Whooping cough is a highly infectious bacterial disease involving the lungs and airways
Whooping cough may be harder to notice in young babies but they can have short periods when they stop breathing. This is why the HSE says it is important to get medical help urgently if your child has symptoms and is less than 12 months old. Photograph: iStock
‘We got a ring, it looked like a washer’: Irish victims lose thousands in global online shopping scam centred in ChinaDr Scott Walkin, a general practitioner in Mayo and the Irish College of General Practitioner/HSE clinical lead for antimicrobial resistance and infection control, said whooping cough typically begins with “cold-like symptoms”. These include a runny nose, red and watery eyes, a sore throat and raised temperature.
If the child is less than 12 months old, has a cough that is getting worse and has a cough that has lasted longer than three weeks HSE guidance, published on its website, states parents should seek urgent help from their GP. “If a child or person with whooping cough has a fever or is feeling achey or has sore ears they can be treated with Calpol or Nurofen ,” he said. “The evidence for use of cough syrup in children under six is very weak.”“The most important and best way to manage whooping cough is to prevent it. That means vaccination,” Dr Walkin said. “They are given at two months, four months and six months. Then there is a booster in junior infants, and a booster in first year .
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