Whooping Cough: Vital parenting information from Eyewitness News

Once you have bought all the school supplies the student in your house needs. There is another even more important issue to cover, immunizations.

Jean Grabeel, RN
One of the things parents of preteens and teens may not realize is that some vaccines wear off over a period of time. And one of those happens to be whooping cough. So, it's important to get that whooping cough booster dose before going back to school.

Grabeel knows first hand about taking care of kids. She's a mother of two and you might recognize her son, Lucas. He plays the role of "Ryan" in "High School Musical".
More than one in four cases of whooping cough or pertussis, last year, showed up in pre-teens and teens. Grabeel says that's because the vaccinations lose their strength.

Jean Grabeel, RN
Those preteens and early adolescents are the group really most at risk right now. Because what we understand is the vaccine for whooping cough begins to wear off in 5-10 years. So they have got to get that booster dose prior to entering into school and now time to get secondary vaccine dose.

Whooping cough spreads easily in places like school where students are in close contact. The first signs are like the common cold. And it ends up causing serious coughing fits and can lead to vomiting and pneumonia.

Jean Grabeel, RN
They start off with a runny nose sneezing, temperature elevation. But the things that are different is that constant cough that doesn't stop. In fact it could last 100 days or more. Three months or more of that persistent cough. So that equals missed education time for the child and certainly they are miserable with all the constant coughing.

The centers for disease control and prevention recommends a pertussis or whooping cough booster for everyone from the age of 11 to 64.
Also, doctors say more than half of adults who are diagnosed with bronchitis, actually have whooping cough. That's where babies pick up the illness, and they can become seriously or gravely ill. Health care professionals suggest adults get this vaccine every ten years to protect themselves and the young children they come in contact with.