Disease of whooping cough: signs in children

The cause of prolonged paroxysmal cough with hard-to-separate viscous sputum may be whooping cough. Symptoms in children are the same as with a normal viral infection. Pertussis is an infectious disease, the causative agent of which is the pertussis bordea Borde-Gengu or the bacterium of the genus Bardetella. Infection is transmitted by airborne droplets. Particularly susceptible to pertussis infection are newborns and toddlers up to a year.

Whooping cough: signs in children

The duration of the initial manifestations of the disease is about two weeks: the child has an increase in body temperature to 38 degrees, there is hoarseness, coughing and runny nose. The general condition, as a rule, does not deteriorate significantly. After two weeks, the cough acquires a paroxysmal character: the baby coughs, each time making every effort to cough up phlegm. The child's face tightens and turns red. Breathing is difficult, the breath comes through a closed vocal chink and is accompanied by a loud whistling sound. The attack ends with the separation of a small amount of sputum, may be vomiting. After 3-4 weeks, the spasmodic cough gradually fades, but the usual cough can persist for quite a long time. Signs of pertussis in children can manifest only on the 14th day after infection, this is the period of time that makes up the so-called incubation period. This should be remembered for parents whose children were in contact with sick children.

How to determine whooping cough in a child?

The difficulty in diagnosing is an erased form of an ailment, when a long dry cough comes to the fore. However, in most cases, there is no difficulty in diagnosing whooping cough. Symptoms in children are confirmed or refuted after a number of laboratory tests, such as sputum culture to identify the nutrient medium. The number of isolated bacteria with each day of the disease is reduced, so the results may be different. The negative seeding result does not yet indicate the absence of pertussis. Therefore, an examination of the patient's serum for the presence and amount of antibodies to pertussis proteins may be prescribed. Modern methods of diagnosis include methods of molecular biological research, with which you can detect the DNA of the causative agent in sputum and blood.

Treatment of pertussis

Children who have undergone a severe or moderate form of whooping cough are subject to compulsory admission to the infectious department. Treat the disease with antibiotics, as well as drugs that dilute sputum and reduce edema of the walls of the bronchi. Treatment in the hospital allows regular general clinical studies (general analysis of urine and blood), chest X-ray, etc. In severe cases, a child with an attack of pertussis cough requires inhalation of the oxygen mixture. Such a procedure can be arranged in a hospital.

A prolonged attack of coughing, shortness of breath and, as a result, oxygen deficiency and even a stop of breathing - this is how babies are most often affected by whooping cough. Signs in children under the age of one year are grounds for immediate hospitalization. This can depend on the life of the child.