Got whooping cough? The, symptoms, Vitamin C and general management.

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

In the first post, I will put a proper description of pertussis the way all good docs would like to see it. So this post will change. (When I get me A into G... :D )

Second post onwards, will be about management.

Effective Treatment option, if you can afford it. Airplane treatment. (http://forums.beyondvaccination.com/showthread.php?t=550)

Here is a summation as to how and why vitamin C works with pertussis:



Here's the deal with vitamin C and whooping cough. The functions of vitamin C in any endotoxin disease (which includes tetanus, diphtheria,whooping cough, Staph Aureas, Strep A etc etc....and any meningococcal invasive disease and pneumococcal invasive disease), areseveral. Here are a FEW of them using whooping cough as the example:

1) the front line function of vitamin C is to bond with, and neutralise circulating toxin which is then removed from the body - I presume by the kidneys, but perhaps also colon - I'm not sure., and with whooping cough, the body manages the toxin until it runs out of vitamin C. THEN the toxin builds up, the cough intensifies, and there is breakthrough into the blood in babies and you get get that toxin going into the brain in babies with scurvy,which the doctors never see, because as you know, scurvy disappeared with Captain Cook's discovery that collecting green plants at every stop, stoppedhis sailors dying. Sorry about the sarcasm, but it just happens...

2) when the "whooping" body runs out of vitamin C, two things happen - . If the mother is observant, she will notice that the child's gums may go red around the edges - a first sign of scurvy. Then... cough gets way worse, becuase the neutrophils aren't able to attack the bacteria any more, because the vitamin C has run out. So the bacteria spread through the bronchials chopping off all the hairs, which means that instead of the mucus flowing up the brochials and recycling and keeping clean, it now pools at the bottom of the bronchials, and toxin rules the bronchials. Vitamin C in large enough doses eliminates the toxin, BUT it won't stop the need to cough, becuase the hairs aren't there, so the child still has to cough up that pooled mucus. The other thing the vitamin C does, is that it THINS out the mucus, making it much easier for the child to cough it up, so you don't get to the red in the face stage, because the mucus isn't thick any more, and moves up easily. The vitamin C will NOT kill the bacteria. The vitamin C WILL mobilise the neutrophils and phagocytes, which grind to a halt without vitamin C which is their"petrol". The toxin forms a "barrier" to the immune system. In using vitamin C you are clearing out the barrier and allowing the immune system to get in there easily and deal with the bacteria. It will take the same length of time to deal with the bacteria, - the whole 100 days,but the child will NOT have as serious symptoms, because you are keeping the system clean, and the immune pathways functioning properly.

3) If no vitamin C is given, then the integrity of the body's collagen intracellular bonds start to weaken, and the child will get pink eyes from the cranial force, and the lungs will start to become congested, the blood brain barrier becomes permeable.... All for the .... the lack of vitamin C.

4) the neutrophils and liver won't be able to deal with the free radicals and toxins being thrown at the body. See Charterjee, Kuiper,Vohra and Vissers attached. (and yes, lack of vitamin C has a huge role in cancer)

5) the patient gets exhausted because without vitamin C, carnitine can't pull in fatty acids into the mitochondria, in order to produce energy. Three of the fundamental functions of vitamin C are strengthing cellular and vascular collagen bonds, detoxifying the body, and keeping mitochondria running properly. The very common reason why people who are ill for a long time, have extreme lethargy - is....lack of vitamin C. See Sagun. You can't have a functioning MITO without vitamin C. And it's no fluke that if a doctor tests babies with SIDS they can often find ZERO vitamin C. See Okamoto.

The fact that vitamin C is the basis of "life" is why scurvy was such a killer for sailors. Without vitamin C, the WHOLE of the body's core functions gradually shut down, and if it is not replaced there is ONLY one result and that is death. You can toss everything else into a human -every other "good" food... but if there is NO vitamin C in any ofthat food...., that human is dead.

If you are using vitamin C to "bond to and neutralise" toxins in whooping cough or any other disease, you use as much vitamin C as the body will soak up to get all the functions going... and complete the process. Everything you put in ....is utilised to join with endotoxin and flush it out; to keep the neutrophils moving around and dealing with crap; keep the liver protected; the mito functioning properly ... and I could ramble onforever.... SO...
why is there even discussion of a toxicity level?

