The Chief of Southern Philippines Medical Center’s (SPMC) Pediatrics-Infectious Disease Cluster for Reemerging Disease advised parents to consult doctors when their newborns start showing signs of pertussis, also known as “whooping cough.”
Dr. Ma. Delta Aguilar shared that pertussis can be life-threatening among newborns who are yet to receive vaccinations, especially those who are one month old or younger, as their immune system is not fully developed to fight the disease.
“If you found out that your baby is experiencing difficulty breathing due to non-stop coughing, these are not things that you can deal with as a parent,” she said.
Infants under four months suspected of pertussis need hospitalization. On the other hand, older children may be isolated and monitored while being given antibiotics prescribed by the doctors.
Pertussis symptoms for four-month-old babies include coughing for at least two weeks, darkening of the lips, vomiting, and difficulty breathing. The symptoms for children over four months include coughing for more than two weeks, fever, and difficulty breathing.
The most distinct sign of pertussis is when the child coughs in a whooping or gasping manner.
“The most distinctive sound in a cough that is very alarming is not the usual coughing. It’s whooping cough; it’s gasping. We call it whooping because it’s gasping or a cough that’s intense and the child almost runs out of breath,” Aguilar explained.
The pediatrician advised opting for cough etiquette by maintaining distance when coughing, with pertussis symptoms or not.
“When you cough, it has to be away from the person you’re talking to, or best of all, you can always wear masks,” she added.
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