woolybear Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 We are waiting on the results for the whooping cough test. In the meantime, I have a few questions. First of all, here is where we are at with this: Both ds have similar symptoms, but one has it worse with the additional fun of vomiting. Approximately two weeks ago(maybe a little more) they had what seemed to be a slight cold with a sore throat. That went away and then the cough came. The cough is not horrible sounding in itself, but for one ds when he starts it usually ends in his vomiting. This has happened every night for the last five nights. He usually seems just fine in the day. However, he did just cough/vomit a little while ago. Took him to the dr two days ago. She thought it might be whooping cough and we are waiting on the results. She did not have much to tell us otherwise. So, I turn to the hive........ 1) Is it likely he or they are still contagious? 2) If it is whooping cough, does he need to stay home and rest? For how long? 3) Is there anything one can do to relieve symptoms while waiting for this to be over? Is cough medicine helpful for not coughing? 4) Anything else I need to know? Btw, although we are waiting on the results it does sound as if this is the correct diagnoses so that is why I am asking these questions now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dory Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 it's been a few years since I had whooping cough, but I believe they are most contagious before they even start coughing. As for relieving it, the only small amount of relief I got was when I was on prescription strength cough syrup combined with sitting in a steamed up bathroom. I remember coughing until I felt like I couldn't breath and was throwing up. I hope your kids are feeling better soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mycalling Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 He's probably not contagious anymore and don't be surprised if the results come back negative. They only come back positive for the first 3wks or so and it takes up to a week to start showing cold-like symptoms in the beginning. We rotated through it for 5 months so we just did whatever people felt up to doing. Once the cough takes over, it's from damage to the lung tissue and usually the illness is over. We did the croup treatments for helping it: steam, cold air, humidifier, etc. Mostly we just suffered through. Friends of ours had good luck with a nebulizer when their family had it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeker of Schole Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 1) Is it likely he or they are still contagious? 2) If it is whooping cough, does he need to stay home and rest? For how long? 3) Is there anything one can do to relieve symptoms while waiting for this to be over? Is cough medicine helpful for not coughing? 4) Anything else I need to know? We just finished a round of whooping cough that sounds identical to what you are experiencing - Coughing without the whooping sound but ending up in vomiting. According to what we were told by the health department, yes they are contagious, and will be until after three days of antibiotics. If it is whooping cough he needs to stay home until he is no longer contagious, otherwise, just go based on his strength / needs. In our instance cough medicine was not helpful for not coughing, but the dr did prescribe some with codine for the pain of coughing. Start compiling a list now of who he has been in contact with since the symptoms first started, as they will want to notify others that have been exposed. In our case, as soon as the diagnosis was confirmed the health department took over the case and did all the contacts, etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybear Posted August 2, 2012 Author Share Posted August 2, 2012 We just finished a round of whooping cough that sounds identical to what you are experiencing - Coughing without the whooping sound but ending up in vomiting. According to what we were told by the health department, yes they are contagious, and will be until after three days of antibiotics. If it is whooping cough he needs to stay home until he is no longer contagious, otherwise, just go based on his strength / needs. In our instance cough medicine was not helpful for not coughing, but the dr did prescribe some with codine for the pain of coughing. Start compiling a list now of who he has been in contact with since the symptoms first started, as they will want to notify others that have been exposed. In our case, as soon as the diagnosis was confirmed the health department took over the case and did all the contacts, etc... Oy. They've both been playing baseball. Lots of it. They have felt fine to do so and up until the vomiting part I wasn't really concerned. Now, do I make them stop and wait on diagnosis or let them keep playing as they feel up to and we don't know yet. I am sure both of their teams have had plenty of exposure already from both my boys. :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamakim Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 All seven of mine still living at home had it recently. Cough syrup did NOT help. The only thing that seemed to help mine was sodium ascorbate (not any-ol' Vitamin C - needs to be sodium ascorbate for this). Comes as powder. Dosage was beginning with small dose (~1/4 tsp in juice, 2X/day) and increasing to loose stools but not diarrhea. <------this treatment found on another "mothering" board, really did help my children's symptoms back off. Thank goodness. Pertussis takes for-ev-er to go away, feels like :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer in MI Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 We had it last summer. It was HORRIBLE!!!!! It lasted forever. I found this website helpful. http://www.whoopingcough.net/symptoms.htm They have video of all sorts of different types of whooping cough. Some people whoop and others don't But it still can be whooping cough. And, I thought I remember that after a certain amount of time, they wouldn't test positive. So, even if you don't get a positive result, you could still have whooping cough. I'd definitely get on antibiotics - it will keep them from being contagious. Also, if anyone in your family hasn't caught it yet, have them take the antibiotics. It can make their case lighter. If it is definitely whooping cough, anybody you've had contact with recently should know so that they can take antibiotics too. :grouphug: The throwing up after the cough was the absolute worst for my son. NOTHING worked to aleviate the symptoms. NOTHING. He was on steroids, breathing treatments, vit.c (the type mentioned above). It was truly horrific. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TammyS Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Steam will help, some. Syrup might help, some. The vomiting is probably from the strength of the cough, a mechanical reaction, if you will. It might help, once he gets started, to sit him on your lap facing out, have him wrap his arms around his rib cage as best he can, then you wrap your arms around his rib cage over his arms and just hold him through it. If you are lucky, it will keep the diaphrammfrom being pulled so hard, which is what is inducing the vomiting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Oy. They've both been playing baseball. Lots of it. They have felt fine to do so and up until the vomiting part I wasn't really concerned. Now, do I make them stop and wait on diagnosis or let them keep playing as they feel up to and we don't know yet. I am sure both of their teams have had plenty of exposure already from both my boys. :001_huh: If there's even a small chance that your boys are contagious, keep them away from other kids! And warn the parents of the kids they've played with, so they can watch for symptoms and get their kids on antibiotics at the first sign of a problem. I would be livid if a mom I knew allowed her dc to play with my ds, knowing they might have whooping cough. (It would be different if she didn't have a clue and thought they were coming down with a cold, but this is entirely different at this point.