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Health & Fitness

The Doctor's In: What to Know about Whooping Cough

Whooping cough sounds like a thing of the past. While we wish this was the case, whooping cough is actually on the rise in teens and adults. We had lots of questions on what we can do to protect ourselves from this illness, so we called upon Dr. Nelson L. Turcios, a Somerset Valley YMCA member and pediatric pulmonologist in Somerville, to answer them.

Q: What exactly is whooping cough?

A: Dr. Turcios: Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is an acute bacterial infection of the airways. Although pertussis still mainly affects infants and young children, it is increasingly diagnosed in teens and adults. About half of all the cases that occur in this country are among teens and adults.

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Q: What symptoms should we look out for?

A: Dr. Turcios: Whooping cough in teens and adults often doesn’t produce the classical symptoms, which, in addition to the namesake whoop, includes vomiting after coughing. Instead, the main feature of whooping cough for teens and adults may be a bad, lingering cough. Unlike the common cold, whooping cough can become a series of 5 to 10 or more violent and rapid coughing fits. Fever is rarely if ever present.

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Q: What can we do to prevent it?

A: Dr. Turcios: The pertussis vaccination isn’t just a childhood vaccination. Teens and adults need to get the vaccine, too. Vaccine protection for pertussis can fade with time. At 11 or 12 years old, pre-teens should get a dose of Tdap, the booster vaccine for pertussis, tetanus and diphtheria. Adults who didn’t get Tdap as a pre-teen or teen should get one dose of Tdap instead of the Td booster.

Q: Are there any additional precautions people with infants should take?

A: Dr. Turcios: About 30 to 40% of babies who get whooping cough catch it from their mother. Pregnant women should receive the Tdap vaccine during the 27th through 36th week of each pregnancy to give their babies the most protection when they are born. Pregnant women who were not previously vaccinated with Tdap should get one dose of Tdap postpartum immediately before leaving the hospital.

There’s so much more to know about whooping cough, but we hope that this short question and answer session answered most of your questions. Make sure to check with your doctor for more information. Stay healthy, Somerset County!Add Photos/Video 

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