Whooping cough: symptoms

Whooping cough has characteristic symptoms; as a rule, this disease belongs to the category of childhood infectious diseases that occur acutely with obvious clinical manifestations.

The bacillus that causes the disease is Bordetella pertussis, a bacterium that dies without the comfortable environment of the human body. Thus, the bacterium cannot live in the external environment and only a person can become a source of infection. The bacterium is especially active in the first two weeks of the disease, given that susceptibility to it is very high in both children and adults, the infection spreads literally instantly. If the immune system is weakened, contact with a sick person is fraught with almost one hundred percent infection and disease. Whooping cough, the symptoms of which are characterized by coughing, is transmitted only through air and liquid, that is, by airborne droplets, mainly during attacks of dry, frequent coughing. This manifestation cannot be neutralized with ordinary syrups and warming up, which are practiced at home.

Cough is not controlled by conventional antitussive therapy, so Bordetella (Bordetella pertussis) can infect anyone who is in close contact with an infected person. Despite the fact that this disease is called a childhood disease, adults often get sick with it, but in an atypical, uncharacteristic form. Undiagnosed cases in adults can cause infection of children who have not yet formed an immune response to this disease. Innate immunity does not exist, but a person who has recovered from the disease maintains an adequate immune response throughout life. In pediatrics, it is believed that preschool-age children are most susceptible to infection, it is most dangerous for children from their first birthday to two years. Incubation of the bacteria lasts about a week (from 5 to 9 days), if the body is absolutely healthy and the immune system tries to resist, then the incubation period can last up to three weeks.

Whooping cough symptoms are clinically obvious, they depend on the period:

1. Catarrhal;
2. Paroxysmal (intense, peak);
3. Recovery stage.

Whooping cough: symptoms of the catarrhal period

The disease begins with a cough, which can be described as dry and persistent. It is often accompanied by nasal discharge (runny nose), subfebrile temperature. As a rule, the danger of this phase is that the disease is diagnosed as a respiratory disease or bronchopulmonary inflammation. Whooping cough practically does not show symptoms at this time, the disease does not have typical signs and proceeds without an elevated temperature, and the patient (child, adult) continues to contact with others. The catarrhal stage is the most intense time in terms of contagiousness, it is during this time period that mass infection occurs. The bacillus secreted with cough is active for two weeks. By the end of the second week, the cough intensifies, becomes more intense, especially at night, in a horizontal position of the body.

Peak period, paroxysmal

The cough goes into the attack stage. They are very typical for a disease such as whooping cough, the symptoms of which were not manifested at the first stage. The diagnosis at this time is usually accurate and does not raise doubts. Paroxysms look like a series of seven to ten coughs, then there is a break and the coughing "gusts" are repeated again. During a short break, the patient tries to take a deep breath, it has a peculiar whistling sound. This breath in clinical practice is called a reprise. The paroxysm is renewed, coughing attacks are accompanied by the release of specific characteristic sputum, which either comes back inside when swallowed, or comes out, often through the nose. When swallowing viscous secretions, a gag reflex occurs, so the body tries to remove the mucus. The cough is also accompanied by severe reddening of the skin of the face. If the child is sick, his face turns blue (cyanosis) or reddens so much from the strain that the microcapillaries of the eyeball and the vessels of the face burst (hemorrhagic syndrome). General fatigue and weakness are observed, if whooping cough demonstrates symptoms in the form of increased attacks of incessant coughing. The period of coughing paroxysms is very long, sometimes it reaches three months, by the end of this stage the coughing impulses subside and become weaker. Babies under one year suffer the most at this time. Their cough reflex is poorly developed, and the paroxysms look like an interruption in breathing. Such a delay in inhalation and exhalation can last more than a minute, which is very dangerous not only for the health of the newborn, but also for his life. The danger lies in short-term hypoxia, which in itself is fraught with neurological problems at least.

Recovery stage

This stage begins on the day when paroxysms become rarer and the intensity of the cough weakens. Whooping cough symptoms at this time are uncharacteristic, they depend on the general condition of the patient and the presence or absence of concomitant diseases. As a rule, weakening of the cough, a decrease in the number of attacks and their depth brings noticeable relief to the patient, however, relapses of paroxysms are possible due to weakened immunity and the addition of a secondary infection or virus. (ARI, ARI).

Whooping cough symptoms can show depending on the form. The disease in children under one and a half years of age often proceeds in a moderate form, in adults - in a mild form, children who have not received a vaccination in time get very sick, especially babies under six months. Vaccination is considered the most effective way to protect against this disease, even if infected, a person is much easier, and recovers much faster than unvaccinated patients.