Treatment: Medications, antibiotics and time, home remedies

The first choice in the treatment of whooping cough is the use of macrolide antibiotics (active substance azithromycin or clarithromycin).

For allergy to macrolide antibiotics, an alternative chemotherapeutic agent is trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole, belonging to the group of sulfonamides. The latter is commonly used in the treatment of various bacterial infections.

Also effective are antibiotics from the group of tetracyclines (active substance doxycycline).

The main role is played by time...

When treating whooping cough, it is important to establish a correct diagnosis as soon as possible. In the advanced paroxysmal stage, the Bordetella pertussis bacterium begins to secrete the bordetella toxin into the bloodstream, which is no longer significantly affected by antibiotics.

At this stage, antibiotics do not significantly relieve the patient's whooping cough, but they do reduce the patient's infectiousness to the surrounding environment.

Antibiotic treatment is also administered preventively (prophylactically) to close contacts from the vicinity of the infected person, irrespective of the immune status, age or symptoms.

Adjunctive therapy in addition to antibiotic treatment can be in severe cases:

• corticosteroid administration
• oxygen inhalation
• immunotherapy with hyperimmune gammaglobulin, which neutralizes bordetella toxin, in children under 2 years of age

Taking over-the-counter cough preparations usually does not help. However, expectorants or antispasmodics may be recommended in certain cases, depending on the course of whooping cough itself.

Among nutritional supplements, depending on the condition and age of the patient, the administration of immune-supporting preparations is advisable, such as vitamin D, vitamin C, beta-glucans, zinc and selenium.

Resting, plenty of fluids and frequent ventilation of the room are also important.

Natural treatment for whooping cough

Treatment is supportive only.

Useful medicinal herbs include Breckland thyme (also called wild thyme, creeping thyme, or elfin thyme), linden, mint, oregano (also called wild or sweet marjoram) and black elderberry.

For young children, make some herbal teas for children, e.g. for the bronchial or respiratory tract, is advisable.

Steaming can also be beneficial, as with other respiratory conditions.

Among the home remedies, we recommend homemade onion syrup with honey that has been used for a long time.