Not Vaxing and a risk to others?

[stacey05]

Hi. I have a quick question. My son is not vaxed and is almost 2. He just got his first real illness...started with a junky sounding cough and then ran a fever for 2-3 days. His fever never went higher than 102.5. ( I did give motrin before bed, but not in the daytime) He hasn't had a fever since Monday, but still seems to be whiney, clingy and not eating as well. He still has the "croupy" cough, but it is better.

My question is regarding a friend of mine that is coming through town with her family and wants to stay with us. She has 8 children and the youngest is 6 weeks. How do I know if he has wc or not? Does anybody know if this sounds like pertussis? If so, it seems mild, but I have been giving him SA and still bf'ing. Should I get him tested? I just hate thinking that he could have something like wc (I have no experience with wc, so I don't know if this could be it) and pass it on to her baby. Am I just being paranoid? How long would a test take to get the results back? I know she vaxes, but they don't start vaxing until 6 months with their children.

I have been happy about how is immune system has handled this illness although the cough is lingering and I am baffled why he still seems not quite himself even though he has been fever free for 5 days! Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks.

[GAmomto5]

First, pertussis and WC are the same thing. Second, if his cough sounds "croupy", then its not WC. Somebody had a link on here some time ago that you could click on and listen to what a WC cough sounds like. I would lean more towards a viral cold-like illness. Thats what has been going around my house the last month or so. It usually lasts about 4-5 days and then slowly goes away. I personally wouldn't want my 6 week old exposed to that, so it might be best if you let her know your DS has had an illness and then let her decide if she wants her kids around.

[Cristiaz]

What the other person said except this: is your friend BF? If she is, her baby shouldn't get sick anyway. My daughter was around me non stop with flus, colds and never got it. I breast fed her while I was sick.

[Naturalyst]

I agree with the prior poster - let your friend know what's happened/happening so that she can make the decision.

[alegna]

It doesn't sound like pertussis to me. But non-vax status really doesn't matter for pertussis as the vax doesn't prevent carriage and transmission anyway.

And breastfed babies can and do get sick- they certainly have more protection, but it's not a magic shield.

-Angela

[mommy2two babes]

I was vacciated as a child and still got WC.
The sound at the end of the coughing spell is very distinctive and i don't think anyone ould miss it.
I would agree it is probably just a cold.