Antibiotics help if started in the first 3 weeks - they shorten illness and stop spread. Once the coughing is established, care is rest, fluids, and time; the cough can last weeks to months (the old name: the 100-day cough).
The pattern: cold-like first week, then coughing bouts lasting minutes, worse at night, sometimes a whoop between bouts, thick mucus, vomiting after coughing. Babies under 6 months can stop breathing or turn blue after bouts - urgent hospital advice. Pregnant women and newborn contacts need prompt advice, and vaccination in pregnancy is the real shield. Stay home until 48 hours into antibiotics, or 2 to 3 weeks from cough onset without them. Pymander is a free AI doctor, 24/7 by text, and can help you judge a persistent cough.
What to do
Common questions
What helps whooping cough?
Whooping cough (pertussis) starts deceptively - a week or two like an ordinary cold - before the signature arrives: coughing bouts lasting minutes, worse at night, sometimes a whoop as the person gasps between bouts (young babies and some adults never whoop), thick mucus that can trigger vomiting, and a red face with the effort. The cough can last several weeks or months - it was historically called the 100-day cough. What helps depends on timing: antibiotics started in the first 3 weeks shorten the illness and, most importantly, stop you spreading it - started later, when the cough is established, they change little, and care becomes rest, fluids, and riding it out. Babies under 6 months are the real concern: they can struggle to breathe after bouts and turn blue or grey, and they need urgent hospital advice. Pregnant women and anyone around newborns should get advice promptly too, and vaccination is the real fix - it is offered in pregnancy precisely to shield newborns. Stay home from work, school, or nursery until 48 hours after starting antibiotics, or 2 to 3 weeks from when the coughing began without them. Pymander is a free AI doctor, 24/7 by text, that can help you judge a persistent cough.