Whooping Cough on the Rise

In case you haven’t heard, Pertussis (Whooping Cough) is making a comeback. The vaccine does not protect children forever and apparently there’s no booster shot for adults. We first heard about the increase in cases when we were traveling through Illinois this summer. Last week, a friend of mine in Batavia, Ohio found out her daughter has it. And, this weekend, we learned that all our children may have been exposed to it last weekend at Max’s birthday party. We’ll find out in a couple of days and will then know what to do.

I wasn’t too concerned about Max because his shots are relatively new and he’s probably more resistant to it than the rest of us. But, four hours after we received the phone call about the possible exposure, Max came down with a 101 temperature. I was pretty nervous, until I remembered that his friend, Sammy, had a cold last week when he’d spent a lot of time with Max. Max got very cranky and said, “I need some wuv.” He fell asleep in my arms and took a long nap, sleeping right through dinner. When he got up, he smiled, grabbed his trains, and took off for his bedroom. He’s cured!!! Those short-lived fevers in babies are always a mystery to me.

We’re keeping a tight rein on the kids until we know for sure if they’ve been exposed. If you haven’t heard about the outbreak, you might want to click below. Whooping cough it torture for children and adults and can be fatal in infants.

For the latest news on current outbreaks, search for “whooping cough” here: https://news.google.com/

Hugs to all!
Angela