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Original poster

Has my son got Whooping Cough?

15 replies

DominoDancer · 05/12/2007 20:50

He is four and had a dry intermittent cough for about three weeks now. It is worse at night and he has a coughing fit which lasts up to a minute and he trys to catch his breath. This can happen up to four times a night roughly. He goes red in the face but doesn't vomit or bring pleghm up.
He is bright and cheerful otherwise and eating well and drinking. I have taken him to the docs last week and was told his chest is clear and it sounds like cataarh.
They suggested, calpol, junior olbas oil and steam, raising the pillow end of the bed.

Can anyone fill me in or give me advice?

I'm going back to the docs tomorrow I have decided, anyhow.

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PortAndLemonaid · 05/12/2007 20:56

The chest is typically clear in whooping cough. It does sound potentially like it, or it could be parapertussis (which is very similar to whooping cough but generally a bit milder).

One trouble with whooping cough is that there isn't really any treatment (other than supplementary oxygen if it gets particularly bad, which is less likely in a 4yo) and the only surefire way to diagnose it is to take swabs that are uncomfortable to take and then culture them for (I think) a few weeks.

Original poster

DominoDancer · 05/12/2007 22:18

Thanks for the info.

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Original poster

DominoDancer · 06/12/2007 11:56

Well they still think it's cataarh.

If it isn't better in another couple of weeks they will try inhalers.

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wardrobemistressakasugarfree · 06/12/2007 12:02

If it was whooping cough ,you probably wouldn't need to ask.My cousin had it as a child and the noise she made was shocking. Coughing fits but with the characteristic 'whoop' noise.
She was ill in bed for weeks with it.
Is your Ds immunised? I would have thought catching whooping cough these days would be relatively unusual.

Original poster

DominoDancer · 06/12/2007 12:14

No he isn't.
He catches his breath and last night he had seven or eight coughing fits.

My OH had it as a child and my MIL says it does remind her of it when she hears him.
He just isn't sick but retches.
The thing is he is well in himself and running around and playing happy enough otherwise.

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PortAndLemonaid · 06/12/2007 12:14

{darkly]So do GPs. It's very difficult to get them to diagnose it these days (DS had it from 2 weeks old but had to spend nearly three weeks repeatedly taking him back to the GPs telling them that I wasn't just being all PFB about it (he was perfectly happy and alert in between coughing fits), until he finally (a) didn't put on any weight for two weeks, so the HV told the GP to take me seriously, and (b) had a coughing fit in front of one GP (and turned blue, which I'd been telling them he did) who promptly had him sent to hospital and put on supplementary oxygen. I (vaccinated as a child) had it too (it was me who gave it to DS, in fact) and similarly had made oodles of visits to the GPs without their ever diagnoising it).

You can get it when vaccinated, although it's generally less severe than if you're unvaccinated. In fact there was some study last year that investigated people presenting to their doctors with long-lasting coughs and found that some fairly high proportion actually had whooping cough.

But officially the cases are very low. I don't think I ever made it onto the statistics for 2005, for example, even though in theory it's a reportable disease. DS will have done given he was properly swabbed in hospital.

StripeyKnickersSpottySocks · 06/12/2007 12:26

I had it twice as a child and sounded like a seal with it.

sylvev · 06/12/2007 14:56

Hi
Sorry to hear about your ds. I had whooping cough back in July. Not everyone whoops, but this does sound similar to my symptoms. There is a very helpful site run by a GP who has info. and soundtracks of patients coughing! www.whoopingcough.net (I think).
It is often misdiagnosed these days, I was initially diagnosed with asthma until the whooping started. Hope this helps.

orangina · 06/12/2007 15:02

It could also be croup (sp?). My dd had it a month or so ago (croup, not wc).... putting her in a steamy room (in the bathroom while you are having a hot shower for example) did help clear some of the stuff in her throat (croup stays in the throat and doesn't go to the chest apparently, which is consistent with what you are saying).
Good luck.

orangina · 06/12/2007 15:19

YeahBut · 06/12/2007 15:22

A night cough can be symptomatic of asthma. Both dd2 and ds first started off with this symptom and we had to endure weeks of going back and forwards to the doc before they would do anything as the chest was clear. A few days on the inhaler and they were right as rain!

StripeyKnickersSpottySocks · 06/12/2007 15:40

With whooping cough you cough as you breath in. With croup the whooping noise is more as you breath out.

Original poster

DominoDancer · 06/12/2007 22:30

Thanks for the info and thanks for the link Sylvev. The sounds do sound similar to my boy. The without whooping one.
There is some pleghmy stuff coming up tonight and out of his moputh and nose and it is clear and thick.

Hope he is has a better night anyhow.

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Scotia · 06/12/2007 22:35

I was about to post the same as yeahbut. My ds has asthma too and it was diagnosed after a persistant (6 months or more) night cough.

Original poster

DominoDancer · 09/12/2007 22:46

Well we have a him catching his breath and him retching. Plus a whooping kind of sound.

Sigh.

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