Whooping cough

What is pertussis?

Whooping cough (pertussis Latin, commonly known as "whooping cough") is a respiratory disease that is caused by infection with a particular type bacteria (Bordetella pertussis). It is characterized by harsh, staccato cough, followed by the typical panting breath. After such a spasmodic cough attack, it is often for the ejection of a tough, transparent mucus, and sometimes vomiting. Pertussis is extremely contagious and is spread by droplet infection. Although he has been known as a childhood disease, can also infect young people and adults to occur but with more atypical symptoms. The course is always a lengthy and sometimes even extends over months, but the prognosis is generally good. Diagnosed too late, whooping cough can also end rarely fatal, which is particularly prevalent diseases in the first half year of life. For, especially for infants is whooping cough is a dangerous threat, partly because the coughing attacks often occur here in the form of breath-fires. The only possible protection against this disease is vaccination.

 

Course of a typical pertussis disease

Typically goes through a pertussis patient three different stages that manifest themselves in each characteristic symptoms.
After infection with the whooping cough agent passes an incubation period of about seven to 20 days, until signs similar to make a noticeable cold: runny nose, dry cough, sore throat, hoarseness, and possibly fever. They described this first phase of the disease as "catarrhal stage" during which the patient is already highly contagious.
Only in the second stage of the course of whooping cough (paroxysmal stage) begin the heavy coughing attacks that can occur per day up to 50 times. Most of the attacks accumulate in the night, but can also be provoked by physical exertion or stress. After such a series is often cough hervorgewürgt glassy mucus or vomited, also follows a rattling breath. The wheezing sound while breathing caused by sudden against closed vocal cords (glottis) and therefore has the name "whooping cough" led. The coughing attacks can sometimes also lead to complications such as burst loss of appetite or weight loss through bloodshot eyes, a result of that enormous pressure when coughing small blood vessels. In particularly severe attacks can lead to a slipped disc, incontinence or even ribs, inguinal and umbilical hernia repairs. In addition, the weakened patient can be afflicted by other infections and thus may suffer in addition to the whooping cough, for example, in a middle ear, pneumonia or bronchitis. The paroxysmal stage usually takes up about three to four weeks, in very difficult cases can take up to six months.

The last stage is the recovery ("stadium decrementi"), in which the coughing attacks gradually become less and gets the whooping cough patient again more appetite. The decay of complaints takes about two to six weeks, rarely up to three months.

Atypical disease course of whooping cough in infants and adults

Especially with infants in the first six to eight months, no coughing attacks show as typical signs of whooping cough. There mostly newborns most at risk because mothers can pass on to their children against the infection is no "Nestschutz. In addition, one must first baby from the eighth Weeks vaccinated. Earlier than six months, then sufficient immunity in the body is built. Since infants are not able to do it, the educated abzuhusten slime, there are often shortness of breath, which can lead to suffocation. It is now assumed that whooping cough may be used as a possible cause of sudden infant death comes. Also feared is the so-called pertussis encephalopathy, in which the infection spreads to the brain. This complication causes seizures, drowsiness or unconsciousness of the infant and is considered the most common cause of death associated with pertussis. But even withstood an encephalopathy may cause permanent damage (mental retardation, paralysis, impaired vision and hearing loss left).

Also atypical whooping cough may also proceed in adolescents and adults. Here is an infection generally shows in a milder form and is particularly noticeable by a prolonged, severe cough that does not occur must be episodic, and is occasionally accompanied by neck pain or sweating. Due to the weaker and different symptoms whooping cough in adults is recognized, therefore, not often. Although the disease at that age is no longer life threatening, adult patients may also suffer from unpleasant side effects such as pneumonia or convulsions. In addition, an undiagnosed pertussis disease have the effect of non-vaccinated children or infants in the vicinity of the affected are infected.

Experts advise that the occurrence of any suspected whooping cough, or if a cough for longer than a week stretches without noticeable improvement, especially at night, more in appearance occurs, consult a doctor to draw a precaution.