Whooping cough can manifest itself in different ways. Its symptoms may differ in children and adults. Typical symptoms of whooping cough in children are:

spasmodic cough (especially at night);
difficult, loud breathing (shortness of breath in about 50% of children);
heat;
later - expectoration of dense transparent mucus;
Possible vomiting during coughing;
Possible redness of the eyes and nosebleeds.

Whooping cough in infants

U infants With whooping cough, a typical cough may not be observed or it may not be so strong. However, instead of it, breathing may stop (apnea), which sometimes leads to the death of the baby. In adults, whooping cough often goes away without characteristic symptoms. There are no coughing attacks, but it itself is present for a long time. For this reason, whooping cough often goes undetected in adults. It is very important to pay attention to a prolonged cough, especially coughing attacks at night - it can be a symptom of whooping cough.

Course of the disease

Whooping cough in children usually goes through three stages: catarrhal, paroxysmal and convalescent.

Catarrhal stage. The first phase of whooping cough begins approximately two weeks after infection, during which time nonspecific symptoms appear that are more reminiscent of a cold. Most people begin to have a slight cough and runny nose, sneezing, a sore throat, and hoarseness. In some cases, conjunctivitis may develop.
Paroxysmal stage. After one to two weeks, the patient begins to have typical attacks of dry cough - up to 40 times a day. They are especially disturbing at night, in a state of stress or tension. After some coughing attacks, a little thick, transparent mucus is released. The temperature often rises. After about three weeks, the attacks become less frequent, but they may subsequently recur for five to six weeks.
Recovery stage. The body begins to recover, and coughing attacks become increasingly rare. But residual cough may still last for six to ten weeks, and in some cases, complete recovery may even take several months.

Whooping cough: associated diseases

Infants and young children who contract whooping cough preschool age often encounter complications. In adults, complications are less common. Frequent complications may include:

Otitis.
Pneumonia.
Inflammation of the brain with attacks of convulsions.
Exhaustion and weight loss.

Whooping cough: when to see a doctor?

Since whooping cough may present with atypical symptoms in the first 1-2 weeks, you should definitely consult a doctor so that he can diagnose the disease and begin treatment with antibiotics. At the initial stage, the infection is detected using bacteriological and microbiological methods. To do this, a swab is taken from the child's nose. IN special cases more complex immunofluorescent methods and PCR methods are used, with which the pertussis microbe can be detected directly in smears of mucus from the nasopharynx. In the second phase of the disease, diagnosis is simplified due to the manifestation of typical symptoms of the disease in children. IN controversial situation Your doctor may order a blood test to look for whooping cough antibodies. If whooping cough is diagnosed, your doctor will usually prescribe antibacterial treatment. As a rule, it does not relieve the symptoms of whooping cough, but the patient ceases to be infectious after five days of taking antibiotics. The use of antibiotics at an early stage of the disease can weaken and significantly shorten the course of the disease.

Hospitalization of infants

Since young children do not yet know how to cough, the mucus that accumulates in their lungs during whooping cough must be eliminated in another way. As a rule, this is only possible in a hospital. Under 24-hour medical supervision, respiratory arrest can be quickly detected and emergency measures taken.

Whooping cough: what can you do yourself?

Whooping cough is a long-term and debilitating disease, in order to speed up the baby’s recovery and prevent infection of other people, the following measures must be taken:

Provide the sick person with bed rest. The immune system the child is very weakened. In addition, his nighttime cough often prevents him from sleeping. Therefore, it is important to provide the baby with maximum peace and, as far as possible, to protect him from stress and anxiety.
Report to kindergarten or school about a child’s infection. This information will help stop the spread of infection throughout the facility, and children who are already infected will be able to see a doctor sooner in order to start taking antibiotics in a timely manner.
Give plenty of fluids to drink. If your baby has a high fever or vomiting, his body loses a lot of fluid. To stay hydrated, he should drink plenty of water (weak herbal tea will also work).
Provide suitable air in the room. Fresh, moist indoor air will help ease your baby's breathing. If you don't have a humidifier, you can simply hang a few damp towels in the room. Regular ventilation will also help create a healthy microclimate in the room.
Take care of the child. Spasmodic cough with whooping cough is exhausting not only physically, but also mentally. Surround your child with care and love, calm him down during coughing attacks. This way, the baby will not feel abandoned and will stop panicking.

Whooping cough: home remedies

In addition to antibiotic treatment, you can also use some home remedies to relieve symptoms.

