[Re: ] Pertussis Question

[Guest guest]

from Dale,

Pertussis is whooping cough. There's a characteristic whoop at the end

of the cough -- sorta a high pitched bark. Sounds similar to croup and

would probably be hard to tell apart unless you've heard the real thing.

Looks like everyone's in for another LOOOOOOONG winter!

In His service,

Dale

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 11/9/2005 9:21:32 PM Central Standard Time,

momtoboywholoveshisgoats@... writes:

> Then later in the day his Pediatircian called

> us to confirm that " it " was in Blake's school(Middle) & thet Blake was

> by NO means to even step foot in the school!!!

>

:

Thanks for the info. I'm wondering at what point I would pull out. She

does pretty well, really... but then again, I'm coming off a perfectly healthy

summer and only one sinus infection this school year so far, so I'm feeling

safer I guess.

But she tends to get LRIs and pneumonias, so that's what is concerning me. If

she never had any lung involvement maybe I'd feel safer? The bus stop feels

like a crapshoot, too -- two sick siblings (one with a naaaasty cough), three

sick students recently... two of whom came over to play Sunday (DH let them in)

and both were sniffling, one had the " sick eyes " and I sent them packing!

It's always something, isn't it? Last year with the flu shortage and now

Pertussis. We didn't have much Pertussis last year -- well, it was in our county

but not our town or school. School nurse really impressed me because yesterday

she was demanding she be allowed to send a letter home even though it was only

a " suspected " case of Pertussis, she felt like the parents had a right to

know. CDC was telling her you can't make an announcement when it's not

confirmed.

I suppose I'd wait until there are two cases in 's class (showing that

it's spreading) before I would pull her? I guess I'll have to rely on Mommy's

instinct -- when it makes me sick to my stomach with fear to send her to

school, that might be the time not to do it!

(mom to , age 6-1/2, dairy intolerant-related GERD -- currently

has polysaccharide antibody def, previously had transient IgG, IgA, t-cell &

other defs... and also to Kate, age 3!, more dairy intolerant but very healthy!)

[Guest guest]

Pertussis is whooping cough. It starts off looking like a cold, then

progresses to include the bad cough. Pertussis can run from seeming like a cold

to

being more severe and having the characteristic " whoop " . You cough so hard and

so

long that you can gag or throw up at the end, or you cough so hard you have

no breath so at the end you " whoop " , a sharp, fast intake of breath. Let ALL

your breath out then inhale really fast while saying " whoop " , that's what it

sounds like only it's involuntary.

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 11/10/2005 8:37:12 AM Central Standard Time,

morrisvn@... writes:

> I were you, I think I would call my child's pediatrician again and

> clarify the situation to him since you are not sure he understood

> why you were concerned

Vic:

Thanks. Sorry you went through that -- you'd think someone should do

something at this point if Pertussis is making a comeback. See if they can

approve and

recommend the vaccine for the age group you mentioned, determine the reason

and solution to why innoculated children are still getting it, etc.

I called a different ped in the practice, she looked up the type of bacteria

it is (gram negative, not encapsulated), felt that was a positive sign but

then decided she just simply didn't know, and told me to call ID/Immunology. She

was also saying she was very curious to know the age and vaccine status of the

original case, that I should find that out before making further decisions.

I mentally burned the bridge with our ID/Immuno -- that doc was so rude and

unconcerned at our last appointment that I sent a scathing letter recapping the

appointment (and her various rude comments) to our ped (who referred us to

her). But I suppose a phone call won't kill me and I did not C.C. her, though

the ped may have spoken to her about it. Not that I care!

Thanks again --

(mom to , age 6-3/4, dairy intolerant-related GERD -- currently

has polysaccharide antibody def, previously had transient IgG, IgA, t-cell &

other defs... and also to Kate, age 3!, more dairy intolerant but very healthy!)

[Guest guest]

I don't post here all that much, but Pertussis is something I know

about, unfortunately, as I had a nasty case of " atypical " Pertussis

(doc's term) 3 years ago. I was shocked that I, an adult, had

contracted a child's disease, but apparently, according to my doc,

those between the ages of 25 & 35 have the highest incident rate

because we usually have high contact with children and our

vaccinations have long since worn off. When I caught it, I has been

working on a college campus and I didn't know anybody else who was

sick, so imagine my surprise - I just figured I had penumonia again.

I was sick from September until January and went through several

rounds of antibiotics before one was found that worked (Biaxin). If

I were you, I think I would call my child's pediatrician again and

clarify the situation to him since you are not sure he understood

why you were concerned. Maybe then he can give you more information

about what to be concerned about and when so that you can be more

proactive rather than reactive. Pertussis is horrible; It is painful

and wipes you out, making it very difficult to function. Honestly, I

think I would prefer pneumonia any day over Pertussis.

Vic

>

> Hi everybody.

>

> How concerned should we be about Pertussis?