Pertussis symptoms and treatment

Pertussis is a serious acute respiratory infection, mainly in children, caused by Bordetella pertussis, its symptoms include paroxysmal, spasmodic cough, etc., can lead to serious complications and even death. Treatment is mainly antibiotics, lasting 2 - 3 weeks. Pregnant women and the elderly are more harmful, prevention is timely vaccination. Pertussis is an acute respiratory infection caused by Bacillus pertussis. It occurs primarily in children. Symptoms include coughing, runny nose, sneezing, and low fever, followed by paroxysmal, spasmodic coughing that ends with a rooster's whooping sound. If untreated, pertussis can cause serious complications and even life-threatening symptoms. Pertussis is mainly treated with antibiotics to kill the bacteria. Generally speaking, antibiotics need to be used for 2 - 3 weeks to completely eliminate the bacteria. In addition, patients need to pay attention to rest, maintain nutrition, drink plenty of water, etc. For pregnant women and the elderly and other special groups, pertussis is more harmful. Pregnant women infected with whooping cough may cause premature birth, low birth weight and even endanger the life of the fetus. Elderly people infected with whooping cough are also prone to serious complications and even death. Therefore, special attention should be paid to preventing whooping cough in these groups. Timely vaccination is the most effective way. In short, whooping cough is a serious infectious disease that needs our high attention. If cough, runny nose and other symptoms occur, we should seek medical advice and follow the doctor's advice for treatment. At the same time, we should also strengthen preventive measures, timely vaccination, maintain good hygiene habits to reduce the occurrence of whooping cough.