Compress on calves. A proven home remedy for fever. A cool, damp cloth is placed on the child's shins. The heat emanating from the baby will dissipate and thus cool the baby's body. Detailed Guide How to make a compress on the calves, you will find in the article “Compress on the legs against high temperature.”
Vinegar compress on feet. Same good remedy at elevated temperatures. Before conducting it, put something on the child’s bed so as not to wet it. Mix five tablespoons of store-bought vinegar with a liter of water. Soak a pair of cotton socks in this solution, wring them out and put them on your feet. On top - a pair of dry socks. The compress will remain in effect until the socks are dry. If necessary, the procedure can be repeated.
Warm compress on chest. Whooping cough can cause lung spasms. To alleviate this condition, you need to relax the chest muscles. To do this, you can give your child a warm compress. Boil several large potatoes and mash them. Place the potatoes in an even layer on a towel (1 cm) and let cool to a comfortable temperature for the skin (you can check this by applying the compress to the inside of your forearm for about 30 seconds). Place baby on chest first terry towel, then the compress itself. When it has cooled down, you can remove the towel.

Whooping cough: prevention

To prevent whooping cough, WHO recommends vaccination. 80% of unvaccinated people become infected when exposed to whooping cough. Antibodies against whooping cough in a pregnant woman cannot be passed on to the fetus, so babies have no immune protection against this infection. Since whooping cough takes a particularly severe form in infants, doctors recommend vaccinating children starting from three months. For unvaccinated adults, the combination tetanus-diphtheria-whooping cough vaccine can be used. Immunity to these infectious diseases is developed in a person for a period of 4 to 12 years, so those vaccinated must undergo regular booster vaccinations.

Whooping cough is dangerous infection, the main symptom of which is paroxysmal cough. Most often, preschool children suffer from this disease, but despite this, both adolescents and adults are at risk. To protect yourself and your child from this disease, you should know how whooping cough is transmitted and what preventive measures most effective in combating it.

Pathogen and symptoms of infection

The bacterium Bordetella pertussis, which is the causative agent of whooping cough, is very unstable to conditions environment. When the infection gets on household items when coughing or sneezing, it instantly dies. The pathogen does not survive boiling or freezing. The bacterium multiplies in the human body at a temperature of 37C - this is the most favorable environment for its life.

Considering that whooping cough is infectious disease, the question of whether he is contagious or not is simply not worth it. A child or adult may have been infected for a long time, but not feel any signs of illness during the incubation period. The cough does not immediately begin to choke the patient, since the latent phase of the disease can last from five days to 3 weeks. During this time period the person is not contagious.

The primary symptoms of the disease are no different from the common cold: first there is a runny nose, elevated temperature and general malaise. After a couple of days, the bacterium begins to secrete a toxin, which irritates the bronchi and trachea and causes paroxysmal coughing. After another five days, thick, transparent sputum begins to appear.

Methods of transmission of whooping cough

Whooping cough is transmitted by airborne droplets - the most common method of transmission of respiratory viral diseases. The ways of its transmission are as follows:

When breathing, coughing and sneezing. In order for infection to occur, contact with the patient must be close. If the distance between a sick person and an uninfected person exceeds 2.5 meters, then the disease cannot be transmitted. Bacteria are released with particles of mucus and saliva and enter the respiratory tract healthy person.
With kisses and hugs. This is the surest way to get whooping cough. The patient's saliva enters the mouth of a healthy person, and then into the respiratory system, and thus this contagious disease is transmitted.
The disease can also be transmitted through shared cutlery. For example, if a sick mother ate from the same plate with the baby, or the child licked a spoon after an infected person ate with it.
The pathogen does not live on the surface of household objects and, according to doctors, transmission of a dangerous disease by contact is impossible. However, if the baby licks a toy that the patient sneezed on right before, he may get sick. If the particles of mucus and saliva have dried and a little time has passed, then the bacteria will not be able to be transmitted, since they will simply die immediately in the environment.

Duration of infection period

How long is whooping cough contagious? The main period of infection lasts about three weeks. The incidence statistics are as follows:

in the first week, the sick person is especially dangerous for others, since during this time period the bacterium is most active. Upon contact with it during the acute phase, the level of infectivity reaches 100%;
in the second week this figure decreases significantly and is already transmitted to 60%;
in the third week, the bacterium is no longer so aggressive, and whooping cough is transmitted during this period to only 30% of people in contact with the patient;
subsequently, even if symptoms persist for a long time, the infection can only be transmitted to 10% of others.

