Pertussis http://www.modernsurvival.net/art2pre.

cfm

Click Here

Whooping Cough
Managing pertussis in a survival situation
By Joe Knight

Joe Knight is a family practice Physician Assistant and medical writer in Chowchilla, California. This article is
presented for information purposes only and should not be considered definitive medical advice—The editor.

Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is a highly contagious respiratory

disease caused by a bacterium named Bordetella pertussis.

Pertussis causes a severe cough with little or no fever and can become severe
enough to cause the person to gag or vomit.

Some of those infected make a "whooping" sound when they breathe in after
coughing, thus the name "whooping cough." Pertussis continues to be a
significant cause of death and illness among infants who have not been
immunized.

In a survival situation in which no immunizations are being given, pertussis will

become a significant health problem. Though immunization programs have been
successful in reducing the incidence of the disease in children and infants,
waning immunity in adolescents and adults can allow the transmission of the
disease to unimmunized infants. Lately there have been news reports of a rise in
pertussis cases in the US.

Pertussis follows a cyclic pattern, peaking at two-to-five-year intervals. Before

the availability of the pertussis vaccine in the 1940s, more than 200,000 cases
of pertussis were reported annually. Since the introduction of the vaccine, the
incidence of the disease has decreased by more than 80 percent compared to
the pre-vaccine age; however, the disease is now being seen more and more in
older age groups, particularly in adolescents and adults.

Household-contact studies have indicated that infection without illness is

common; this suggests that frequent exposure keeps the antibody levels in many
persons at protective levels, with illness only occurring when the level of
antibody falls below a certain threshold and then exposure occurs.

Symptoms of Pertussis

Symptoms of pertussis usually appear between six to 21 days after exposure to

an infected person.

Medical professionals divide the course of the disease into three stages:

Stage One usually starts with symptoms resembling a common cold, such as a
Click Here
runny nose, headache, sneezing, low-grade fever and a mild, occasional cough.

1 of 5 11/7/2010 11:53 AM
Pertussis http://www.modernsurvival.net/art2pre.cfm

The cough gradually becomes more severe, and after one to two weeks, the
second stage begins

Stage Two, called the paroxysmal stage, is when the diagnosis of pertussis is
suspected. The patient has bursts (paroxysms) of numerous, rapid coughing fits.
At the end of the paroxysm, a long inhalation is accompanied by a high-pitched
whoop.

During such an attack, the patient may turn blue. Children (and infants in
particular) appear very ill and in distress. Vomiting and exhaustion from chronic
coughing commonly follow these episodes.

The child usually appears normal between attacks. Paroxysmal attacks usually
occur more frequently at night, averaging 15 attacks per 24 hours. During the
first or second week in this stage, the attacks occur more frequently, remain at
the same level for two to three weeks, then gradually decrease. The paroxysmal
stage usually lasts one to six weeks, but may persist for up to 10 weeks. Infants
younger than six months old may not have enough strength to make a whooping
sound, but they still have the paroxysms of coughing.

In Stage Three, called the convalescent stage, there is a gradual recovery. The
cough becomes less paroxysmal and disappears in two to three weeks;
however, paroxysms often recur with subsequent upper respiratory infections
(such as the common cold). These paroxysms can occur many months after the
onset of the initial pertussis infection

Complications

Young infants are at highest risk for acquiring pertussis-related complications.

The most common complication, and the cause of most pertussis-related deaths,
is bacterial pneumonia, most likely due to the child just becoming worn out from
coughing.

Seizures can develop as a result of the low oxygen level to the brain that may
occur during the fits of coughing. Other complications such as ear infections,
lack of an appetite and dehydration can occur. During the paroxysmal coughing,
pressure effects, such as a collapsed lung, nosebleeds, bleeding into the brain
and hernias can develop.

Prevention

First of all, while the health care system is still operational, make sure everyone
in your household is immunized against pertussis.

Pertussis, like many other respiratory diseases, is spread through droplet spray
from the mouth and nose when an infected person coughs, sneezes or speaks.
These droplets then enter the uninfected person's respiratory tract. The
individual is now infected. So if anyone has to take care of a person who has a
diagnosis of pertussis, wear a facemask and always wash your hands after
attending to the person.

Our concern in this article is not how to deal with a person with pertussis with
the reasonably reliable heath care system now in place; our concern is what to
do when things have fallen apart and we're all essentially just trying to keep our
families alive.

Any person with pertussis should stay home and avoid contact with others.
Assuming no proper medical care is available, home remedies will need to be
tried. Though the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved such

2 of 5 11/7/2010 11:53 AM
Pertussis http://www.modernsurvival.net/art2pre.cfm

"natural" or "homeopathic" remedies, the FDA is going to be irrelevant in a

survival situation and you're trying to avoid contact with undesirables.

