It is a fatal cough. Pertussis, also known as Whooping Cough, is a highly contagious, bacterial disease that can be fatal for infants. Ninety-two percent of deaths from Pertussis occur in infants under 4-months of age. and 63% of babies younger than 12 months of age who get pertussis end up in the hospital. Babies get Pertussis from those who are close to them; primarily a family member, like a parent.
The name "whooping cough" comes from the loud "whoop" sound that occurs when someone with Pertussis struggles to breathe between coughing spasms.
If you thought Pertussis was behind us, think again. It's the only vaccine-preventable disease that has been on the rise.
Why do I bring this up? We don't have an infant and all my kids have been immunized.
I developed a cough in April 2010. It was a deep, deep cough. It was hard to catch my breath inbetween coughs and I couldn't do anything to get my heart-rate up or it would start up again. Plus, it sounded HORRIBLE! I had it for weeks and realized I didn't have any other symptoms you would expect to have with a cough. After a month or so, I went to see a Dr. He asked questions like, Did I feel like it was allergy related? I didn't. There would be other symptoms. Is it possible that I had heartburn? Nope. I've only had heartburn once in my life; when I was pregnant with Maren. I know what that feels like and this wasn't even close. Could I be missing other flu symptoms? Uh, no. I'm pretty sure I would know if I'd thrown up or had a fever. Could I have Pertussis? Oh, I seriously doubt it! Where in the world would I have gotten it? Plus, I've been immunized. And, wouldn't I have passed it to my family also? They don't have this. The Dr. was stumped but in listening to my lungs thought he heard something and wanted to do an x-ray to make sure he wasn't missing something. The x-ray showed perfectly clear, healthy lungs. I was referred to another Dr. This one acted like he didn't believe I had anything wrong with me; and I can see why -because honestly, I seemed and felt just fine. Until I coughed. I didn't feel like I needed to cough at the moment but I forced one out for the sake of proving my visit was merited. He sat straight up and said, is that your cough? You sound awful! Are you sure you feel okay? He told me there are 4 main causes of a cough; 1) allergies, 2) heartburn, 3) the flu, and 4) Pertussis. Sound familiar? We went through the same routine plus blood work to test for allergies and because there wasn't any other answer, he sent me home with allergy meds (it must be post-nasal drip) and an inhaler (I've never used one in my life and it totally made me shaky). When that didn't work, he referred me to a Pulminologist (lung specialist) who ordered a chest CT, breathing test, walking test and a sleeping test. I was seeing dollar signs before this visit and now I was imagining myself swimming in bills. Finally, it was determined that I did, in fact, have Pertussis. I must have caught it from a shopping cart and Walmart or some other place from someone who was contagious. The problem is that once I had answers, the cough was starting to go away on it's own and I had been living a normal life for the past 4 months; exposing everyone around me in the meantime.
I started doing some research and found out that Pertussis is also nicknamed the "hundred-day cough" because it will go away on it's own around that time. I had it for a little over 120 days. I had been immunized as a kid but I hadn't ever gotten a booster (which should be done every 10 yrs). I wondered why no one in my family had started coughing and finally realized it's because they were all immunized. Thank goodness! And, Sam is younger than me so his immunization hadn't worn off like mine had.
I'm getting on my soap box now! It is reported that 3.3 million cases of Pertussis occur each year in adults and adolescents. Children aren't being immunized and pass the disease to adults and infants. I can't imagine such a small baby going through what I experienced. It is ridiculous to have the means to prevent this and not do it. Parents need to immunize their children and get their own boosters up to date.
*Side Notes: The results of my blood test for allergies showed that I am allergic to one thing (only a slighty (0.08%)), to Russian Thistle, otherwise known as, tumbleweed!
The chest CT showed that the lining of my lungs were completely healthy but I had a small growth on my thyroid. I made yet another appointment and had another blood test done to check my thyroid. I also had an ultrasound of my thyriod done. The blood test came back normal and the ultrasound showed the center of the growth was fluid filled, not solid, which is the best possible scenario. PHEW! The news was relieving but talk about swimming in a pile of bills!!
Looking back at this has brought me a greater appreciation for the answers I found that I didn't necesarily know I was looking for. I always wanted to know if I had allergies and if so, to what and how strongly I was allergic. Before the cough came, I had been trying to lose weight and found it was a very difficult and slow process. I wondered if there might be something wrong with my thyroid. It's a relief to know for sure.
No comments:
Post a Comment