Cómo identificar la tos ferina en niños y su tratamiento

Author: Cao Han, Hunan Women and Children's Hospital. Reviewer: Hunan Medical Chat.

Title: How to Identify Whooping Cough in Children and Its Treatment.

In spring, children are more prone to whooping cough. Parents should recognize symptoms and vaccinate to prevent it.

"Doctor, my child coughs during the day and at night, but the most tormenting times are around two or three in the morning when he suddenly has a series of intense coughs, his face turns bright red, and at the end, he takes a deep breath, making a sound like a 'rooster crowing'. My husband and I take turns holding him to sleep sitting up. The child suffers, and we're on the verge of breaking down!" a mother of a 4-year-old child anxiously asked the doctor at Hunan Women's and Children's Hospital.

Pediatric doctors indicate that, with the arrival of spring, the hospital receives children with these conditions daily, leading many parents to the brink of despair. Many families initially thought it was just a simple "spring cold", with a runny nose and some episodes of coughing, without paying too much attention. However, who could imagine that this cough would become as persistent as a "dog's plaster", which cannot be removed? In the end, many are diagnosed with "whooping cough".

Spring has arrived and that cough that "torments children" has reappeared.

Many parents may think that "whooping cough" is an ancient term and far from us. However, the reality is quite the opposite; in the past two years, it has made a comeback, especially activating during the winter and spring seasons.

According to data published by the National Disease Control Administration, recently the number of whooping cough cases reported nationwide has increased more than tenfold compared to the same period last year, especially in infants under one year old, who, if infected, have a high risk of developing severe forms of the disease.

Why should we be particularly vigilant in spring? Because as spring progresses, temperatures fluctuate significantly, and children's respiratory defenses are inherently weak. Combined with crowding during the New Year period, the whooping cough bacterium is quietly spreading among children through these droplets.

Don't be fooled by its "disguise"! Common cold vs. whooping cough, the difference is here.

Many parents make a mistake: they treat whooping cough as a common cold, resulting in missing the best time for treatment. In reality, there is an essential difference between the two.

First stage: the "false cold" that can be disguised (catarrhal phase).

Initially, during the first 1-2 weeks, whooping cough presents very similarly to a common cold: sneezing, nasal discharge, mild fever, and occasional cough. At this stage, it is difficult for doctors to make an immediate diagnosis in the hospital. However, there is a slight difference: the cough from a common cold tends to improve gradually, while the cough from whooping cough becomes more intense day by day, especially at night.

Second phase: the appearance of the true "whooping cough" (spasm phase).

This is the most torturous part! A common cold: you recover in a few days. However, "whooping cough" involves a long series of continuous coughs, where the child can't inhale, coughs until their face is red and teary. At the end of the coughing, they take a deep breath and produce a sound similar to a "rooster crowing".

At this time, the child often vomits the food consumed, their little face turns purple, their eyelids swell, and in severe cases, they can rupture the capillaries in the whites of their eyes due to coughing. Adults or older vaccinated children may not display typical symptoms, often just having a dry cough, becoming the "invisible bomb" that transmits infections to small babies!

Attention! Sometimes family members can become "accomplices" of the virus.

1. Don't believe that "the cough will cure itself in a hundred days!" That idea is very dangerous.

The elders might say: "Whooping cough just requires you to cough for a hundred days and then you will feel better." It is essential that parents pay attention: don't believe it! Whooping cough has that name because its duration is long, but it is not an illness that resolves itself over time.

For small infants, this can be lethal! Severe coughing may lead to apnea, choking, and can trigger pneumonia and severe complications like whooping cough encephalopathy. The younger the child, especially those not yet at the vaccination age, the higher the risk!

2. At home, often the "super spreader" of contagion is the parents who love their children.

You might not know it, but transmission in the family environment is currently the primary route of whooping cough infection in infants and young children, accounting for up to 80% of cases. If an adult or older sibling in the house becomes infected with whooping cough (symptoms in adults are mild and often confused with throat discomfort), when they hug or kiss the baby, the germs are transmitted quickly.

Whooping cough is extremely contagious, with a basic reproduction number reaching between 12 and 17. This means that an infected person can, on average, infect between 12 and 17 people in a population without immunity.

Have you dressed your child in this "golden armor"?

The prevention of whooping cough, the most effective and economical "weapon", is vaccination. Here I would like to remind all parents of an important change: the country has made an adjustment to the vaccination program for the DTP vaccine (diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough), which will officially take effect on January 1, 2025.

The old vaccination schedule was: 1 dose at 3 months, 4 months, 5 months, and 18 months, with a diphtheria and tetanus vaccine at 6 years. In contrast, the new vaccination schedule establishes: 1 dose of the DTPa vaccine at 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 18 months, and 6 years.

Why is this adjustment being made? This is due to research that has shown that the risk of disease in infants a few months old increases. Advancing the first dose to two months of age aims to allow the baby to obtain protection as soon as possible, so they can wear the "armor" of defense earlier. For the health of the children, parents are advised to schedule their children's vaccinations as soon as possible to ensure their well-being.

Hunan Medical Chat Special Contributor: Cao Han, Hunan Women and Children's Hospital.

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