Treatment

Garlic is presumed to be an effective treatment for pertussis. Give the patient

one teaspoon of pure garlic juice two to three times a day. Another option is a
solution of one teaspoon Fenugreek seeds, one cup of water, one teaspoon of
fresh ginger and a bit of honey; all of these can be boiled together and then
drunk.

Raw onion has been claimed to help patients with whooping cough. The onion
needs to be diced and the juice extracted. Mix one teaspoon of onion juice with
one teaspoon of honey. Give this to the patient twice a day. Another option is to
take 100 grams (3 ½ ounces) of raisins and grind them with plain water. Add 100
grams of sugar and heat until it becomes a thick liquid. Give 20 grams (about 4
teaspoons) once or twice a day.

Avoid foods that can cause the mucous to thicken into phlegm. Such foods
include milk or dairy products, rice, sugary products and refined flour products.

A cool-mist vaporizer may help loosen secretions; this will make them easier to
cough up, as well as soothing the lungs and airways. Keep your home free from
things that may trigger a cough. Such things can be dust, cigarette smoke, and
smoke from fireplaces and wood-burning stoves.

People with whooping cough, especially infants and children, may not eat or
drink much because of the constant coughing. Have them eat small amounts
more often.

Especially important is that the person doesn't become dehydrated. A

down-and-dirty method of determining if the person is drinking enough fluids is to
check the urine; if it is clear or very pale yellow, that is good. If it becomes very
yellow, you can assume that the person is not drinking enough fluids. With
babies, note the number of wet diapers; if the number seems to be less than
normal, the baby probably needs more fluids. One caveat: In adults, vitamins and
certain medications can cause the urine to take-on a yellow color, so this needs
to be taken into consideration.

Other signs of dehydration are lethargy and dry mouth and tongue. In severe
cases of dehydration, "skin tenting" will occur. Pinch the skin of the arm between
two fingers; in a well-hydrated person, the skin will retract back to its normal
position immediately. If a person is seriously dehydrated, the skin will "tent" or
stay in that position far longer than in the well-hydrated person.

Also remember that coffee, tea and many carbonated drinks contain caffeine.
Caffeine is a diuretic, meaning it makes you pee more often. If one is ill, one
should avoid these drinks because you want to avoid dehydrationCnot
contribute to it.

Below is a graph showing an increase of diagnosed pertussis cases in the

United States from 1990 to 2003. In a survival situation, the number of cases
will almost certainly go through the roof. l

3 of 5 11/7/2010 11:53 AM
Pertussis http://www.modernsurvival.net/art2pre.cfm

Number of reported pertussis cases (both confirmed and probable) by year and age group.
National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System, United States, 1990 - 2003. Graph courtesy of
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. MMWR Weekly. December 23, 2005.
54(50);1283-126. Available online at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml
/mm5450a3.htm.

References
1. Forsyth, K., et al., Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2005 May;24(5 Suppl):S69-74.

2. Cherry, J. The Epidemiology of Pertussis: A Comparison of the Epidemiology of the Disease

Pertussis With the Epidemiology of Bordetella pertussis Infection. Pediatrics 2005;115;1422-1427.

3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Pertussis. Available online at

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/pert.pdf. Accessed September 7, 2010.

4. Med Monatsschr Pharm. 2006 Jun;29(6):206-14. (no author name given)

5. Deen JL, Mink CA, Cherry JD, et al. Household contact study of Bordetella pertussis infections. Clin
Infect Dis. 1995;21:1211-121941.

6. Long SS, Welkon CJ, Clark JL. Widespread silent transmission of pertussis in families: antibody
correlates of infection and symptomatology. J Infect Dis. 1990;161:480-486.

7. MedicineNet.com. Whooping Cough (Pertussis). Available online at http://www.medicinenet.com

/pertussis/article.htm. Accessed September 8, 2010.

8. Natural-HomeRemedies.org. Home Remedies for Whooping Cough. Available online at

http://www.natural-homeremedies.org/homeremedies-whooping-cough.htm. Accessed September 6,
2010.

9. Home Remedies for Whooping Cough. Ayurvedic.org. Available online at

http://www.ayurvediccure.com/home-remedies/homeremedies-whooping-cough.htm. Accessed
February 2, 2010.

10. KidHealth from Nemours. Whooping Cough. Available online at http://kidshealth.org/parent

/infections/lung/whooping_cough.html#. Accessed September 1, 2010.

Contents copyright (c) 2010 Modern Survival Magazine

Table of Contents

4 of 5 11/7/2010 11:53 AM
Pertussis http://www.modernsurvival.net/art2pre.cfm

Click Here to Join Today

5 of 5 11/7/2010 11:53 AM