Toxicity of anything, can only occur with unused excess which acts as a"poison" in the body. vitamin C is NEVER a poison in the body,because every single funtion of the body requires it, and when there is too much, the person has a massive dose of the squits, as the excess is removed from the body.

For anyone to consider that vitamin C could have toxicity means that they have no understanding of the various roles that vitamin C has in the body. The mother of those children didn't understand either vitamin C, or what she was doing, or the processes. Please explain them to her, so that she understands what for and how she can use it.

And the same applies to bee stings, snake bits, spider bites etc.
...
The same principle whereby use of a substance cannot cause toxicity...applies for a few other nutrients during infection, for instance, vitamin A. You can give a child with measles, vitamin A in levels which would normally be considered toxic, because the action of the measles virus pulls vitamin A out of the body hand over fist.

All you are doing there, isreplacing what the body is mining. Therefore in the context of measles, vitamin A will never be toxic.

Vitamin C cannot be toxic when used to treat any disease....

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

This post is a compilation of old posts I put up at Mothering.com.

First, at the time, I didn't know about airplane treatment. If I had, I would have considered it for two reasons:

1) And educational trip
2) To see if it really worked.

In the event, we got through it. BUT knowing now, how well it works, if I'd had a baby with whooping cough, I'd seriously consider going up in an airplane.

~~~~~~~~~~~

First they get a cold, which after a week, just seems to go.

then they start the odd cough, and after about two weeks, it starts to get strong. If you watch them, they go cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough (and at this point are starting to go pink in the face, cough, cough, (and at this time are starting to wonder when they can have an in-breath) cough, cough, and then right at the end, they stop coughing, and the inbreath is really fast, because they want to expand their lungs.

At the end of the cough, (about a month in), they might bring up a glob of fairly thick mucus. This is because it pools down the bottom of the lungs, because the toxin from the bacteria has finally cut off most of the hairs in the bronchials that sweeps the mucus up and around, like a non-stop river to keep the surfaces moist. The cough sounds dry-ish, and that's because the mucus membranes aren't being kept as regularly moist as they normally are.

Most children, so long as they constantly get that mucus up, and do not pool it (where secondary bacterial infections can set it) only have "problems" when they are coughing. The rest of the time they are normal. Coughing can be provoked by touching the back of the tongue, eating food, or running around.

Oh, and towards the end, if you tell them off, they automatically start coughing. You might think its diversionary tactics, but I think its because they tense up, when you tell them off, and that scrunches pooled up mucus, and triggers the cough....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

couple of years ago, when the papers were doing the usual biffo on it, some people wrote in on the issue. One was an airplane pilot who described how he used to take chartered flights up in an unpressurised aircraft. I can't remember what altitude he said, but it obviously couldn't have been too high. These kids would be warmly wrapped, but up for about half an hour if I recall.

Anyway, we got the usual docs writing letters to the paper about "what a load of twaddle" which got the pilots who did it pretty up in arms. They swore it worked. And the docs carried on laughing like drains. Then parents of kiddos who had gone up, talked about how it had been so good for the kids, and the huge improvement it made.

The discussion came to an abrupt halt, and a mole in the system told me that the Health Department had told the paper to stop such unsubstantiated baloney.

So, there you go. Another old-wives tales.....

Anyway, for some first hand experience, a tome, from one who knows a little on this particular issue.....

This was a post to a mother whose child had whooping cough, and was, as we would say, "packing" herself.....
________________________________________


Dear XXXXX

First thing you need to do is cool it. Your emotional scale is off the Richter line, and that is natural - it happens to all of us. But it doesn't help the thinking process. You need to stand back and think clearly.

So this is what I would do if my child had the problems yours does. I would continue the way you are and:

I would get a sheet of paper and put it, and a pen where it isn't going to get covered up. then I would write down exactly the progression leaving spaces, because you would be amazed at what you remember as time goes by. (If you do need professional help, this record becomes invaluable. Tell them to read it, not ask you ad nauseum repetitive questions!)

