Whooping cough is still a concern in our community, especially for parents of school-aged children, after there was at least one confirmed case last week within the Washoe County School District.
Now, experts want to clarify the best way for parents to respond to the illness.
Renown's Division Chief of Primary Care, Dr. Thomas Chmelicek, says it's important to know when true exposure happens.
For whooping cough, that means being exposed to someone with a positive case while in a small room for at least 60 minutes.
He says a quick pass by someone with a case is unlikely to put anyone at risk.
"The rule is you test a symptomatic patient, and you treat symptomatic patients," said Dr. Chmelicek. "The only people we do as contacts tend to be families."
Symptoms to watch out for include what Dr. Chmelicek calls 'profound' coughing 24/7, with that whoop sound persisting for more than two weeks, as well as regular cold symptoms like a runny nose and a low-grade fever.
Other illnesses are circulating right now that are more likely to be what someone is infected with, like flu, RSV, and a stomach bug that he says makes its rounds about every three months.
Dr. Chmelicek provided some guidelines on when to get treatment for any of those illnesses, saying,
"When in doubt, come in," he said. "But if they're sick and they're eating and drinking and tolerating, it's okay to wait a few days, that's fine. But it's having problems breathing or they can't swallow. The fevers are very high. That's obviously something we'd like you to see right away."
He says general treatment for whooping cough includes antibiotics, rest, and isolation.
