A one-time case in my private homeopathic practice this week is hardly call for a whooping cough epidemic in Calgary, but a quick search on the Internet revealed that there have been several outbreaks happening in Canada and the USA these past two years. Whooping cough or Pertussis happens, even in the vaccinated population.
So whether you are a vaccinated-for-whooping-cough family (DTaP vaccine) or a vaccine-free family, you will want to know what you can do for your child (or adults in the household) diagnosed with whooping cough. Read on.
JUST A COLD AND COUGH
Your child will likely only seem mildly sick at first with ‘cold’ symptoms such as a runny nose, sneezing, mild cough, and a low grade fever. Within a couple of weeks, the cough turns into spells of coughing, coughing, coughing that can end in vomiting, gagging, or in the characteristic ‘whoop’ of whooping cough when your child breathes in at the end of a spell.
Another characteristic of whooping cough is the often lengthy amount of time in between spells of coughing. Of most concern are infants under 6 months and babies under a year. They may not have the whoop (not all children, teens, or adults will get this characteristic whoop either), but for infants and babies, there can be times when they actually stop breathing (called apnea) simply because they cannot catch their breath during a coughing spell.
WHEN IS A COUGH A WHOOPING COUGH?
If the coughing spells have gone on for a month, you’ll likely want to take your child to the doctor where they can test for pertussis bacteria. This is the bacterium responsible for whooping cough. Although most parents these days will have done their research on the Internet and will likely have a pretty good idea of what is going on with this kind of persistent cough.
One of the very best websites I have found is by Dr. Doug Jenkinson, who has put together some great information along with audio clips and video of children and adults with whooping cough, some with the whoop and some without. He advises to video your child or adult in the throes of a coughing spell because it is possible that, when you go to the doctor or to emergency, your child will not cough…at all. If you have a video, it’s likely that they will then believe you and test for whooping cough.
CONVENTIONAL TREATMENT
“For the average case of whooping cough there is no treatment likely to make a difference to the course of the illness or materially reduce the symptoms. It will generally take its course no matter what. Attempts to get benefit from bronchodilators, cough suppressants, or antibiotics are generally futile.”
~ Dr. Doug Jenkinson
So what is a parent to do? The SINGLE best article you will ever read on the treatment of whooping cough is written by Dr. Suzanne Humphries. Dr. Humphries outlines the kind and amounts of Vitamin C that are essential to your child’s recovery.
HOMEOPATHIC HELP
In addition, homeopathic remedies will be able to help support your child’s healing. You can read more about remedies for whooping cough in today’s handout.
This is one of the illnesses where, as a parent, you want to do everything you can to help your child heal—and to make sure that everyone gets much-needed sleep. Homeopathy can support healing in this kind of infectious illness. And homeopathy can also be used to prevent the illness. Talk to your homeopath about the use of homeopathic Pertussin as prevention.
Please remember that if your child is having difficulty breathing, you must head to the hospital right away. Please keep that in mind when you have a sick child. Western medicine excels at emergency medicine, and if you are dealing with broken bones, bleeding, and breathing problems, you must get medical help.