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer in MI Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 If there's even a small chance that your boys are contagious, keep them away from other kids! And warn the parents of the kids they've played with, so they can watch for symptoms and get their kids on antibiotics at the first sign of a problem. I would be livid if a mom I knew allowed her dc to play with my ds, knowing they might have whooping cough. (It would be different if she didn't have a clue and thought they were coming down with a cold, but this is entirely different at this point.) :iagree: This is how we caught it. I'm not sure if the mom/son (who had whooping cough) really didn't know they had it or what. Or if their doctor didn't think to test because they'd been vaccinated. She insists it wasn't whooping cough. All I know is they were coughing like CRAZY and my ds caught it from them. Sounded exactly the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
besroma Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 :lurk5: Taking notes just in case.... Hope they don't have it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenmama2 Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 We had what we thought was whooping cough over Christmas (didn't get tested but yes, stayed home and isolated for over a month). Suppressing the cough with cough syrup etc will not help but will only prolong the symptoms. Of course sometimes you need to try and get some relief so we kept that stuff just for bedtime if possible. If you are open to homeopathics there is a really good one for whooping cough. My dc recovered a lot faster after we got that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybear Posted August 3, 2012 Author Share Posted August 3, 2012 If there's even a small chance that your boys are contagious, keep them away from other kids! And warn the parents of the kids they've played with, so they can watch for symptoms and get their kids on antibiotics at the first sign of a problem. I would be livid if a mom I knew allowed her dc to play with my ds, knowing they might have whooping cough. (It would be different if she didn't have a clue and thought they were coming down with a cold, but this is entirely different at this point.) The first couple of weeks I was clueless. We just went to the doctor two days ago and since she didn't mention it I wasn't too concerned. I did ask her if he should stay home (not directly about contagiousness) and she said only if he wanted to. My concern with being contagious only came about today as I was researching online. Of course I see your point. I will call the doctor tomorrow and hopefully we will have the results and I can ask about their being contagious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybear Posted August 3, 2012 Author Share Posted August 3, 2012 We had what we thought was whooping cough over Christmas (didn't get tested but yes, stayed home and isolated for over a month). Suppressing the cough with cough syrup etc will not help but will only prolong the symptoms. Of course sometimes you need to try and get some relief so we kept that stuff just for bedtime if possible. If you are open to homeopathics there is a really good one for whooping cough. My dc recovered a lot faster after we got that. What is the name of the homeopathic medicine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kht2006 Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 if you use natural remedies, this blog has lots of information http://www.gwens-nest.com/natural-remedies/category/Whooping%20Cough Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dovrar Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 :bigear: What is the name of the homeopathic medicine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybear Posted August 3, 2012 Author Share Posted August 3, 2012 if you use natural remedies, this blog has lots of information http://www.gwens-nest.com/natural-remedies/category/Whooping%20Cough I'm going to try some of these tomorrow! It looks really helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carpe Diem Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 If you wait much longer the antibiotics will not help them, only keep them from spreading. We all had it earlier this year. I didn't do the antibiotics because I am allergic to the type used. I second the use of the vit c and yes it should be the type previously mentioned. You can get it from Bronson labs. People need to stay away from babies as it can cause death. I had my throat clamp down where I couldnt breathe. It w terrifying until I figured out how to get out of it: don't panick and take a sip of water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingiguana Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 Sick for months -- because we had no idea it was whooping cough. Even now, I don't know for sure, except that the person my kids caught it from got it from her sister who WAS tested and came out positive. These days, I think doctors are more likely to test for it early on. Back in the dark ages (uh, 5-6 years ago, I think it was), doctors were pretty much in the dark about whooping cough coming back. I took my kids in and was patted on the head and told it was a virus. They insisted there was nothing they could test for and nothing that would treat it. Even the girl who was eventually tested was only tested after being sick for a very long time. They were at their wits end and trying any old thing. It's amazing they even found anything. Over the counter cough medicine didn't help. Slowly drinking water was about the only thing that kept the cough down. At least, that was the only thing we found for it. As I said, we had no medical help. This is reminding me that I need to call the dr and see if my asthmatic child has been vaccinated for it. She got a tetanus shot 4 years ago. These things used to contain the pertussis vaccine as well, but they were dropping that in recent years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeker of Schole Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 Although, aren't many kids vaccinated for it? Mine are. Even vaccinated children are getting it, so that's no guarantee. As a matter of fact, it was the fully vaccinated child that got it, and the not fully vaccinated one didn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybear Posted August 3, 2012 Author Share Posted August 3, 2012 Well, we tested for it as soon as we had a clue this might not be just a cold. We just got the results--negative. I'm waiting to hear from the doctor as to what she thinks we should do now. Anyone else have any thoughts on anything else this might be? --Fine most of the time --coughing and then throwing up??? --no other symptoms Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybear Posted August 3, 2012 Author Share Posted August 3, 2012 All seven of mine still living at home had it recently. Cough syrup did NOT help. The only thing that seemed to help mine was sodium ascorbate (not any-ol' Vitamin C - needs to be sodium ascorbate for this). Comes as powder. Dosage was beginning with small dose (~1/4 tsp in juice, 2X/day) and increasing to loose stools but not diarrhea. <------this treatment found on another "mothering" board, really did help my children's symptoms back off. Thank goodness. Pertussis takes for-ev-er to go away, feels like :grouphug: Where can you buy sodium ascorbate? Pharmacy, health food store, super market? I don't want to run all over the place today if possible. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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