Whooping cough symptoms in children

The reason why life exists on Earth is not only because of the existence of oil and water on the Earth, but also requires the mutual constraints of many other factors. Oxygen is one of the indispensable gases for humans and a necessary substance for human energy conversion. And all of these need to be transported through the human respiratory tract. As science and technology develop at an increasingly rapid pace, global pollution is becoming increasingly serious, the environment is becoming increasingly harsh, and more and more bacteria are constantly breeding, causing many diseases.

Among the many diseases caused by respiratory tract infections, whooping cough in children is one of the most common diseases. For young children, illness represents a huge risk. Therefore, it is necessary for people to understand the symptoms of diseases such as whooping cough in children in order to better treat them.

Symptoms: Breathing in air containing the germs from sneezing, coughing or talking. What are the symptoms? It starts out like the flu, with runny nose, sneezing, low fever, and a mild cough. Over the next two weeks, the cough gradually intensifies, with violent bouts of coughing that continue and cause difficulty breathing. When this happens, the patient's breathing will have a typical crowing sound. Infants under 6 months old and adults generally do not produce typical cockcrow. Symptoms are milder in adults and adolescents, as well as in children who are not fully immunized

Detailed description of symptoms

The disease can be divided into three stages: the catarrhal stage, which only manifests as upper respiratory tract infection symptoms such as low fever, cough, runny nose, and sneezing. After 7 to 10 days, the disease enters the spasmodic cough stage, characterized by paroxysmal painful coughing. The attacks become increasingly severe, and each coughing fit can last for several minutes. After coughing, there is a long inhalation like a cock crowing. If not treated properly, this period can last 2 to 6 weeks. During the recovery period, the coughing paroxysms gradually decrease or even stop, and this period can last for 2 weeks or longer. If there is a respiratory tract infection, it may cause painful cough again, and the course of the disease may be 2 to 3 months, so it is called "whooping cough".

Etiology and pathogenesis

The air you breathe in contains germs and is created when a sick person sneezes, coughs or talks. Bordetella pertussis belongs to the genus Bordetella. It invades the respiratory mucosa and reproduces in the ciliated epithelium, causing cilia paralysis, epithelial cell necrosis, necrotic epithelium, inflammatory exudates and mucus clearance obstacles, accumulation and retention, and constant stimulation of nerve endings, leading to spasmodic cough. Bronchial obstruction can also cause atelectasis or emphysema.

Children are the most innocent group of people in the world. Of course, they don’t understand much about everything in life, let alone pay attention to the symptoms of some diseases in their bodies. Therefore, families should take the responsibility of supervising their children's physical health and spend more time and thought on their children in life.