talk to me about whooping cough

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I'm pretty sure both dc (22 months and 5.5 months) any myself have it :(

we've had the cold symptoms and are now struggling with a flemmy cough aynd coughing can go on for minutes and were all struggling for breath.

dd1 and I are both asthmatic.

we have a Dr appointment at 5pm. our Dr is notorious for being crap. So what questions should I be asking? what medication should we be asking for?

Hi, how did you get on at the dr? I have every symptom for whooping cough but dr was very reluctant to diagnose whooping cough stating there was a virus doing the rounds that was taking people 6-8 weeks to recover from.

Ask your GP to test you all, especially your baby! Has tiny one had full course of vaccinations? Whooping cough can be very dangerous for babies and if you're not sure keep on asking.

Dr did nothing for dd2 saying its just a virus it will get better. And dd1 was given a course of steroids. And wouldn't do anything for me.

She kept saying she hadn't herd of a local out break so it would be unlikely. I pointed out in the last 2 weeks we have been in large crowds in london, Birmingham and Bristol and thy could be the start, she just said it was unlikely as there wasn't a local out break

So I will keep a close eye on the girls and see what happens :(

I diagnosed my children from this website.
There appears to be no medication that helps. With my 2 DC (5 & 8) I used humidifiers, burners with olbas or eucalyptus in, Vic rubbed behind ear, on chest and feet at night. It was a tough time but we are out the other side now.

There won't be a 'local outbreak' if no GP will test or diagnose unless there is one. Grrr.

Keep a close eye on the children. I really don't want to frighten you but if it is whooping cough (and it may not be) the coughing can make it hard for them to get breathing again. My friends baby twins had to have CPR lots of times and it was a fortnight before they were diagnosed. Happily they're ok now but things might not have turned out so well.

Trust your instinct. If you're worried seek further advice and if breathing becomes an issue go straight to hospital or call an ambulance. You can always bug your GP for the test if things haven't turned around in a couple of days.

Sadly, 6 babies in the UK have lost their lives to whooping cough already this year. It's not just the UK though, there are massive outbreaks in the US, Australia, New Zealand and lots of other places.

In the UK there are currently no vaccines for anyone older than a baby and the effect wears off after about 10 years. This means that a lot of persistent coughs in grownups are actually whooping cough, unpleasant but not usually deadly. In babies it's different. Luckily we are in NZ at the moment and our DS's will get a booster at 11.

Visit the petition link below if you think that this is something you want to do something about.

Petition for booster whooping cough vaccines for UK teens