To let you know there is a serious whooping cough outbreak in the UK?

[Overnightoats1]

Just returned from the GP with my 12 year old DS.. I wasn't aware but there is a really bad whooping cough outbreak so thought sharing the symptoms may help other parents. Apparently the vaccine stops working effectively at about 10 years old so they are seeing a huge rise during this outbreak in 10-15 year olds. Its also really important to start antibiotics ASAP within the first week or so to prevent the spread in your home as it's caused by bacteria.
For us it seemed like a typical cold - low grade fever, congestion, runny nose that improved within 3 days but then the awful cough started. He is generally okay between coughs but the cough's are so violent they have made him get sick a few times and he battles to breathe during them gasping for air with the gasping whoop sound -he also coughs up this horrible clear stringy mucous. Luckily we have antibiotics now but it's definitely something that should be on every parent's radar right now as it's so contagious and very dangerous for pregnant unvaccinated women and unvaccinated smaller children - plus really awful for the kids with it. I didn't even think of whooping cough as assumed my DC would be okay as all vaccinated. Hope this helps someone!

I hope your DC will be much better soon.

@Looolaaa So sorry , please don’t let it panic you . My mum told me years later he had a congenital heart defect which is why he’d been admitted .
My husband had WC as a child and is still very much alive and well

I didn't know about the vaccine wearing off too! I think they may need to consider boosters soon as it's really awful!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3ggge56x1qo

@Mumtobabyhavoc you poor thing that must have been so hard. I stopped breathing in front of my kids a couple of times when coughing - it really scared them 😢

Oh, no! That must've been awful for all of you. 😲

Me too and I kept passing out in front of my DC. It's a very scary illness.

It’s been all over the news, how are people not aware? It was being called the 100 day cough earlier in the year.

@Marmite27 @Riversideandrelax @ShrinkingEveryDay It's quite frustrating that the old term, 100 day cough, is still used because unless you say, pertussis or whooping cough, it just sounds rather innocuous. No wonder whooping cough is spreading! People don't take necessary precautions, protect others or see their doctor for medication early on because they don't know. I also heard about the 100 day cough back in Dec/Jan and mentioned it to the doctor at the hospital when I had my toddler in emergency for RSV and croup and the doctor didn't clarify that it was whooping cough I was talking about, unless he wasn't familiar with the old term. I just shake my head at our reactive medical system and cannot understand why it isn't more proactive.

Further to that, here's some info from the US' Mayo clinic:

"Antibiotics kill the bacteria causing whooping cough and help speed recovery. Exposed family members may be given preventive antibiotics. Unfortunately, not much is available to relieve the cough. Over-the-counter cough medicines, for instance, have little effect on whooping cough and are discouraged."