The Whopping Cough

Whopping cough is a vaccine-preventable disease. It is characterized by the following:

Signature "whoop" is heard as the child or infant gasps for air.

Cough usually produces a thick, productive mucus.

Vomiting (in some cases).

Lips and nails turn blue due to lack of oxygen.

Exhaustion from incessant coughing.

There was an outbreak in Toronto in early January which had me a tad nervous as Declan was a newbie. He continues to be at risk until he is over 1 year. Last Thursday, one of his classmates was diagnosed with whopping cough. Me, in my judgemental state, automatically assumed poor vaccination on the part of the other parent. One shouldn't judge so quickly.

Public Health recommended that all of the babies in the Infant Room be tested and put on the antibiotic, in particular if less than one year. We trudged off to the pediatrician last week to have Declan tested and to fill a prescription for an antibiotic. I decided to ask that Andrew also be tested as he has had a very very mild cough (aka daycare cough or even more fitting, kennel cough) for a couple of weeks. I also knew that another child in the daycare centre had been previously diagnosed so it was plausible that another child could be ill. [And I admit it, in my selfishness, I had no desire to take three young kiddos back to the ped in one week if he turned up ill over the weekend - it is draining to take three kiddos alone to the doctor's office.]

While the appropriate public health measure, I really did shoot myself in my foot. Declan came back negative and the healthy Andrew turned up positive. I now have been evicted from daycare for 5 days until the antibiotics run their course.

I was on the phone with Toronto Public Health for about 30 minutes tonight. I am afraid they are a bit lonesome for clues as they didn't seem to quite understand that I have an asymptomatic child that tested positive. The downfall is my at-risk child, Declan, can take his antibiotics for five days but be still infected by some other asymptomatic child at daycare. We could be in for one heck of a winter of whopping cough outbreaks.

To a certain extent, I think it is ridiculous to keep Andrew at home - the child is not ill. His teachers were shocked that he tested positive as he is too healthy; he hasn't coughed since late last week and even the running nose (what daycare kid doesn't have a runny nose) has dried up. The kid is a picture of health!

My little bit of anger has me more than willing to chase Public Health to test every kid at the daycare. If my apparently healthy child (and fully vaccinated BTW) is positive, there must be other carriers. They aren't going to beat this bug until they get it out of daycare.