Knowing the dangers of whooping cough

LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC36 NEWS NOW) — In the wake of two Lexington high school students being diagnosed with whooping cough, it’s important to know how to protect yourself and others from the contagious disease.

“Most people are going to recover from an episode of pertussis, maybe after quite some time and a very uncomfortable illness, especially if you wind up with rib fractures from the severity of your coughing,” Dr. Sean McTigue said. “Unfortunately, for those newborn infants that can be a fatal infection.”

This type of coughing can cause rib fractures, cause your eye blood vessels to rupture, and in some cases for babies, brain damage, apnea, even death.

“We have absolutely seen brain damage and serious long-term issues from pertussis, and that is something that could be preventable if all the older children and adults around them were vaccinated for pertussis,” Dr. McTigue said.

Doctors have also seen a rise in whooping cough which Dr. McTigue says is due to a lack of people getting vaccinated.

“Most children are going to be vaccinated against pertussis; the issue comes when you get into teenage years,” he said. “If you don’t have updated pertussis boosters, then you can have lost your immunity where you once again become susceptible to pertussis.”

He adds that there is a two-fold process for treating the sickness.

“Number one: supportive care, so helping with symptoms. Number two: antibiotic treatment to treat the actual infection itself,” he said.