I would watch her carefully throughout the day, and write down everything including how I was feeling. If she felt hot I might take her temperature, but that wouldn't mean much. I would under no circumstances use tylenol or its like, or any cold medicine.

I would know that if it is a cold, there is absolutely nothing they can give her. If it is an earache, they might offer antibiotics, but I believe the side-effects of that outweigh the advantages, particularly as antibiotics don't work for earaches anyway. But they do suppress the immune system and often mothers find that 6 weeks after antibiotics, they are back in square one again.

What I would do in the mean time, is take a good Vitamin and mineral supplement to help my body deal with the emotional stress, and on top of that I would take 30,000 IU's of Halibut Liver oil, and about 10 grams of vitamin C spread out over waking hours. I use powdered sodium ascorbate, and I mix it (10 grams = 2 heaped teaspoons) in with 1.25 litres of water in a pop-top bottle. I would put it next to my feeding chair (a rocking chair) and drink it gradually throughout the day. I would also give myself a loading dose of 5 grams in half a glass of water.

I would express some breastmilk into a cup, and put a pinch of Vitamin C powder into it, and mix it. Then using a plastic eyedropper, I would dribble this into the babies mouth gradually over a few minutes. Don't squirt it in - just drip it in, bit by bit. Or I would insert the dropper in as she fed, which would make it easier. The reason for this is that it takes about 8 hours for the vitamin c you take to get through to the breastmilk, and I wouldn’t want that gap. A Pinch is about 250 mg. Bear in mind here that they assess antibiotics on the basis of 350 mgs per kg of body weight. So 250 mgs is pathetic really. If I thought my baby was really sick, then I would calculate Vitamin C for her at 375 mg/kg of body weight, and give that over waking hours, perhaps also worked so that a larger dose is given just before night.

If you are wary of Vitamin C read the following:

http://www.seanet.com/~alexs/ascorbate/index.htm (http://www.seanet.com/~alexs/ascorbate/index.htm)

http://www.seanet.com/~alexs/ascorbate/197x/klenner-fr-j_appl_nutr-1971-v23-n3&4-p61.htm#appendix (http://www.seanet.com/~alexs/ascorbate/197x/klenner-fr-j_appl_nutr-1971-v23-n3&4-p61.htm#appendix)

As this is going on I would write and watch. If I became really concerned, I would go to my doctor, but only because I know he won't automatically react by writing a prescription, or throwing me in hospital without very very good reason. If the stuffiness is just in the nose, and the cough is just a normal cough, then I would just continue that until it got better.

BUT WHAT SAY IT IS WHOOPING COUGH? WHAT I DID...GENERAL ADVICE. (This is not "shouting" this is a breaker in the page. You can read further or not as you chose.)

If the cough changes, and becomes me more of a bark, and more regular, I might have to consider that it could be whooping cough. After all, it is around, the vaccine doesn't work, and it is primarily spread by vaccinated kids anyway. So this changes the picture.

Whooping cough cannot be correctly diagnosed without a nasopharyngeal swab because other pathogens like adenovirus can cause an identical syndrome - as can other bacteria, so the swab must be tested with the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test. Any other tests are useless. Regardless of the outcome, some general principles remain the same in dealing with any cough in terms of management. Read on, and take what you want out of this. If you don't like it, forget it.

If she has got whooping cough, the doctor will try to make you give her erythromycin - which does NOT shorten, or do anything to lessen the course of the disease from what I have seen in this country. They "say" it stops the baby from coughing as much bacteria into the environment for others to catch!!! But it can also really stuff up the gut, and make babies hyper-irritable. Everyone I know who has been given it, has thrown it out in disgust as it has made the total situation much much worse. Do not argue with him. Take and fill the prescription. If you chose not to give it, have it on hand, but do not tell the doctor, because in some instances in this country, failure to give prescribed medicine has lead to the child being removed from custody. In one case, the child nearly died from the side-effects of the antibiotics, which were brochio-edema and urticaria (hives). Not good, on top of whooping cough.

In my case, I have a good doctor who would never do that to me. We had discussed it way before the kids decided whooping cough was the in thing. Besides which, they were number 70 and 71 in his practice with whooping cough that year, and were the only unvaccinated ones.... but some people I know do not go near their doctors if they suspect whooping cough - even for the test - because they are too scared of what will be said or done. I don't know what the situation is like where you are. You might feel quite safe, in which case the diagnosis is what you need - since it will prove that your child does not need another jab, and does/will have immunity.

