Can a 7 year old fully vaccinated child get whooping cough?

[Theantisleepfairy]

My daughter got a bad cold and cough 3 weeks before the end of term. She has had a cough ever since. It makes her cough until her eyes pop and she is nearly sick, and then she does a huge intake of breath. Sometimes she can go 25-30 minutes without coughing, sometimes it is every few minutes. It is a dry cough, not a mucus-y cough. She also has really bad breath.

We have been to the doctors a few times. Her chest is clear and so are her lungs. They prescribed a blue inhaler but it hasn’t helped. They said that the other possibility was whooping cough. Is it possible to catch whooping cough if you are fully vaccinated? I didn’t think it was and now feel like I haven’t advocated for her.

Yes. My sister has had it..took ages to get results

One of mine had whooping cough despite being vaccinated. He hadn’t had the preschool booster yet as too young but was as vaccinated as he could be for his age (if that makes sense).

Thank you. I’ve gone into panic mode a bit!!

Yes. I am not vaccinated and almost certainly caught it from a vaccinated (therefore asymptomatic) child.

@InTheRainOnATrain that makes complete sense, thank you. Is there anything I am supposed to do, except for go back to the doctors again? I feel awful that we are now 9 weeks down the line and I have got her no help besides keeping her off school when she was feverish, and getting her an inhaler. The doctors just said “virus” “virus” “virus” for ages.

After 3 weeks she won’t be infectious anymore so no point in antibiotics….I’m 14 weeks down the line….still have a morning cough and not 100% still get a bit breathless …..give her a couple more months she should be fully recovered

9 weeks?! Poor thing! We had a local outbreak and cases at school so booked the appointment suspecting it was that, doctor confirmed it and got antibiotics same day which cleared it up really quickly.

@InTheRainOnATrain it’s been awful! We have been to the doctors 5 times in total but they just said virus until the last two sessions when they swapped to asthma or whooping cough.

How was it confirmed? Blood test or saliva? As they are the only ways.
Most GPs will treat as suspected whooping cough…..and prescribe as waiting for results will take up to a week….guessing you went private

Yes vaccinations aren't 100%

Sure can. Just means it tends to be a milder case than it would have been otherwise. Thats why unvaccinated people died from whooping cough.

We have been booked in to go for a blood test to confirm it tomorrow. Poor little love. I feel like the worst mother ever!

OP, it's not your fault. There is a lot of whooping cough around. Vaccine doesn't stop you getting it, but reduces chance of getting it and should help with the severity. The push to attend places e.g. school when sick, plus not being diagnosed properly doesn't help. Wish we'd make schools a bit healthier for kids - would help health and attendance.

If it is that then I think it's just a case of waiting it out now. My partner had it as an adult and it was horrendous- 3 months before he slept through the night.

Neither actually so I guess just suspected not confirmed but the GP (NHS) said giving the noises he was making and the fact that he’d been exposed at school she was confident that’s what it was and didn’t need to bother confirming via a swab.

Thank you. I feel so guilty for not helping her earlier, but what do you say when a doctor tells you it’s a virus? I even had to go and see the head because she was off school for nearly a week and a half because she was so poorly at the beginning. And now I have the guilt that we were out and about because it was “just a virus” and we could have given it to someone vulnerable. I just had no idea that whooping cough was even a thing any more really.

Like you said @Cuwins , we haven’t slept through the night since June!

We currently have this in the house. Not boys went down first and now me.

Thank god for vaccines as I wouldn't have wanted this to be worse!

@CaptainCabinetsTrappedInCabinets I am so sorry. I hate that whooping cough is now on everyone’s radar again. It makes me so cross and sad!

Yes, it has been very common this year. My 5 year old caught it and we missed the treatment window for antibiotics as we assumed it was his asthma. Although he had a cough for weeks, it was otherwise mild as it is in most vaccinated kids. Probably a lot of people with lingering coughs don’t realise they have it. I wouldn’t think you had failed her at all. What else could you possibly have done?