Whooping Cough

Whooping cough is an infection that affects your lungs and the tubes you breathe through. It spreads very easily from person to person and can be serious, especially for babies and young children.

What Does Whooping Cough Look Like?

At first, whooping cough feels just like a cold. You might have:

• A runny nose
• A sore throat
• Usually no fever (which is different from a normal cold)

After about a week, the main symptom starts - severe coughing fits that:

• Last for several minutes at a time
• Are worse at night
• May cause a "whooping" sound when you gasp for breath between coughs
• Can make you bring up thick mucus
• Might make you vomit
• Can turn your face very red
• May last for weeks or even months

Important: Babies and some adults might not make the "whooping" sound, but they can still have whooping cough.

When Should You Worry?

Speak to your GP urgently or call NHS 111 if:

• Your baby is under 6 months old and has any signs of whooping cough
• You or your child have a very bad cough that's getting worse
• You're pregnant and have been around someone with whooping cough

Call 999 or go to A&E immediately if:

• Your lips, tongue, face or skin turn blue or grey
• You're finding it hard to breathe properly
• You have chest pain when breathing or coughing
• Your child is having fits

Why Is It Dangerous?

Whooping cough can be especially serious for babies under 12 months old. They might develop:

• Problems with breathing
• Not getting enough fluids in their body
• Lung infection
• Fits

Older children and adults usually have milder symptoms, but the severe coughing can still cause:

• Sore ribs
• Problems with your stomach muscles
• Ear infections
• Leaking wee when you cough

How Is It Treated?

If whooping cough is caught early (within 2 weeks), your GP might give you antibiotics. These help stop you spreading the infection to others, but they might not make your symptoms better.

Important: If you get antibiotics, take the full course even if you feel better. Stopping too early can make the infection come back.

Looking After Yourself at Home

While you're getting better:

• Get plenty of rest
• Drink lots of fluids
• Take paracetamol or ibuprofen if you're uncomfortable (check the packet first)
• Never give aspirin to children under 16

How Long Are You Contagious?

You can spread whooping cough to others for up to 3 weeks after your cough starts. If you take antibiotics within 2 weeks, this time gets shorter.

Stay off work, school or nursery until 48 hours after starting antibiotics, or 2 weeks after your cough started if you haven't had antibiotics.

Prevention

The best way to prevent whooping cough is vaccination. Children get the vaccine as part of their routine NHS vaccines at 8 weeks, 12 weeks, 16 weeks, 18 months, and 3 years 4 months.

If you're pregnant, you should have the whooping cough vaccine around 20 weeks. This protects your baby for their first few weeks of life. Speak to your GP or midwife if you're 20 weeks pregnant and haven't been offered this vaccine.

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Based on NHS.uk guidance. Written by Dr Krishnan Pasupathi, NHS GP.