Parents need to know symptoms and treatments for whooping cough

Whooping It Up

Some people may have the impression that HSI is anti- vaccine. We’re not. We recognize the track record of vaccines that have helped control diseases, while also recognizing that there are some potentially dangerous vaccines that aren’t likely to actually curb disease. (Yes, Merck, I’m talking about Gardasil.)

One of the big problems with childhood vaccines is the heavy load of pharmaceuticals that an average American child is exposed to in the first few years of life. Ask any parent with young children – the vaccines just keep coming. In fact, I heard that the average kid today gets 24 vaccines before he turns 18. Most of them run this gamut without incident. But others may be sensitive to specific components of a vaccine or the potent mix of drugs in multiple vaccines.

In recent years, more and more parents have been opting out of some or all injections in the ever-expanding vaccination schedule recommended by the CDC. And those who choose not to have their children vaccinated need to be prepared to respond when a potential danger suddenly turns into a health emergency.

Case in point: whooping cough.

Nothing to be trifled with

Whooping cough (your doctor will probably call it pertussis) is a highly contagious bacterial infection in which fits of prolonged coughing become so intense that the patient makes deep whooping sounds when trying to catch his breath between coughs.

Needless to say, it must be harrowing for a parent to stand by helplessly as a child succumbs to these symptoms. In severe cases, coughing seizures cause vomiting, followed by malnutrition. In extreme cases, pneumonia and death can occur.

Since the advent of a pertussis vaccine in the mid-20th century, the yearly death rate due to whooping cough has dropped from thousands to only about a dozen. But in recent years, pertussis cases are on the rise because an increasing number of parents have been rejecting the vaccine.

According to a new study from Kaiser Permanente Colorado Institute for Health Research, unvaccinated children are more than 20 times more likely to develop whooping cough compared to vaccinated children.

So the parents of unvaccinated children need to be prepared to do what parents did in the days before vaccines: act as quickly as possible to treat the disease when symptoms are identified.

Calling for calm

During the pertussis incubation period, which may be as long as 10 days, normal cold symptoms will appear.

When pertussis is finally diagnosed, two things will happen: A doctor will prescribe antibiotics and he’ll insist the child be isolated. In fact, it may also be necessary for other family members in the child’s home to receive antibiotics and avoid contact with others.

At this point, here’s what most doctors are NOT likely to do: prescribe Chinese herbal treatment.

In the December 2006 issue of the HSI Members Alert, we told you about an herbal formula called BronchoPhase, designed to help cold and flu patients overcome inflammation and respiratory distress that causes deep, prolonged coughing.

BronchoPhase was developed by Dr. Jack Fratkin – an herbalist of 30 years experience who spent some of his early career in China studying the use of herbs in treating respiratory ailments.

Dr. Fratkin told us that he uses BronchoPhase to treat the most stubborn coughs of cold, flu, and even bronchitis patients. In recent years, he’s also prescribed BronchoPhase to treat whooping cough as cases among his patients and their children have been on the rise. He noted that he’s used BronchoPhase to safely and quickly treat entire families.

HSI members can use their password to access this link to read the entire article about Dr. Fratkin and BronchoPhase. This herbal formula can be found through online sources, but talk to your doctor before using BronchoPhase or giving it to a child.

Every month, the HSI Members Alert keeps you up-to-date about groundbreaking health products and the latest innovations in alternative medicine. Find out how you can be among the very first to learn about cutting edge cures you’ll rarely hear about in the mainstream media.

Source:
“Pertussis Risk Higher for Unvaccinated Children, Study Says” Stephanie Desmon, Baltimore Sun, 5/26/09, baltimoresun.com