Whooping cough — or pertussis — is an infection of the respiratory system caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis (or B. pertussis). It's characterized by severe coughing spells that end in a "whooping" sound when the person breathes in.
Signs and Symptoms
The three phases of the disease are listed below.
The first phase of symptoms are similar to those of a common cold.
This phase is called the catarrhal phase and lasts 1-2 weeks:
* Runny nose
* Low-grade fever (less than 100.4°F)
* Loss of appetite
* Sneezing
* Upper respiratory infection. Can be mistaken for a heavy cold
* Mild cough
After about 1-2 weeks, the dry, irritating cough evolves into coughing spells, which can last for more than a minute, and the child may turn red or purple. At the end of a spell, the child may make a characteristic whooping sound when breathing in and may vomit. Between spells, the child feel well. Adults usually have milder symptoms.
Paroxysmal phase (lasts 1 - 4 weeks):
* Cough increases (2 - 50 times a day), and fever decreases
* Sudden, forceful breathing in causes the whooping sound
* A sudden intense bout of coughing (paroxysms) causes bulging and tearing eyes, tongue sticking out, and bluish discoloration
* Vomiting or choking may follow coughing bouts
* Pneumonia may develop
Convalescent phase (lasts 2 weeks to several months):
* Cough slowly goes away
Contagiousness
Pertussis is highly contagious. The bacteria spread from person to person through tiny drops of fluid from an infected person's nose or mouth. These may become airborne when the person sneezes, coughs, or laughs. Others then can become infected by inhaling the drops or getting the drops on their hands and then touching their mouths or noses.
Infected people are most contagious during the earliest stages of the illness up to about 2 weeks after the cough begins. Antibiotics shorten the period of contagiousness to 5 days following the start of antibiotic treatment. We have observed that use of highly anti-bacterial essential oils (Bacteria Top Gun blend) also seem to shorten the contagious period, but we cannot find any clinical studies to substantiate this. We repeatedly get reports from families telling us that the exposed children who used the oils had milder cases and that the symptoms didn’t last as long as the child who initially brought the disease into the family.
Incubation Period
The incubation period (the time between infection and the onset of symptoms) for whooping cough is usually 7 to 10 days, but can be as long as 21 days.
Duration
Pertussis can cause prolonged symptoms. The child usually has 1 to 2 weeks of common cold symptoms, followed by approximately 2 to 4 weeks of severe coughing, though the coughing spells can sometimes last even longer. The last stage consists of another several weeks of recovery with gradual resolution of symptoms. In some children, the recovery period may last for months.
Home Care
During recovery, let your child rest with their chest and head elevated in bed and use a cool-mist vaporizer to help loosen respiratory secretions and soothe irritated lungs and breathing passages. (Be sure to follow directions for keeping it clean and mold-free.) In addition, keep your home free of irritants that can trigger coughing spells, such as aerosol sprays, tobacco smoke and smoke from cooking, fireplaces and wood-burning stoves.
Kids with whooping cough may vomit or not eat or drink much because of frequent coughing. Offer small, frequent meals and encourage your child to drink lots of fluids. We’ve found that adding a drop or two of Lemon essential oil to the glass (never use plastic with essential oils) of water helps dissolve the mucus. Watch for signs of dehydration including thirst, irritability, restlessness, lethargy, sunken eyes, a dry mouth and tongue, dry skin, crying without tears, and fewer trips to the bathroom to urinate (or in infants, fewer wet diapers).
Some feel it best to eliminate dairy, bananas, wheat and meat products and encourage vegetable broths, steamed vegetables and fresh fruit (especially pineapple and grapes).
Vitamin C (200 - 500 mg two times per day. Children over 4 years of age can have up to 3,000 mg per day in divided doses for short periods of time), zinc (10 - 15 mg per day), and beta-carotene (10,000 - 25,000 IU per day).
Testimonies
1. I found that diffusing RESPIRATORY RELIEF and applying the same to the chest and back help tremendously. I applied TOP GUN (anti-bacterial blend) to the bottoms of feet every few hours alternating now and then with WARRIOR. LUNG HEALING as a suppository seemed to help, too. Keep water with LEMON added nearby so the child can sip it; they must not get dehydrated, and the Lemon will help cut the mucus. For a very small child, I found it helpful to have a soft, terry cloth (like a baby wash cloth) handy. I’d put this cloth over my index finger and sweep my finger through her mouth at the end of the coughing to “grab” the mucus and get it out! Otherwise, I had the feeling that she was gagging on the mucus – this simple procedure brought quicker relief.
2. OREGANO works very well and seems to cut recovery time in half. We added a drop to softened butter and spread this on toast.
3. Our protocol for whooping cough is:
LEMON in the water to keep the mucus down
RESPIRATORY RELIEF for the chest for coughing
PLAGUE DEFENSE diluted with a little olive oil on bottoms of feet and the back to fight infection
LEDUM on the throat
PLAGUE DEFENSE, WARRIOR or OREGANO (diluted if necessary) on the feet
Recovery time of 3 months was cut to just about 10 days
Diffuse RESPIRATORY RELIEF, LUNG HEALING, PURIFICATION, CITRUS BLESSING, LEMON. Use PEACEFUL if there is a lot of anxiety and to help with sleep. [Linda’s comment: This testimony is “old” and was before we had the TOP GUN anti-bacterial blend. In addition or instead of Warrior, I’d suggest using Top Gun.]
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