Whooping Cough Health Article

Diagnosis

Diagnosis based only on the patient's symptoms is not particularly accurate, as the catarrhal stage may appear to be a heavy cold, a case of the flu, or a simple bronchitis. Other viruses and tuberculosis infections can cause symptoms similar to those found during the paroxysmal stage. The presence of a pertussis-like cough along with an increase of certain specific white blood cells (lymphocytes) is suggestive of pertussis (whooping cough). However, cough can occur from pertussis-like viruses. The most accurate method of diagnosis is to culture (grow in the laboratory) the organisms obtained from swabbing mucus out of the nasopharynx (the breathing tube continuous with the nose). B. pertussis can then be identified by examining the culture under a microscope.

Researchers believe that as many as 90% of the cases are not diagnosed, mainly because of the nonspecific symptoms displayed by adults. An adult who has been coughing for months may have whooping cough.

Recent advances in the accuracy of diagnostic tests based on polymerase chain reactions (PCR) are now being applied to whooping cough. Researchers in Seattle are presently working on a PCR-based test for Bordetella pertussis that will improve the speed as well as the accuracy of diagnosing whooping cough.

Treatment

Whooping cough should always be treated with antibiotics and never with only alternative therapies. The following complementary therapies may reduce symptoms and speed recovery. Supportive treatment involves careful monitoring of fluids to prevent dehydration, rest in a quiet, dark room to decrease paroxysms, and suctioning of mucus. Sitting up during coughing attacks may help.

Herbals

The following herbal remedies may help to support antibiotic treatment of whooping cough:

• bryonia (Bryonia alba) tea: spasmodic coughing
• butterbur (Pinguicula vulgaris) infusion: infection and spasms
• evening primrose (Oenothera biennis) oil
• jamaican dogwood (Piscidia erythrina) root or bark: spasms
• lobelia (Lobelia inflata) tea or tincture: spasmodic coughing
• pansy (Viola tricolor) tea or tincture: spasms
• red clover (Trifolium pratense) tea
• santonica (Artemisia cina) powder, tablets, or lozenges
• sea holly (Eryngium planum) infusion: infection and spasms
• skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) powder, extract, or tincture
• sundew (Drosera rotundifolia) infusion: infection and spasms
• thyme (Thymus vulgaris) infusion: infection and spasms
• wild cherry (Prunus serotina) bark infusion or syrup: infection, and spasmodic coughing

Homeopathy

Homeopathic remedies are chosen based upon the family of symptoms displayed by each patient. Remedies for symptom families include:

• Drosera: dry and tickly feeling in throat; violent coughing that induces vomiting; symptoms worse after midnight.
• Kali carbonicum: dry, hard, hacking cough at 3 A.M.; puffy eyelids; exhaustion; chilly feeling.
• Coccus: coughing worse when warm; drinking cold water brings relief; vomiting stringy, transparent mucus.
• Cuprum: coughing spasms cause breathlessness and exhaustion; blue lips; toe and finger cramping; drinking cold water brings relief.
• Kali bichromicum: coughing up yellow, stringy mucus.
• Belladonna: stomach pain before coughing; coughing worse at night; retching with coughing attacks; red face; puffy eyelids.
• Ipecac: sick feeling most of the time; paleness, rigidity, breathlessness, and then relaxation precede vomiting.

Chinese medicine

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioners use a combination of herbals, acupuncture, and ear acupuncture to treat whooping cough during each stage. Yi Zhi Huang Hua (Herba solidaginis) decoction or a decoction of Bai Mao Gen (Rhizoma imperatae), Lu Gen (Rhizoma phragmitis), and Si Gua Gen (Radix vascularis luffae) may be taken for the early stage of whooping cough. Gasping cough can be treated with a mixture of Wu Gong (Scolopendra) and Gan Cao (Radix glycyrrhizae).

Other remedies

Other remedies may assist in the treatment of whooping cough.

• Dietary supplements include vitamins A and C, beta carotene, acidophilus, lung glandulars, garlic, and zinc.
• Dietary changes include drinking plenty of fluids, eating fruits, vegetables, brown rice, whole grain toast, vegetable broth, and potatoes, and avoiding dairy products.
• Juice therapists recommend orange and lemon juice or carrot and watercress juice.
• Hydrotherapy treatment consists of wet clothes or other material applied to the head or chest to relieve congestion.
• Aromatherapy uses essential oils of tea tree, chamomile, basil, camphor, eucalyptus, lavender, peppermint, or thyme.
• Osteopathic manipulation can reduce cough severity and make the patient feel more comfortable.