Pertussis?

[LNC]

I just found out children from our church were recently diagnosed with pertussis. My younger bio kids aren't vaccinated at all, bc my older son almost died from his 15 month shots (was in intensive care for 3 weeks).

 

SO, how many weeks would you keep your children home from church with this scenario?

[Sue G in PA]

I'm not sure how pertussis works, meaning is the incubation period (before the outbreak of symptoms) the contagious time (like chicken pox) or is it contagious at ANY time? Honestly, I'd probably keep my LITTLE ones home a bit longer than the older ones. Pertussis in older children/adults presents itself much like a bad cough/cold. Most people have had pertussis at some point...they just don't know it. Ask your dr. to be sure.

[Harriet Vane]

I think this one needs an answer by a doctor.

[Alice]

How long have the children diagnosed been sick? Pertussis is most contagious in the first 1-2 weeks of illness (usually while the symptoms are the mildest and people don't realize it's anything more than a common cold.) However, if they are still coughing they are still possibly contagious and people can cough up to 6 weeks with pertussis.

 

Are they on antibiotics? Antibiotics will not do much for the person ill with pertussis as once it's diagnosed it's usually to late to treat...however antibiotics are used to make the person less contagoius.

 

How old are your kids? Pertussis is most severe in younger children, and can be deadly in infants.

 

What kind of contact do your kids have with these kids/families? Obviously different levels of exposure means different levels of risk.

 

Finally, if the kids that are sick are small, it's most likely that they caught pertussis from an older adolescent or an adult who had what seemed to be a cold or the flu and a bad prolonged cough. This person probably doesn't know that they were contagious and may have already exposed others....so therefore it's possible that others in the church are also infected (and don't know it so aren't taking antibiotics).

 

Putting all that together...it's really really hard to tell you how long to keep your kids home. You'll have to weigh the risks. Hope the info above helps some.

[Meliss]

When some kids in our church were diagnosed with pertussis a couple years ago, I had to spend $80 on antibiotics for my kids (following doctor's advice) who had been around them, even though my kids did not have symptoms and were up to date on their vaccinations.

[HiddenJewel]

I would keep mine home just to be safe.

[Alice]

As Meliss pointed out...antibiotic prophylaxsis is recommended for those exposed to pertussis. You have to ask some of the same questions I mentioned before to decide whether or not your kids need antibiotics. Antibiotics have been shown to be effective in decreasing symptoms or preventing disease when given within 3 weeks of onset of the cough in the person who had pertussis (so it might be "too late"). Antibiotics are still usually given to all asymptomatic contacts (especially if close contact or high risk--unimmunized, infants, etc) to help prevent further spread of the disease and to stop the outbreak. Also, it's difficult to tell how long to treat (contacts are treated the same as those with the disease...for 14 days) because as I mentioned before the outbreak may be ongoing even after those 2 weeks of antibiotics.

 

I would definitely advise talking to your doctor who should be able to help figure out whether your kids need antibiotics and when to return to church. You can also check out this site http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pertussis-guide/guide.htm.

[HiddenJewel]

nt

[LNC]

my pediatrician and her husband are both out with a new baby for a few more weeks. Their partner is my doctor and sees my kids too sometimes. SHE's on maternity leave too!!! Isn't that crazy!

 

I know the other docs a little bit because of our family's special needs, but this is a sensitive issue. Someone will advise us well though.

[Jann in TX]

You are contagious for one week after you start antibiotics.

Coughing can last SEVERAL MONTHS--it is also known as the 100 day cough--I coughed from November 1 until February 10th or so--but I still cough nearly every day at least once. Coughing does not mean you are contagious. I had 2-3 weeks of misery--the most humiliating cough--coughing until you wet your pants--coughing until you wet your pants and lose your lunch...very little sleep.

 

My children were put on antibiotics--even by their Dr who RARELY prescribes them (he did NOT hesitate!) and they showed no symptoms. DH chose to have a lab test instead (this is EXPENSIVE) he did not have it.

 

I was vaccinated as a child and my children are vaccinated (selective and delayed). My youngest received her booster in October--My oldest dd had a booster this past summer.

 

Middle dd has not had a booster since she was 5. She took the antibiotics but developed a cough--Dr said she probably had a mild case. Her cough lasted about 7 weeks and was 'nothing' compared to mine!

 

I had to give our health department a list of people (and places) I had been in contact with--I also had to notify my family out of state who we visited when the cough was in the initial stage--that was fun!:(

[anewday]

Ugh.

 

We had this happen in our church several years back. We stayed away for a good month. Visited nearby churches. We weren't exposed (otherwise we wouldn't have been visiting any churches LOL).

 

I have a HUGE fear of this disease having had many close friends' children contract it over the years. I cannot imagine going through it...

[LNC]

he gave all of our kids Zithromax as a precaution for the exposure, but he didn't test him. Likely the croup, but better to be safe.