My 2 1/2 year old son has whooping cough.

His cough is a barking loose cough which occurs periodically in violent fits. He occasionaly vomits though often he we won't spit up the mucus no matter how much I coax him. His vomit is often the food he previously injested with stringy, ropy clear to yellow mucus. He constantly has clear, stringy, sticky mucus coming from his nose. The past two nights he has had a low grade fever which is always gone in the morning. His face is pale with dark circles under his eyes.

He often rubs his eyes saying he has dirt in them and wants a cold cloth to wash his eyes.

When he coughs he falls to his knees and holds his head, his eyes bulge, turn red as does his face. After coughing he cries and needs lots of reassurance, who wouldn't. He sits up to cough when he is in bed.

He is in fairly good spirts between fits though he is always whining and clingy in the morning after sleeping. He will not sleep by himself, he constantly wants to be with someone.

He has little or no appetite and I constantly have to remind him to drink, except for rice dream ( a milk substitute).

He is worse for: evening, upon waking, night time (sleeping is when he has most of his fits), coughing, exertion, drinking.

He is better for: vomiting, mid-day, fresh air.