How can you recognize whooping cough yourself?

To detect whooping cough in adults, infants or incipient whooping cough (stage catarrhale) in children is generally difficult and is sometimes misjudged even by experienced doctors. Especially children with fever and cold symptoms should definitely consult a pediatrician. Children who have not been vaccinated are suspected to have whooping cough.

In the second stage of the disease in children (in some cases also in adults), whooping cough can be recognized mainly by the classic coughing attacks. The attacks are severe, often spasmodic. The affected persons take a deep breath, followed by a “staccato” cough, in which the tongue is often stuck out and tough mucus is coughed up or choked out. Often the affected people hardly get any air during the coughing attacks, which can result in a blue coloration of the lips and tongue (cyanosis). The first coughing attack is often followed by a second, weaker coughing attack, the so-called recapitulation.

Duration of the disease

The duration of a pertussis infection can vary, depending on various factors, but in general, one can assume a duration of about four to fourteen weeks from the time of infection. Usually the duration is about six to seven weeks. This period also includes the time without symptoms (asymptomatic), during which the pathogen multiplies in the body of the infected person (the host) without triggering symptoms.

This is also called the “incubation period” and usually lasts at least five to a maximum of twenty days. Subsequently, the symptoms begin in the so-called “stage catarrhale”, which after one to two weeks changes into the “stage convulsivum” with an altered symptomatology. This “stage convulsivum”, in which the classic coughing attacks for whooping cough occur, usually lasts two to six weeks.

Finally, the disease passes into the “decrementi” stage, in which the symptoms subside and the condition of the sick person improves. This improvement phase, in which symptoms still occur, lasts at least one week, but can also last more than ten weeks. These are general indications resulting from the observation of the disease. However, if the course of the disease is particularly severe or mild, or if there are special circumstances, such as an altered immune system of the sick person, the disease may last longer or shorter. However, these special cases make up only a negligible proportion of whooping cough infections.