Whooping cough

Diagnosis

Early on, whooping cough symptoms might be confusing for other common respiratory infections like the flu, bronchitis, or colds, making a diagnosis challenging.

Doctors can sometimes make the diagnosis of whooping cough just by listening to the cough and inquiring about symptoms. The diagnosis might need to be confirmed by medical testing. These examinations could consist of:

• Nose or throat culture and test: Your doctor will take a swab or suction sample from the nasopharynx (the area where the nose and throat meet) to check for the presence of whooping cough bacteria.
• Blood tests: A blood sample may be taken to measure your white blood cell count, as white blood cells help fight infections. A high count usually signals an infection or inflammation, though this test is not specific to whooping cough.
• Chest X-ray: Your doctor might request an X-ray to look for inflammation or fluid in the lungs, which can occur when pneumonia complicates whooping cough or other respiratory infections.

Treatment

Because whooping cough is more deadly in infants, treatment for the illness usually involves hospitalization. Your youngster may require IV fluids if they are unable to swallow food or liquids. In order to stop the infection from spreading, your youngster will also be kept apart from other people.

Most older children’s and adults’ treatments can be handled at home.

Medications

Antibiotics eliminate the bacteria responsible for whooping cough and aid in accelerating recovery. Family members who have been exposed could get prophylactic antibiotics.

Sadly, there isn’t much that can be done to ease the cough. For example, over-the-counter cough medications are not recommended and have minimal effect on whooping cough.