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What is the current situation with whooping cough in the Czech Republic from the point of view of general practitioners?
Nothing dramatic, although there is a lot of media hype around it. There are thousands of patients with whooping cough in the Czech Republic, which does not represent a major problem for the health system. Unless we are talking about vulnerable groups such as newborns and infants, whooping cough is not a major health risk. It is a disease that is easily diagnosed and easily treated with antibiotics.
Why is there an increase in whooping cough cases just now? I’m not an epidemiologist or an infectious disease expert, but it’s nothing we haven’t experienced in the past. These increases in cases occur cyclically once every ten years. We are now roughly in that ten-year period again.
Is it true that people usually come to the doctor with whooping cough when they have been suffering for several weeks? It is so. People usually treat themselves at home, and only an annoying, long-lasting cough brings them to the doctor. Otherwise, treat it at home like a common virus.
At the same time, whooping cough is a bacterial disease, not a viral one.
Yes, but patients usually don’t recognize it. If the disease does not manifest itself with more serious symptoms, it really resembles a common virus. But the truth is that because of the media hype, people are now going to the doctor suspecting whooping cough, even if they don’t have it.
Interest in revaccination against whooping cough is increasing, but not all practitioners have the vaccine
Homemade
What can whooping cough be confused with? With any respiratory infection accompanied by cough and fever. It’s not really easy to tell at first glance, unless you have the typical “whooping” cough.
With which symptoms should a person really go to the doctor?
The general rule applies as with other respiratory diseases. If you have problems that last for several days, do not improve or, on the contrary, worsen, have a fever or persistent cough, this is a reason not to sit at home and go to the doctor.
When is it appropriate to use antibiotics? We hear everywhere now that it should not be overused, because of antibiotic resistance.
When a doctor suspects whooping cough, he must swab the patient’s nasopharynx and start antibiotics only if the infection is clearly proven. Antibiotics should not be used immediately for a long-lasting cough without further investigation. Among other things, also for the reason that the drugs that work for whooping cough do not work on many other bacteria.
Can chronic, i.e. untreated, whooping cough cause any serious health problems?
Quite often we come across the fact that patients pass whooping cough and we only find out that they have had it from the level of antibodies. Crossing can lead to complications, but very rarely. Only exceptionally in adults. I would rather expect it in people with immune disorders, chronic lung disease and the like. It’s definitely not the standard.
Interest in revaccination is dramatic. The Ministry is looking for additional vaccines against whooping cough
Homemade
