Is this pertussis? I am so worried.

[terraka]

Hi all,

what has started out as a cold has not gone away for exactly 1 week now. This being the second cold (or...) of my 8 month old, and doctor stating that it might be pertussis (lab tests come back in 4 days), I am now very very worried.

She coughs periodically, sounds like a medium cough, the spells are short and they most often end with a sneeze and a trickle of snot, which is clear. There is no whooping. Other than that there is no fever, and baby is in normal to good spirits.

But it is a fact that that is how pertussis has been known to start. What really worries me is that for the past 4 days, baby's condition has not changed. The cough is the same- day and night, from about a few times per hour to about a few times per 15 minutes.

After doc appt yesterday, we started Azithromycin. 

Has anyone else gone through something similar? If your baby had pertussis, what happened in the beginning?

We have not vaccinated yet.

Thank you for sharing!

[terraka]

Ok, so we got results awhile ago and it was not pertussis. I guess the doc overreacted. Just letting people who might read this in the future know. Surely not every prolonged cold with a cough is that. 

[Marnica]

Very true - what you described in terms of symptom pictures doesn;t sound like pertussis at all. Sounds like the doc just said that because you have not vaccinated. Had your child been vaccinated, I bet the doc wouldn't have even considered pertussis - which is ironic since 50% of cases occur in fully vaxed people

[goldenwillow]

Originally Posted by Marnica 

Very true - what you described in terms of symptom pictures doesn;t sound like pertussis at all. Sounds like the doc just said that because you have not vaccinated. Had your child been vaccinated, I bet the doc wouldn't have even considered pertussis - which is ironic since 50% of cases occur in fully vaxed people

Don't you just love how it was assumed the LO had pertussis due to no vaxx? 

I remember feeling that way when our son had a cough around that age.  I was so in my head that the cough would persist.  Are you still nursing?  I swear it was the remedy needed for our LO.  Our ND/MW supported us but I remember family and others that thought we were this or that for not vaxxing. 

Stand tall.  Glad that your LO is ok. 

[terraka]

In addition, I was charged the lab fee for  the pertussis and para-pertussis test. The insurance did not want to cover it. I asked the ped why, and she could not clearly explain either. It was around 200 bucks... ugh...