With correct diagnosis and timely initiation of antibiotics, the disease is not transmitted to others already on the fifth day of illness. That is why, if there has been a case of whooping cough in a children's group, the infected person is removed from communication with peers for at least 5 days, provided that he receives appropriate antibiotic treatment.

When, for any reason, the use of such drugs is contraindicated and treatment is carried out with lighter medicines– interferons, homeopathy or antiviral, the child cannot attend childcare facility until the active phase of the disease has completely passed, which is at least 21 days. In both cases, the cough may persist for more than one week, but the patient with whooping cough is no longer contagious.

Severity of the disease

There are three degrees of severity of the disease:

light form. A person coughs infrequently, with 8-15 coughing attacks per day. In general, the general condition is normal, and the temperature rises to a maximum of 37.5 C;
moderate form. Spasmodic cough bothers 16-25 times a day, while the patient is very exhausted. Symptoms can persist for a long time, and the person continues to be ill for up to 5 weeks;
severe form. The number of attacks reaches 30 times a day. At the same time, the person turns pale, his appetite disappears completely, he begins to lose body weight. Spasmodic cough is so strong that it can lead to suffocation.

After a person has overcome the disease, he develops immunity, which does not remain for life, but protects against infection for only 3-5 years. However, cases of re-infection are extremely rare, and if this happens, the disease occurs in a milder form.

Prevention of whooping cough

Primitive preventive measures are important, but ineffective. After close contact with the patient, you should immediately rinse your nose with saline solution and use a humidifier, adding a few drops of fir, eucalyptus or juniper oil. But if the object spreading the infection is going through the acute phase of the disease, then this is unlikely to help, since the infection is transmitted and penetrates very quickly.

Vaccination is considered the only effective remedy. The first vaccination is given to the baby at 3 months of age, after which 2 more immunizations are given with an interval of 1.5 months. Afterwards, the child undergoes revaccination at one and a half years.

This preventive vaccination does not provide a 100% guarantee that the baby will not get sick. Immunity is developed after it in 80-85% of cases, and if the vaccinated person gets sick, he tolerates the disease much easier, and the duration of the disease is significantly reduced.

Immunization is carried out by several types of vaccines. All of them are combined - the anti-pertussis component is administered together with the anti-diphtheria and anti-tetanus components as part of one drug. Vaccines are divided into whole-cell (TETRACOK, DPT) and acellular (Infanrix, Hexaxim, Pentaxim, etc.). Both are effective and trigger the process of producing antibodies to the bacterium that causes pertussis infection.

If a child under 7 years of age has been in contact with a sick person, he is examined for immunity to infection and virus cells in the blood. In this case, all unvaccinated children and infants under one year of age are given anti-measles immunoglobulin for two days in a row.

Whooping cough is dangerous because it can be transmitted even to newborns. In this case, it may not be recognized in time, since in a child under the age of six months, even bronchitis can occur without a cough, so there is a risk of wasting time. In children under one year of age, mortality rates from this dangerous infection especially high.

The bacterium Bordetella pertussis is also insidious in that in adults it can cause mild symptoms, and this often prevents the disease from being detected in a timely manner. Such cases are especially dangerous, since patients who do not receive adequate treatment transmit the infection to others in transport, in the family and at work, and for a long time they do not suspect what the cause of their illness lies.

Analyzing the above information, we can summarize that whooping cough is a serious infectious disease that is transmitted by the only way - airborne droplets. The bacterium that causes this dangerous infection is not able to survive outside the human body, so it does not remain on household items. The only sure way to protect yourself and others from whooping cough is vaccination. The disease is very contagious, especially in the first weeks, so standard preventive measures are practically powerless here.

Whooping cough is a childhood infectious disease transmitted by airborne droplets. The main symptom is a paroxysmal cough with vomiting. Infants may stop breathing. Therefore, parents should know its incubation period and the first symptoms of the disease in children.

The disease in children is caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. The whooping cough bacillus penetrates the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract, causing an inflammatory process. The toxin it produces acts directly on the central nervous system, resulting in an irritating cough. The child may subsequently vomit.

First symptoms:

The attack is accompanied by severe cough, which often appears in the morning or night hours. Involuntary urination may begin.
After the attack ends, thick sputum is released.
After coughing, a whistling sound appears when you sigh.

Read! Which indicate the occurrence of the disease.

The disease has several stages by which it can be identified.

