Can pertussis be mild?

[Hopester]

We have been sick at our house for about 2 weeks now. It started with my daughter who is 9. Mild fever, stuffy nose, sore throat and cough. She actually missed a week of school. She is still coughing here and there. Then it moved to my son. He's 4. He's had it for almost 2 weeks and has coughing fits. No whoop. I thought it was his asthma, but now I'm second guessing. I have it too. He still has a runny nose and watery eyes and just said his throat hurt today. When I start coughing, I actually get dizzy. I don't cough often, but I feel exhausted.

There has been a confirmed case at my daughter's school.

So could it be pertussis? I've been dosing w/vit. C and giving vit. D. Do you need antibiotics? I can't get into the doctor until Monday.

Of course we don't vax, so this will add fuel to the fodder for those who think we should even though I know the truth about the pertussis vaccination.

Thank for your input!

[Emmeline II]

1. Yes, it can be mild.
2. The antibiotics are prophylactic--too late for that.

[tanyalynn]

This study in Pediatrics gave me a better idea about the range of how pertussis can present.

http://pediatrics.aappublications.or...full/100/6/e10

[wholewheatchick]

Esp. in adolescents and adults, it can be very mild and just be a general "eh, I don't feel good, and I cough all the time." I am positive that I had it sophomore year of high school, but they never thought to look for pertussis because I had been vaccinated.

I got over it with nothing special; I don't even remember I was taking vitamins at that point of my life. It wasn't until I read about milder pertussis cases in adults that I even realized this was what I had had.

[miriam]

Even if you do everything you are told to do by your doctor, you can get pertussis and all newborns are at risk...

http://www.kpbs.org/news/2010/dec/14/immunized-people-getting-whooping-cough-experts-sp/

[Storm Bride]

Originally Posted by Hopester 

We have been sick at our house for about 2 weeks now. It started with my daughter who is 9. Mild fever, stuffy nose, sore throat and cough. She actually missed a week of school. She is still coughing here and there. Then it moved to my son. He's 4. He's had it for almost 2 weeks and has coughing fits. No whoop. I thought it was his asthma, but now I'm second guessing. I have it too. He still has a runny nose and watery eyes and just said his throat hurt today. When I start coughing, I actually get dizzy. I don't cough often, but I feel exhausted.

There has been a confirmed case at my daughter's school.

So could it be pertussis? I've been dosing w/vit. C and giving vit. D. Do you need antibiotics? I can't get into the doctor until Monday.

Of course we don't vax, so this will add fuel to the fodder for those who think we should even though I know the truth about the pertussis vaccination.

Thank for your input!

I have no idea if what you have is pertussis or not, but it sounds like a bug that's been going around here, as well. I coughed for seven straight weeks. My kids have all coughed for anything from two to five weeks. DH has coughed for about three or so. The cough is really bad at its peak, and it lingers. I haven't researched it, but dh did a bit of digging and found mention of people with this bug developing bronchial infections. (That sounds about right to me. I've had bronchitis a few times, and this thing seemed quite similar.) I don't know if antibiotics would have helped speed our recovery or not, but we've all gotten over it without them.