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Whooping Cough
Protecting Our Children From Pertussis
By Teri Brown
According to Will, teens who develop pertussis are often forced to sit on the sidelines, unable to attend classes or participate in sports and social events for quite some time because of the severity of their illness. They are likely to be fatigued, may run a fever and experience the severe coughing spells, which interrupt anything they are doing. A person experiencing these severe coughing spells may become blue in the face. It is possible for a teen to fracture a rib or develop a hernia from the coughing stress. If your child's cough lasts for over a week and is especially relentless, see your health care provider and ask for a pertussis test.
Early treatment is also important to keep the condition from worsening. Recovery time can be shortened by early intervention.
By educating ourselves and our schools on the whooping cough comeback we can better protect our children from the disease.