There is only one effective treatment in babies IMO for whooping cough, and that is vitamin C. We have used it with our children, grandchildren, and other babies (It feels funny to be parents and grandparents at the same time). It does not stop the disease - it modifies it, and makes the cough much much milder. The cough in our kids went down to at least a quarter the intensity it was. But you still have to know how to manage it, because the problem with whooping cough in babies is the quantity of mucus it produces and the babies relative inability to use the stomach muscles to cough properly. If that mucus is not shifted, then secondary bacterial infections set in, and it is these which can cause the problems.

With any cough, particularly whooping cough, here is what I do. I turn the baby round, with its back to mine. I split my legs, so the baby is supported around the tummy but the legs are straight down. My hands make a net around the baby’s ribcage and tummy, and when the baby coughs, I lean forward slightly and use the hands as a very gentle net so that the baby has something for the tummy to push against. I give the baby some pressure to use, but I do not press in hard. They haven't learned to control their abdominal muscles to get an efficient cough yet, so that hands make it much easier for them. If it is whooping cough, then you will get a thick clear mucusy glob ejected onto your floor. Better out than in. Don't attempt to catch it, or you may drop the baby. I just put newspaper on the floor and caught it that way. If it is whooping cough, then the cough will become more regular. Maybe every hour, on the hour. This is because it takes around an hour for the mucus to pool at the bottom of the bronchial tube. Write the time of each coughing spell down at the beginning, to see if a pattern establishes. This will help with diagnosis. Why write it down? Because life will become so hectic you won't be able to remember, and your paper pad will be your memory. It will enable you to look back clearly, without panic, and see what the progression is.

Somewhere else I posted the basis of whooping cough. The cough is caused by the bacteria adhering to the bronchial walls, and secreting a toxin which cuts of the cilia (hairs) in the bronchials. These hairs sweep the mucus up and sown the throat. The bronchial hairs moves the mucus around all the time, so that it replaces and at the same time gets rid of any pathogens. (If it didn't do this, then we would die of all the bacteria and viruses and muck we breathe in that gets stuck in it.)

This mucus is part of the inate immune system. It is linked to the BALT (Bronchial associated lymphatic tissue) as I understand it. (Just put that in in case someone decides to rain down coals on my head..) so you must keep the mucus moving. What whooping cough does it by cutting off the hairs, it stops the mucus moving. So long as you keep the mucus moving your baby should not get a secondary infection.

The other thing the toxin can do is get into the blood-stream, and irritate the body. If the baby's immune system is not so good then this toxin can get to the brain as well, but I have never seen that. (this is why 1 in 200 babies die from it - "their" figures which I am repeating back to you, because I don't believe them. I think only 1 in 200 babies who have received standard medical treatment, or no treatment whatsoever might die --- but I have never seen a baby treated and managed the way I am describing have any major problems)[/quote]

If the mucus is not got out bacteria will grow and cause a secondary bacterial infection, which they will want to treat with antibiotics. They say whooping cough in rare cases, can cause long-lasting bronchial problems. Yes it can, if you treat it the way the doctors do IMO, doing nothing other than antibiotics. Just using antibiotics does not deal with the pooling mucus, or manage it, or deal with the toxin. If you keep the mucus moving (you can also use gentle postural drainage if you want) there should be nor further problems other than the cough itself.

The vitamin C neutralises any toxins in the blood and should stabilise the baby. You will have to take it yourself and/or give it until the coughing stops. It is easier and cheaper IMO to give it directly to babies. If you take it yourself, you can never be sure your baby is getting what it needs, because you might be more stressed than you think, and your body may be using up more than you estimate. With our children, the coughing lasted full on for two weeks (oldest) three weeks (youngest)another 4-5 weeks consistent cough, then another month just the odd bark...

The whooping cough will last the normal time - supposedly 100 days...., but it will be nuisance value only. You are breastfeeding. You will notice if it is whooping cough, that each time you feed, this will provoke a cough. Usually just as your let-down does the proverbial New York fire hydrant trick. Deal with the cough first - let the milk spray. Get the mucus up, then put the baby back on the breast straight away, and there will be no cough because the mucus has gone, and she will take the full feed. But you both might be wet, and sticky….your front and her back…..

