“Whooping cough” is a bacterium found in mucus, saliva and phlegm. When infected, it causes inflammation of the respiratory tract lining. If it occurs in newborns, it can be severe and life-threatening.
Causes of whooping cough
Whooping cough is an infectious disease caused by “whooping cough” bacteria call “Bordetella pertussis” which is found in mucus, saliva and phlegm of patients. When the bacteria enter the respiratory tract, they attach to the cells lining the back of the nasal cavity and produce various toxins which affect the inflammation of the respiratory tract lining, resulting in various symptoms. This bacteria has a severe effect on newborns, which can be fatal.
How is whooping cough transmitted?
Whooping cough is very contagious. People who are infected with the disease and are not immune to the disease can be infected from an infected person living in the same house at a rate of 80-100%. However, if you have been vaccinated against diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough and are immune, the chance of infection is about 20%. Most children are infected from adults in the family, spreading through the respiratory tract through nasal discharge, saliva, or sputum of an infected person. If infected, symptoms will be noticeable within about 5-10 days. ufabet http://ufabet999.app However, if infected for more than 3 weeks and there are no symptoms, it means that you are not infected.
How to recognize symptoms if you suspect that you have a whooping cough infection
Symptoms of whooping cough are divided into 3 stages:
- Phase 1Catarrhal phase is also called the cold phase. Symptoms are similar to the common cold, such as low fever, runny nose, sneezing, mild cough, fatigue, red eyes, and watery eyes.
- Phase 2 The paroxysmal phase is called the severe phase, which lasts for 7-10 days. During this phase, most people cannot diagnose whooping cough. However, it is noted that patients will experience more symptoms according to point 1. They may have severe coughing and after the coughing ends, they will make a distinct sound (whooshing sound) if they cough continuously for a long time until they bend over and cannot breathe (at one time, they will cough continuously for about 5-10 times or more, then stop and start coughing again, repeating this). This coughing may occur only 5-10 times a day or tens of times in just 1 hour. Patients will have severe coughing during the first 2 weeks, and coughing tends to occur more frequently at night or when exposed to cold air, drinking very cold water, or being exposed to dust or cigarette smoke.
- Stage 3Convalescent phase or recovery phase This phase will last approximately 2-3 weeks. Patients will be able to eat more, gain weight, and their coughing and severity will gradually decrease until they completely disappear.
- The total duration of the disease, if there are no complications, is approximately 6-10 weeks.
How to prevent whooping cough
Whooping cough can be prevented with the combined diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccine (TdaP vaccine). Thai children usually receive 5 doses of this vaccine at birth , with the first dose at 2 months of age, the second dose at 4 months of age, the third dose at 6 months of age, the fourth dose at 18 months of age, and the fifth and final dose at 4-6 years of age. A booster dose may be given at 11-12 years of age.