Croup vs Pertussis

[newmum35]

Do the coughing fits for pertussis come on at night like croup does?

How long (seconds or minutes) do coughing spells last for each, and how long is the "break" between them?


what are your favorite pages/websites about pertussis and croup? Anyone have any good bookmarks?

I am trying to understand the differences between the two.


And would be most helpful, if someone actually had personal experience with both of these, and could describe the differences, as you (or your child, preferably) experienced it.

[mom61508]

Originally Posted by newmum35

Do the coughing fits for pertussis come on at night like croup does?

How long (seconds or minutes) do coughing spells last for each, and how long is the "break" between them?


what are your favorite pages/websites about pertussis and croup? Anyone have any good bookmarks?

I am trying to understand the differences between the two.


And would be most helpful, if someone actually had personal experience with both of these, and could describe the differences, as you (or your child, preferably) experienced it.

I really like this site. I couldn't find info on croup but here's a little one about pertussis.
DD had croup last month. It sounds a lot worse than it is. It's worse at night and the cough really sounds like a seal. Does your LO sound like a seal? Steam would help get things moving, If it's croup going outside in the cold air or sitting in front of freezer will help open up the throat. Usually with croup they get stridor which counds like they're gasping for air...the best way I nkow how to explain it. Dd also had a fever between 101-103. It wasn't fun but we kicked it in like 3 days.
http://www.cure-guide.com/Articles_o...hickenpox.html

[newmum35]

Originally Posted by mom61508

I really like this site. I couldn't find info on croup but here's a little one about pertussis.
DD had croup last month. It sounds a lot worse than it is. It's worse at night and the cough really sounds like a seal. Does your LO sound like a seal? Steam would help get things moving, If it's croup going outside in the cold air or sitting in front of freezer will help open up the throat. Usually with croup they get stridor which counds like they're gasping for air...the best way I nkow how to explain it. Dd also had a fever between 101-103. It wasn't fun but we kicked it in like 3 days.
http://www.cure-guide.com/Articles_o...hickenpox.html

Love it. Thanks!

Also found this interesting, as I thought immunity to pertussis wasn't permanent (still it has to be better than the vaccine) - I wonder if there are different strains of pertussis and that might explain it (similar to the flu?):

The good news is that whooping cough does confer lifelong immunity, unlike the vaccine.

Oh, and no. My 2 1/2 year old has his first cough ever. No seal sound, and no fever. For 2 nights he coughed only 2 or 3 times that night. The next time was also at night and lasted 45 minutes, on and off. And last night was probably the same. Its pretty much only at night, and I don't think its either croup nor pertussis (although symptoms do resemble croup, except for not having the bark sound), but would still like to learn more about each, as I think its likely sooner or later we might encounter those. I distinctly recall my little sister many years ago with the barking cough, and I now know that was croup I wonder if immunity to croup lasts too. I bet it does, at least I never heard her bark again like that

[tanyalynn]

Croup seems to be more a description of how a virus gets a person sick, rather than an illness due to one, specific virus. Some kids get croup a lot, others never. DD's never had a croupy cough, even getting sick at the same time as DS when he clearly did have the croupy cough.

Pertussis immunity isn't lifelong. Read a really interesting study a while ago, it measured pertussis antibody levels over a 5-year period in adults. Most of the people in the study (they were nurses, so probably exposed to more sick people than the average person out there) had an increase in pertussis antibodies at least once during that period, and a significant minority IIRC had increases 2 or 3 times. I'm betting that after the first exposure, though, the symptoms are so mild that most people don't consider WC and don't need medical help.