IME, babies with whooping cough, sleep lightly. I organised the house so that I slept with the babies in a huge double bed (on the floor, not raised) and during the day, apart from toilet stops, well planned,…. I spent most of the day in the rocking chair if the baby was asleep, or put them in the back-pack if I needed to do job, though I got a couple of well-placed mucus globs down the back of my neck....

Everything was organised so that I got the maximum sleep, as sleep deprivation for the mother is the main problem. Littlies seem to be for ever bounding with energy, even though they are coughing - somehow they cope with sleep in short burst better than we do. Though I broke my toe too at the time, which didn't help.

Cleaning - went out the window - I concentrated on cooking, dishes, and keeping up with the washing. A bath or shower was when hubby was at home, and on hand to help - to do baby as well...

I have missed out such things as homeopathics. That is because I have not found they worked very well for this. For older children, they seemed to be better, but there is no set remedy. Each outbreak has slightly different characteristics, and though the books say that Drosera is the right thing to use, in the last outbreak here, moschus and mephitus did better. Although some kids needed a dose of sulphur to clear a constitutional block, if the dose wouldn't "hold" Sounds a mystery a bit. But with our family, we just got on with the job.

I have noticed this with some children, but not with babies:. …that .. If you get in quick enough with a constitutional remedy you can abort whooping cough. But several of my friends who did this - their children just got it the next time around. I don't know if it is possible to abort it with a baby. We have never succeeded, but that may be because we are "dumb" or something. If it could be aborted, then yes, try it - as it is easier for older children to cope with whooping cough than for babies.

Important Addendum.

After whooping cough, for the next 6 - 9 months, any cold that the child gets, that child will start to "Whoop", or cough the same way as they did with whooping cough. The reason for that is that it takes a long time for the hairs to grow back, and so any infection without proper hairs in the bronchials, will result in mucus pooling.

It is this mucus pooling that has to trigger a cough strong enough, to get the mucus from the bottom of the bronchials up to the top.....

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

More posts:

If they are coughing until they are purple, then your doses of vitamin C are much too small.

Bump them right up to the level of 375 milligrams per kilo of body weight over the waking hours, as a starting dose.

If your dose is right, within 8 hours there should be a two third reduction in the coughing.

Do not ever regret that they have got whooping cough. If it is treated correctly it will, in the end, be a very good priming for their immune system.

Yes, if it is handled incorrectly, then it can be very very hard on them.

But there is enough information here, to give you some confidence to be able to do it right...

Here is the post from the other thread:

If she has got whooping cough, the doctor will try to make you give her erythromycin - which does NOT shorten, or do anything to lessen the course of the disease from what I have seen in this country.


In fact there are three medical articles pointing out that antibiotics LENGTHEN the length of the cough compared to children not given antibiotics, but they don't tell you that!


They "say" it stops the baby from coughing as much bacteria into the environment for others to catch!!!


But it can also really stuff up the gut, and make babies hyper-irritable.


Everyone I know who has been given it, has thrown it out in disgust as it has made the total situation much much worse. Do not argue with the doc. Take and fill the prescription. If you chose not to give it, have it on hand, but do not tell the doctor, because in some instances in this country, failure to give prescribed medicine has lead to the child being removed from custody. In one case, the child nearly died from the side-effects of the antibiotics, which were brochio-edema and urticaria (hives). Not good, on top of whooping cough.

In my case, I have a good doctor who would never do that to me. We had discussed it way before the kids decided whooping cough was the in thing. Besides which, they were number 70 and 71 in his practice with whooping cough that year, and were the only unvaccinated ones.... but some people I know do not go near their doctors if they suspect whooping cough - even for the test - because they are too scared of what will be said or done. I don't know what the situation is like where you are. You might feel quite safe, in which case the diagnosis is what you need - since it will prove that your child does not need another jab, and does/will have immunity.

