Whooping Cough - get the vaccine!

[happysunnydisposition]

Hi

I am now on day 19 of having whooping cough and thought I would share my experience of whooping cough to encourage people to get the vaccine

I don't want to upset anyone but this is how it feels to have whooping cough and maybe this will encourage you to get the safe vaccine (my better half and kids all have it already)

So I am a dad in my early 40's in good enough health (A smigin overweight but who isint)

Day 1 slight cough, not major just slightly annoying
Day 2 to Day 4 cough getting worse no huge deal but not nice
Day 5 & 6 - at home with fever and cold and slight cough, feeling icky and unwell
Day 7 - feeling great - the cold is gone but the cough seems to be catching in my throat, not sore but now unpleasant - woke up in the night coughing badly and choking - which kinda scared me no end
Day 8 - much worse at night, starting to spit up lots of phlem and choking at each cough
Day 9 - at the doctors and have Whooping cough - family all on Anti-biotics as a preventitive

Day 10 to day 20 (Today)
Every 45 minutes since then I have had a coughing attack that is utterly debilitating, its very like vomiting on an empty stomach.

The "Whooping" in whooping cough is not just sucking in breath, I cannot breath - its like my lungs have been turned off so I am swallowing air not breathing - its really very unnerving especially when on my own in the house

I cant lie down as the coughing has gotten worse when lying down so have averaged 2 hours sleep (i think) in the past 12 days

I look like i have been punched in the face as the repeating coughing has burst blood vessels in my eyes and caused facial busing

Oh yes and I have cracked a rib - which making sitting very sore.

Best of all my doc (Who is great) says my ONLY option is to ride this out, I have a severe case of Whooping cough, and this could last another 10 weeks (Hoping it wont)

So don't put your kids (or yourself) though this!

So sorry for your loss Hayley.

I contracted whooping cough as a child. I wasn't vaccinated due to a scare at the time. It was awful and left me with permenant lung damage. Almost 40 years on I can still remember the terror of coughing so much that I struggled to breathe. Ironically I was later taught at university by one of the scientists that developed the original vaccine.

DD is fully vaccinated.

I was given the whooping cough vaccine at 13 weeks pregnant by mistake by a nurse. They called me back a week later to get another whooping cough vaccine done after 20 weeks pregnant. Would any of you get the vaccine done again twice in the same pregnancy? I'm not sure what to do..