If the subject has never come up before, there is significant risk that your child, now a teenager, will not be receptive to this message. Read our tips for parents about sex education and our guide to age-appropriate sex education.
Putrid throat: a historic term for a severely inflamed throat, with tissue destruction, and fetid odor, often due to strep throat (streptococcal pharyngitis) or diphtheria. REFERENCE: Kasper, D., et al. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine..
Pertussis, or whooping cough, is a highly contagious disease involving the respiratory tract. It is caused by a bacterium, Bordetella pertussis, which is found in the mouth, nose and throat of an infected person. person can transmit pertussis from seven days following exposure to an infected person, to three weeks after the onset of coughing episodes. Pertussis is only contagious for 5-7 days if antibiotic therapy is begun.