There is only one effective treatment in babies IMO for whooping cough, and that is vitamin C. We have used it with our children, grandchildren, and other babies (It feels funny to be parents and grandparents at the same time). It does not stop the disease - it modifies it by neutralising the toxin as it's produced. It won't stop the bacteria producing the toxin, so it has to be taken for the duration, but it makes the cough much much milder.

The cough in our kids went down to at least a quarter the intensity it was.

Just manage it as above.



There is no reason to use antibiotics, unless the mucus they spit up becomes green in colour.

But as I said, it sounds like your vitamin C doses are simply way way too low.

With our oldest I used something like 8 grams a day, and the younger was about double that. Every child is different, and will need different amounts...

went and read the other thread which gave the ages..

9 months.

Yup, they are right at that age, they haven't gotten the hang of using their diaphragms effectively so, you will have to use the holding technique to give them support.

I presume?? you are taking the vitamin C, not giving it to the??

(could be wrong, but have to ask)

Express for each child, every hour, a tsp on breastmilk. put a pinch or two of sodium ascorbate in it, and give it them on a spoon -AFTER a coughing spell. So you could have it on hand if you want. Or express several spoon fuls, put several pinches in, but mix before you give them a spoon. But I'd do it fresh.

All the time. Keep dripping it in the baby's cheek.

Set up a piece of paper for each child, magnetted onto the fridge, and tie a pen nearby so that you don't absent-mindedly walk off with it..... and keep track of their doses. One of the reasons they are finding it hard to get up the mucous is because they aren't running around, and moving. But the vitamin C thins the mucus and you will find they start to cough it up more effectively.

Now, I KNOW you are exhausted. BUT ... it might be a good idea if you could do a five minute dance holding each child. every hour. This may provoke a coughing, because you are jiggling the mucuous for them, as they would be were they running around. IMO, it is the inactivity of babies that leads to problems.

The ONLY reason they are coughing so long and hard, is that they have large amounts of mucous there, because of their relative inactivity. If you can make them cough a bit more often, the cough mightl be shorter, since the mucous might be less. Once you get the vitamin c dose right, the mucus will thin and the coughing will be less.

If you have a cold, at the beginning stages, do you feel more blocked up if you just lie there? I do. Babies are the same. if they just lie there and do not much, they get more congested. At 9 months they won't be doing too much...

And

If you have a stubborn little tyke like my oldest, who doesn't let anything "beat" him, then they have some lessons to learn. My oldest was 8. But it took him two weeks to learn to relax and let the cough happen instead of fighting it.

You can help them to cough more efficiently by helping the stomach muscles.

Do you have back packs? If so, when your husband comes home, that is his job. Half an hour for each child in the back pack, for a brisk moronic walk around the property. Within about 300 yards, coughing will start. Deal to it with the stomach hold to support the diaghragm, then, whats the bet the baby falls asleep (if otherwise fed and okay...) If you are too slow, you will wear the mucus down the back of your neck.

In this country, the average 9 month old girl is about 10 kgs in weight. I don't know if your two are about that.

But say they are.

That's easy. 10 x 375 = 3 grams and 750 mgs per day over waking hours.

That's one level teaspoon of sodium ascorbate minus one pinch, so who cares about the pinch.You have to get that much into them in several doses during each waking day.

So, how are you going to do it? give it in their juice, in expressed breastmilk on the spoon, any conniving way you can.

If they get lots of gas, and become even looser than a breastfeeding baby is, then you pull back on the dose to 3 grams, and keep adjusting the dose down, until there is no gas.

You have to experiment.

You may find this is too much for one child, but no where near enough for the other child.

Now YOU,.... Mum... also need Vitamin C, A, E. AND.... AND..... lots of probiotics, and a good B supplement. You need plenty of minerals, and make sure that you are taking everything well balanced. I want if possible, lots of mineral through to the babies, because they need this to kick start in the Vitamin C.

If it becomes a breeze you still have to be fit and well, because this isn't a 100 metre sprint. It's a marathon.


If you find you are dropping balls, and know someone prepared to cook you some decent meals, accept their offer. You need to be snacking on decent meals every two hours. By decent I mean what what is best for you. Not large quantities, but just enough to grab a few mouthfulls and keep you going.

I lived on fruit, buckwheat pancakes, spanakopitas, salads, lasagne.

If you have a vegetable juicer, then use that. But don't just drink the juice.


