If there is a "whoop", is it for sure whooping cough?

[Dandelionkid]

My son just woke up from a coughing episode that left him having to whoop. Is this indicative of pertussis or can other bad colds cause this kind of cough? He is not fully vaccinated and the baby (15 m) is starting to have a cough tonight (not vaccinated). It really doesn't sound like it from the literature. All of my kids did have a mild cold that finished at the end of Feb. but this harsh cough just started out of the blue with no other symptoms in my ds (3.5) 3-4 days ago, my dd (15 m) has a really runny nose and had a fever last night. No whooping except tonight by ds. I am getting it too, and I am pretty sure I had my booster dptp within the last 10 years.
What do you think?

[Dandelionkid]

Actually fits the symptoms of croup better. Especially as older dd6 is getting a sore throat. Here's hoping it is not pertussis, but they really didn't have a lead in to the cough like you are supposed to.

[deditus]

Yeah, I was going to say croup, too. I think croup is usually described as a "seal bark" cough.