Pertussis

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW:

Pertussis is an infection of the nose, throat, and lungs. It is also called whooping cough. With pertussis, air passages get plugged with thick sputum (spit), which causes coughing spells. Anyone can have pertussis, but it is more serious in babies and young children. It may be treated with antibiotic medicine during the early part of the illness. In adults, pertussis can be prevented with a Tdap shot.

AFTER YOU LEAVE:

• Take your medicine as directed: Call your primary healthcare provider if you think your medicine is not working as expected. Tell him if you are allergic to any medicine. Keep a current list of the medicines, vitamins, and herbs you take. Include the amounts, and when, how, and why you take them. Take the list or the pill bottles to follow-up visits. Carry your medicine list with you in case of an emergency. Throw away old medicine lists.
  
  
• Ask for information about where and when to go for follow-up visits: For continuing care, treatments, or home services, ask for more information.
  
  
• Your cough could last 10 weeks or longer. Coughing helps keep sputum (spit) from clogging the lungs.
  
  
• Fill a cool mist humidifier with cool water and put it in your bedroom by your bed. Using the humidifier will help loosen the sputum in your throat. Ask caregivers for more information about how to safely use a humidifier.
  
  
• Drink small amounts of liquids every hour when you are awake, even if your throat hurts.
  
  
• Eat at least six small meals every day. Eating small meals may keep you from vomiting after a coughing spell. To calm the stomach, wait a short while to eat after a coughing spell.
  
  
• Do not smoke or be around anyone who smokes. Your breathing and coughing may get worse if you are near smoke.
  
  
• Stay away from wood burning stoves or fireplaces. Smoke from these may also cause coughing spells.
  
  
• Rest as much as possible until you begin to feel better.

CONTACT A CAREGIVER IF:

• You have a fever.
  
  
• You are not drinking liquids.
  
  
• Your cough is getting worse.
  
  
• You are vomiting (throwing up) and cannot keep anything down.
  
  
• You are not sleeping or resting because of the cough.
  
  
• You have the following signs and symptoms of dehydration:
  
  
  • Dizziness
    
    
  • Dry or cracked lips, dry mouth or tongue, sleepiness, and wrinkled skin
    
    
  • Urinating less

SEEK CARE IMMEDIATELY IF:

• Call 911 if you have trouble breathing.
  
  

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The above information is an educational aid only. It is not intended as medical advice for individual conditions or treatments. Talk to your doctor, nurse or pharmacist before following any medical regimen to see if it is safe and effective for you.

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