Hmmm.......asthma or whooping cough (pertussis)?

Having young kids is REALLY hard!!!! It seems like my kids were ALWAYS sick when they were little. I used to think "Is this what parenthood is like??!! This stinks big time!!

I remember sitting in the Pediatrician's office with Son #1, and asking him "Is it just me? Or does it seem like my son is sick ALL THE TIME??!! If he's not coughing, then he has a fever/rash/is throwing up, etc. Just when he gets over one illness, he's sick again. Pediatrician said, "Well, you can let him get exposed to germs now, or keep him home and he'll miss his whole year of kindergarten."

Thanks, that is a comforting thought.....

Kids with asthma are always sicker than "normal" kids (aka kids without asthma) because it affects the lungs so much. Those of us with asthma have lungs that are 'hypersensitive and hyper-responsive' ie "the drama queen affect." When our lungs are exposed to a 'trigger' or an illness, our lungs go into overdrive. That means swelling, mucus production and broncho-constriction (the bands that surround the bronchial tubes tighten and shorten.) So all 3 of those things make it harder to breathe. 

What if your child is coughing, coughing, and coughing but never seems to get better? With asthma, a cough always lasts longer than for "normal" kids. But what if it doesn't seem to fit the pattern for asthma. Could it be something else? What about pertussis (aka Whooping Cough)? 

So, people still get Whooping Cough? Yep. Since many people don't vaccinate their children, the disease has started to spread. Some kids are too little to get all the doses of  Pertussis, and if they are around someone who has Pertussis, well......they're going to get really sick :(

I always thought that if you had Pertussis, you had to have that "whooping" sound when you cough. 

Well, I was wrong!! Here are the symptoms from Webmd:

• Runny nose
• Nasal congestion
• Sneezing
• Red, watery eyes
• A mild fever
• Dry cough

 Then, after a couple of weeks, the coughing can cause:

• Vomiting
• Result in a red or blue face
• Cause extreme fatigue
• End with a high-pitched "whoop" sound during the next breath of air

But.....

"However, many people don't develop the characteristic whoop. Sometimes, a persistent hacking cough is the only sign that an adolescent or adult has whooping cough." 

Wow! Who knew?

If you have child with asthma, and something "doesn't seem right" or they have any of the symptoms listed above. Check  with your doctor. It might just be a really bad asthma flare up, or it could be Whooping Cough. Let's hope it's not that.....but that's what we pay the doctor to figure out.