About this topic
Pertussis is an illness of your breathing tube and airways. Your breathing tube is also called a windpipe. Your windpipe is the tube between your chest and throat that lets air move in and out of your lungs. Germs attach to the small hairs inside your windpipe and cause the illness. The germs cause swelling and soreness of your windpipe. This leads to a bad cough. ‚
Pertussis causes very bad coughing spells that make it hard to breathe. In adults and teens, the illness may be milder. Adults are less likely to have the whooping sound at the end of the cough. This illness most often affects babies and children. ‚
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What care is needed at home?
- Ask your doctor what you need to do when you go home. Make sure you ask questions if you do not understand what the doctor says. This way you will know what you need to do.
- Take drugs as ordered by the doctor.
- Get lots of rest. Sleep when you are feeling tired. Avoid doing tiring activities.
- Drink extra glasses of water, juices mixed with water, or broth each day.
- Use a cool mist humidifier to help keep your airways moist and help with breathing.
- You may use nose drops to relieve stuffiness.
- Stopping the coughing is tough to do:
- Use 2 to 3 pillows when lying down to make it easier to breathe and sleep.
- Try to avoid things that may start the coughing. Yawning, stretching, laughing, yelling, exercise, mist, and steam can cause coughing.
- Your doctor may give you something to help with the coughing. It may help but you may not get rid of the coughing until the illness goes away.
What follow-up care is needed?
Your doctor may ask you to make visits to the office to check on your progress. Be sure to keep these visits. ‚
What drugs may be needed?
The doctor may order drugs to: ‚
- Fight an infection
- Improve the cough
- Lower fever
- Treat a runny nose
Will physical activity be limited?
Lots of coughing may prevent you from doing normal activities. You may need more rest than usual. You may notice that exercise or stretching makes your cough worse. Avoid the activities which make you cough more. Ask your doctor what activities might be best for you. ‚
What changes to diet are needed?
Eat soft foods or liquids, like fruit nectar, Jell-O, sherbet, or soup, if swallowing is too painful. You may want to eat small meals more often. ‚
What problems could happen?
- Hernia, broken rib, or broken blood vessels in your eye or face due to lots of coughing
- Weight loss and poor nutrition
- Another lung illness
What can be done to prevent this health problem?
- People who live with you may need treatment. This may keep them from getting sick., even if they are not yet showing signs of being sick.
- Make sure all members of your family are vaccinated. A vaccine can prevent infection.
- Adults need a booster shot if you had pertussis vaccine when you were a child.
- The germs are easily passed to others by sneezing, coughing, or touching other people. Practice proper hand washing. Wash hands for 20 seconds or more with soap and warm water. Hand washing is the best way to prevent infections.
- Always cough into the elbow. This can prevent germs from being carried into the air.
- Wipe surfaces with a disinfectant. Wipe door handles, telephones, and tables.
- Wash your eating dishes, glasses, and utensils away from the rest of your family 's. This will help prevent the spread of infection.
- Do not go to places where infected people might be.
When do I need to call the doctor?
- Signs of infection. These include a fever of 100.4 ‚ °F (38 ‚ °C) or higher, chills, very bad sore throat, ear or sinus pain, cough, more sputum or change in color of sputum.
- Trouble breathing
- Pain with breathing
- Coughing up blood
- Eating or drinking poorly for more than a few days
- Health problem is not better or you are feeling worse
Teach Back: Helping You Understand
The Teach Back Method helps you understand the information we are giving you. The idea is simple. After talking with the staff, tell them in your own words what you were just told. This helps to make sure the staff has covered each thing clearly. It also helps to explain things that may have been a bit confusing. Before going home, make sure you are able to do these: ‚
- I can tell you about my condition.
- I can tell you what may help ease my breathing.
- I can tell you what I can do to help avoid passing the infection to others.
- I can tell you what I will do if I have trouble breathing, I cough up blood, or I am not able to eat or drink.
Where can I learn more?
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ‚
http://www.cdc.gov/pertussis/ ‚
National Organization for Rare Disorders ‚
http://www.rarediseases.org/rare-disease-information/rare-diseases/byID/191/viewAbstract ‚
Sounds of Pertussis ‚
http://www.soundsofpertussis.com/ ‚
Consumer Information Use and Disclaimer
This information is not specific medical advice and does not replace information you receive from your health care provider. This is only a brief summary of general information. It does NOT include all information about conditions, illnesses, injuries, tests, procedures, treatments, therapies, discharge instructions or life-style choices that may apply to you. You must talk with your health care provider for complete information about your health and treatment options. This information should not be used to decide whether or not to accept your health care providers advice, instructions or recommendations. Only your health care provider has the knowledge and training to provide advice that is right for you. ‚
Copyright
Copyright ‚ © 2015 Clinical Drug Information, LLC and Lexi-Comp, Inc. ‚