Whooping Cough (Treatment)

Treatment:

• Macrolide antibiotics are drug of choice

• Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole is good alternative for people who have shown allergic reactions to macrolides.

• Bronchodilators reduce complications associated with severe cough.

• Infective control is done by following isolation for 5 days after initiation of macrolide treatment or in untreated patients for 3 weeks , till nasopharyngeal cultures don’t come out as negative.

Remedies:

• Getting good sleep over comes the fatigue caused by chronic cough and helps in repairing the damaged tissues.

• Drinking loads of warm fluid to prevent dehydration which can lead to dry throat and mouth, headache, dizziness and confusion. It also helps to loosen up the nasal mucosal secretions and reduces viscosity of the mucus produced.

• Using a humidifier, symptoms are seen to get exacerbation in cold temperate and low humid air hence heated humidified air helps in loosing up and draining out the mucus, helps in opening up the airways.

• Using honey and lemon

• Peppermint essential oils they have anti inflammatory and de-stressing properties.

• Use of vitamin C, onion juice, drinking turmeric milk and eating almonds have shown antibacterial properties that can fight the bacteria cause whooping cough, like polyphenols in almonds, curcumin in turmeric and photo chemicals found in onion.

• Dry ginger, long pepper and black pepper grinded to powder form taken along with honey, 3 times/day. This mixture has a highly anti-inflammatory action.

• Ginger soup/ tea

• Drinking honey with lemon juice brings down the inflammation and soothes the lining of the throat.