Important! Incubation period of the disease, usually lasts from 2 to 14 days. During this period, the whooping cough bacillus penetrates the bronchi, the child becomes capricious and restless. Parents do not suspect that the child is infected with the bacteria.

Catarrhal period, lasts from 3 days to two weeks. When the whooping cough stick releases toxins, the child’s temperature rises to 38-39 degrees and a dry cough appears.
Spasmodic period, lasts quite a long time - from 2 to 8 weeks. As soon as toxins penetrate the brain, a paroxysmal cough begins to occur. At this time, the body temperature returns to normal, but due to prolonged and constant bouts of dry cough, the child’s condition worsens.
Resolution period, lasts for 2-4 weeks. At this time, the human immune system fights the virus, antibiotics act on the whooping cough bacillus. The number of attacks decreases, the cough gradually goes away.

The whooping cough bacillus, once in the body, begins to actively manifest itself. Therefore, the disease develops in just a couple of days. First, signs of a common cold appear, a cough appears and the disease becomes spasmodic in nature.

How can you get whooping cough?

This disease most often affects preschool children from two to five years of age. Whooping cough can affect teenagers and adults. How whooping cough is transmitted in children is necessary to know in order to protect the child from infection. When talking, sneezing or coughing, the bacterium can enter the respiratory system of a healthy person along with the air.

Important! Answering the question from parents: “Is whooping cough contagious or not, can you get infected through toys and household items?” You should know that the whooping cough bacterium dies outside the human body! But you can become infected from a sick person through conversation or communication.

There is no exact answer to how contagious the carrier of the infection is, so doctors believe that the incubation period lasts for three weeks from the moment the bacteria enters the human body. All this time the person is contagious!

What consequences may there be

Whooping cough is a dangerous disease and can cause complications in children. Therefore, treatment should be started as quickly as possible.

Attention! In babies under one year old, coughing fits can cause respiratory arrest, which can lead to death!

How dangerous is whooping cough in children and what consequences can it provoke? The virus can cause various diseases when improper treatment:

, when a secondary infection occurs;
encephalopathy, if affected nervous system convulsions and paralysis may occur;
bleeding from the nasal passages into the brain, into the bronchi;
lung diseases (emphysema, atelectasis);
fast weight loss.

The risk group includes infants and preschool children.

Important! Find out so you can start treatment in a timely manner!

Diagnosis of whooping cough

If symptoms similar to a cold occur, and then frequent symptoms appear, you should consult a doctor. The sooner treatment with antibiotics is started, the faster recovery will occur.

At the initial stage, whooping cough can only be determined using bacteriological and microbiological examination. What kind of test is needed for whooping cough, how to take it?

A swab is taken from the child's nose.
For unvaccinated children, the hematological method is used.
Blood is donated for whooping cough analysis; in case of the disease, leukocytosis and lymphocytosis are detected. In such cases, the ESR is normal.

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is popular. early The disease is determined by the content of IgM antibodies, and at a late stage of the disease - IgG.

Treatment

When treating whooping cough in children, long-term therapy is necessary. Parents often seek help from a doctor when the cough becomes paroxysmal. In this case, the doctor usually prescribes antibacterial drugs. Pertussis bacillus is not resistant to all antibiotics.

Doctors often prescribe:

Summed;
Augmentin;
Erythromycin.

If whooping cough in children is accompanied by frequent vomiting, then antibiotics are used intravenously.

Other medications are also prescribed: mucolytic, sedative, immunostimulating.

A sick child needs walks fresh air, away from other children. Experts advise walking early in the morning when the air is cool. The room is cleaned daily. Necessary proper nutrition, fatty, spicy and sour foods are excluded from the diet. Give food in small portions. The more the child eats, the less episodes of vomiting will occur.

Coughing and vomiting can be caused by many factors: poor diet, stress, crying, laughing and chemical smells. It is advisable for the child to run less and play active games. By following these rules, you can help your child somehow alleviate the condition.

Prevention

It has been developed against whooping cough and other diseases. It does not guarantee that a vaccinated child will not get sick. But, afterwards the disease proceeds in a mild form and does not cause complications. It is worth noting that after illness, children develop stable immunity to whooping cough.

To prevent the disease, it is necessary to harden the child and increase immunity. An important role is played by the daily routine, proper nutrition, active lifestyle and walks in the fresh air. If a child comes into contact with someone who has whooping cough, immediately contact a medical facility to prevent the disease.