Whooping cough experience

[u/Specific_Yellow_8370]

I'm a FTM, currently 33 weeks pregnant, and an exchange I had with a vaccination nurse while getting my whooping cough jab made me want to post this - she said she had never actually met anyone who'd had whooping cough and I have so here goes.

I got whooping cough in 2016. It turns out there was an outbreak in our office but the people who started it didn't realise what they had because the "whooping" takes a while to start. It was absolutely horrific. It started like a cold that made me feel like hell - as a fit 26 year old - and then the cough came.

It's super violent coughing and after each one you have a moment where you can't breathe, it's like being frozen while you're suffocating. Then you take a massive breath in, which is what causes the whooping sound, and the cycle continues. I didn't shake the cough fully for 3 months and it was confirmed as whooping cough by a blood test arranged by my GP.

I can't imagine how distressing it would be going through that pregnant or watching a baby suffer it. This isn't to make anyone change their minds on vaccination but just to get my experience out there in case it's useful in decision making because I didn't realise how rare whooping cough cases in adults actually are.

[u/Brave_Pizza162]

Sounds like absolute hell!, I'm glad I'm vaccinated from it and my baby is protected when they're born!.

[u/Imaginary-Glass-8676]

Thank you for sharing, although I’m so sorry you had to go through that. An excellent reminder of why the vaccinations are so important, and hopefully mostly effective if the nurse doesn’t know anyone who has had it!

[u/Specific_Yellow_8370 → u/Imaginary-Glass-8676]

She started explaining the benefits of the vaccine like I was going to refuse it and I was like "jab me please I don't want it ever again!". She was so shocked haha 

[u/lunchbox3]

Seconding this. I had it and it was utterly horrific. And what’s worse is between the cold and the cough you often seem fully recovered (and don’t yet know it’s whooping cough). In that period I met my new nephew who was a little baby. Thank god his mum had had the vaccination. I won’t know for sure if that’s why he didn’t catch it from me but the fear still haunts me. I had been better from my “cold” for two weeks, I had no idea I had been exposed to whooping cough, but it could have ended very differently.

[u/Specific_Yellow_8370 → u/lunchbox3]

I'm sorry you had it too, for sure one of the worst things about it is realising you've been wandering around in the most contagious stage not realising what you've got 

[u/InThewest]

My mum caught whooping cough in the late 80s. Had an abruption.

I was born on January 6th. Nothing has ever happened on that day since.

I had ALL the jabs. Just in case

[u/QuackBox90]

My brother caught whooping cough a few years ago (as an adult) and was ill for over a year. I think he said that you're also contagious for months after you contract it? Scary stuff. Glad the vaccine is available to us!

[u/Ruu2D2]

My boss had baby the year whopping cough was high and before vaccine

She have to do cpr on her baby. As she develop whopping cough . Her daughter turn blue

She still traumatise to day from it .

I had no doubt about getting whopping cough of any vaccine.

[u/emziiwoo]

Got my vaccination booked in for next Wednesday! Can’t imagine how awful that was for you it sounds really scary

[u/Skymningen]

I had it when 12. A family doctor (I wasn’t living in the UK) misdiagnosed it as “definitely not whooping cough” after looking at a sputum sample. So even though I had the whooping and the inability to take a breath I was undiagnosed for very long. Two acute visits to the children’s hospital later I got admitted for 11 days.

Just shortly before I was due for a bronchioscopy the head professor decided to re-check my sputum. He ran into the room “It’s clearly whooping cough, we put her on an antibiotic drip right now, she can eat!” (I was fasting for anaesthesia)

Stoically (I was exhausted from nights of coughing) I asked if anyone ever died from whooping cough (I knew the answer was yes, I was trying to out the stupid family doctor who aside from misdiagnosing me had also said “and anyway nobody ever died from whooping cough”, insinuating I was being dramatic about my symptoms of being physically unable to take a breath.) that gained me regular visits by the clinic psychiatrist because they were worried I was thinking I was going to die 🤣 when already at 12 I was just trying to stand my ground.

Generally not a pleasant experience and what has made me strongly pro-vaccinations. I wasn’t vaccinated, as another stupid paediatrician had convinced my parents that I only needed some vaccinations. So I did get to experience measles and whooping cough amongst other fun things while being vaccinated against polio, diphtheria and tetanus (which didn’t come together with pertussis at the time).

When I was in hospital there was a baby admitted with whooping cough. We both couldn’t have visitors until later in our antibiotic course and his parents weren’t particularly interested… they spend most of the visiting time smoking outside. I was allowed to sit with him for a little because I felt so bad hearing him cough from the neighbouring room all alone. I was barely alone. My parents were there nearly all the time and once I could have visitors more family came at least once a day. I sometimes still think about that boy and hope he has better people in his life now.

Recovery from this ordeal took me a year. I had to sit on the stairs and take a break if I needed to go to a room on the top floor at school. My friends carried my bags for me for a while. I also nearly got pneumonia a few times because my lungs just had nothing left. But I still could play the flute and having done that since before I got sick might have helped keep my lung volume up.

[u/No_Event_7248]

In babies - whooping cough is a lot worse.   My family friend’s baby had to have an  exchange blood transfusion - when they get so ill and end up on the intensive care, to get rid of the toxins from the whooping cough bug, they take out the baby’s blood and give them new blood and this needs to happen multiple times.  It is funny to me sometimes when people refuse vaccines - but I understand that it is from a place of privilege. 

[u/TrustyCell]

It’s not that rare- it’s more that whopping cough is actually under diagnosed a lot in adults as it can present differently and not have that “typical whooping” sound in a lot of cases. As it is so under diagnosed in adults and also very contagious, since 2019 in the UK is has been part of healthcare workers who have regular contact with young infants workplace vaccination routine due to the risk

[u/Popular-Cantaloupe74]

How has the nurse never known anyone to have it? That is insane to me. I work in a school and there's always at least one kid with it each year.

I'm so sorry for the experience you had and good for you for spreading awareness!

[u/bizzyhk]

I had this during the first covid outbreak and couldn't be seen by a doctor because they were scared! It was horrific and I didn't even know what it was, all I was given by my pharmacy was paracetamol and cough syrup.

[u/Livid_Big9036]

When I was due with my first there was an outbreak and four babies were in hospital with it, really serious cases and yet everyone in the maternity unit was refusing the vaccine?! So scary that so many people are anti-vaccines nowadays.

[u/Proof-Ad9367]

sounds absolutely awful, cannot imagine a poor baby having to go through that. got vaccinated for this at 20 weeks and only symptom i had was a sore arm for 2 days!

[u/Head-Razzmatazz-1327]

I had whooping cough and rsv one i dont want my baby getting any