help-7 mo. ds has whooping cough?!

[mama milkshake]

I'm afraid my 7 month old

(sidenote, i haven't figured out all these abbreviations yet, is ds son, dd daughter?, what is husband? anyway )


son might have whooping cough/pertussis. He is completely unvaccinated. He has had a runny nose for a week or two and in the last 4 days or so started this awful sounding cough, kind of like bronchitus or like he's choking or something. It seems to annoy him but not cause him much pain and it only happens about 5-10 times in a 24 hr. period. How do I know if it is whooping cough and what do I do about it if it is?????

i really appreciate any help!!

[saige]

naturopath

I'd take him to a naturopath for treatment.Maybe you could take him to a walk in clinic(do you have those?) for a diagnosis then to a naturopath for treatment.But don't worry,whopping cough is treatable.To determine if it is whooping cough,is he making a whoop noise to catch his breath after he coughs?That's the best sign.Keep us posted.

[kathie]

just wondering where you are.....
there is alot of pertussis going around here (austin, tx) right now.
I think that if it was whooping cough, he would be coughing much more and be acting more sick....
my daughter had the most heinous cough at about your sons age, i thought for certain it was whooping cough and took her to our homeopath who had been through w.c. with several clients.
It wasn't. She informed me, however, of all the homeopathic remedys for w.c. that really do a great job.
I would definatly seek out some one you trust for some help.

[Katrina]

Definitely take him to a doctor, but don't be too worried. My daughter, 6 months (also unvaccinated), just had a cough and runny nose. I was pretty worried, and took her to our great pediatrician. She had a runny nose, and a nasty barking kind of cough, but no fever and was acting fine. It got a lot worse when we visited family and used their old humidifier. Our doc said it was probably from dust and other irritants from the furnace, and the old humidifier probably had mold on it. She told us to continue using our humidifier, and to prop her up while she sleeps, to let her sinuses drain. Since she sleeps with us, we propped up our bed by putting two pillows under the mattress, just like our regular pillows, but beneath. The first night we did this we did not have to aspirate her at all, and she has been getting a lot better. So have my allergies!

[mama milkshake]

We're in Utah now but just back from the east coast for Christmas. He isn't whooping, but is feverish and his cough is sounding a little worse. I've read that there is a period of coughing without the whooping sound before it starts, so I hope that that's not what is going on here. It could be just a bad cough. How soon can dr's tell for sure? Just by the sound or do they do some kind of test to make sure? our dr. is nice but was pretty worried about the no vaccincations thing! thanks for the help.

[Kat20]

They can do a throat culture, but it has to be done within a certain time period. I do not know the time frame, but if it is done too late, you could get a false negative.

[saige]

I guess..

The thing that worries me is if you take him to a docter,they might hospitilize him whether he needs it or not.As soon as you go to a dr that basically puts your son in his care to make what decisions he wants,that's why i wondered about a walk in clinic.I'd give it a couple days to see if there is any improvement.(I've been in a similar situation that's why i'm concerned.)

[campo-momma]

Here's a site with some great whooping cough info-

www.doctoryourself.com

[mama milkshake]

I have been a little concerned about taking him to a dr. too soon, before I know if that's what it is. (I don't want to cause a big scare about a pertussis outbreak when he's just got a cold!) I've been giving him some homeopathic medicine and his cough is getting better. He does have a slight fever. I'm starting to think that maybe it isn't whooping cough after all, just a bad cough, maybe croup? Anyway, thank you all for your advice.

[Alexander]

Originally posted by mama milkshake
I have been a little concerned about taking him to a dr. too soon, before I know if that's what it is. (I don't want to cause a big scare about a pertussis outbreak when he's just got a cold!)

Forgive me, but I think it is the doctor's job to diagnose the illness, not you!

Go and see the doc. asap!

a