If you do carrot juice, add the carrot pulp to mashed cottage cheese, chopped parsley, chives and celery leaves and pizza herbed tomato paste.

That eaten on the end of celery sticks is so good...


Why eat the pulp? Because the only reason I want you to use the juicer, is to get the maximum minerals out of the vegetables. and if you don't eat the pulp, you can get diarrhoea. The pulp is good for your large colon, and gives prebiotics to the beneficial bacteria, as some bedrock to grow on .

Besides, you can eat far more carrots etc juiced and pulped than you can chewing them. And you get far more out of them that way.

Try any mix you like, but I put together this one, which I love.

2 large carrots. Save this pulp, then juice
1 Beetroot,
2 stalks celery,

juice of 1 grapefruit. (If you want, but I usually skipped the grapefruit)

Depending on how much you like, this might last you the day. I drink a lot of water, so this lasts me a day.

Oh. And... um. Your poos will change colour...

You can also add in some ginger root, but I don't like that.

there are all sorts of combinations you could have, so play around with it, if you have a juicer.

Dont' be surprised if your little ones insist on trying it too. If they like it, give it to them. Without the pulp. In tiny amounts. It might conceal the vitamin C quite nicely....


Now, for you.

Mental strategy.

Life with whooping cough, if it gets rough, is a bit like labour. One contraction at a time.

One cough at a time.Don't think ahead except insofar as to plan to have lists for hubby or someone to make sure that you have all you need in the house.

But beyond that, then survival is the main issue. Which means a temporary frontal lobotomy. Reduce everything into small copeable segments of the day.

Roll with the coughs, so to speak. Don't forget to eat little and often. Whatever you need to remember, write on the paper on the fridge. Replace and rename each sheet as you fill it, and number and file the sheets.

Surviving severe whooping cough is all about organisation, and mental staunchness. Once you get into the swing of it, you will find you have more energy.

Where you lose energy, is getting angry about it all, or resentful that it is happening. The key to reducing tiredness is acceptance, and being physically relaxed.

But it should never get that severe. If you use vitamin C and manage it properly, whooping cough in a healthy child, is usually just nuisance value.

Just go on to cruise mode.

And you know what? You will, by the end, have learned new skills which I am sure will stand you in good stead another time, another place.

I never knew how much resilience I COULD have, until the kids had whooping cough. it wasn't bad, but they both had it together, and one would cough on the hour and the other on the half hour. for the two weeks where they had me up and down at nights like a yo-yo, I was a zombie. I just cruised and didn't think too much.


The rest was pretty easy.


Years later when the oldest landed up in hospital for a week, and during that time I had only three hours sleep, I drew heavily on the mental resources I had developed during whooping cough, in order to help me survive that week in hospital, fighting for my son.

So, for every problem, not only is there a solution, but there is also a silver lining.

Manage the disease right, it should be relatively easy. You will learn a lot.

You will be very satisfied as an individual. You will have succeeded, and done your best.

Just DON'T break your toe, like I did.

It looks very "unprofessional"

[gilima]

Thanks mt, I just bookmarked it so I have all the info on one page in front of me without having to go searching :)
we just spent 3 days with my mil...and thankfully survived and are happily back home. I t seems that I caught whatever the baby has and it does not seem like whooping cough, something else that is doing the rounds and Iam so tired, really wiped out. I had fever and have hada sore throat, stuffy nose and that is what it seems the baby has too. Thankfully back home with my full supply of SA on hand I should be able to get things moving outa here!!

[hypatia]

How long do you normally continue using the sodium ascorbate during a bout with pertussis? When it's time to stop using it, do you taper down gradually and (if the coughing picks back up), you know you've tried to stop to soon and continue using it for a while longer?

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

How long do you normally continue using the sodium ascorbate during a bout with pertussis? We learned by experience that you could stop it too early. WE stopped it, and within 12 hours the cough ramped up again. So we just kept on with it, and would go off it again, and if the cough got worse, we'd go back on it.

There is no manual with something about which the medical profession knows nothing. And even if they knew something, I'd not consult their manual.


When it's time to stop using it, do you taper down gradually and (if the coughing picks back up), you know you've tried to stop to soon and continue using it for a while longer? Correct... basically.

It's called error and trial...