Three things you can do to ease '100-day cough' symptoms as cases soar

13 December 2023 , 13:06

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Cases of a whooping cough are soaring (Image: Getty Images)

As whooping cough as cases soar - particularly among children - advice is on hand for people to deal with the illness,.

There have been 1,141 people reported this year with the condition, also known as the 100-day cough, marking a 26% increase compared to the last two years, according to the UK Health Security Agency's data.

In the past five months alone, 716 cases have been reported, with the London borough of Hackney the worst affected place in England and Wales with the highest figure of people infected.

Whooping cough (pertussis) is a bacterial infection of the lungs and breathing tubes which spreads very easily and can sometimes cause serious problems. It's important for babies and children to get vaccinated against it. The NHS has issued advice on how to treat whooping cough and alleviate its symptoms.

If you have whooping cough, you're contagious from about six days after the start of cold-like symptoms to three weeks after the coughing starts. If you start antibiotics within three weeks of starting to cough, it will reduce the time you're contagious for.

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Treatment for whooping cough

Treatment depends on your age and how long you've had the infection, with severe cases or those affecting babies under six months old usually requiring hospital treatment. If diagnosed within three weeks of infection, antibiotics will usually be given to prevent spreading the disease, although they may not reduce symptoms, reported WalesOnline.

If you've had whooping cough for more than three weeks, you're no longer contagious and do not need antibiotics. Keep taking the antibiotics until you've completed the course, even if you feel better. Stopping treatment too soon could lead to the infection coming back.

How to ease the symptoms of whooping cough

Do

• Get plenty of rest
• Drink lots of fluids
• Take paracetamol or ibuprofen to relieve discomfort

Don't

• Do not give a child under 16 paracetamol and ibuprofen at the same time always check first with a GP or pharmacist
• Do not give aspirin to children under 16
• Do not take cough medicines - they're not suitable for young children and do not help with this type of cough

* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can report any errors to [email protected]

Tim Hanlon