According to the WSJ, the lab test designed to diagnose whooping cough seems to be faulty. The national epidemic of the illness turned out to be a national epidemic of being wrong about what kind of coughs people had. Many of the people who were misdiagnosed with whooping cough actually had regular cough or whoopless cough.
This phantasmagoric pandemic pushed physicians to prescribe pills to patients precipitately. On the bright side, no one has died because of the faulty test. On the less than sunny side, people who needlessly take antibiotics may build immunity to the medicine, finding themselves less susceptible to health when they are sick.
If you have a persistent cough you should see a doctor and cover your mouth when you are in public. If a doctor prescribes you medicine, you should take it. For the most part, doctors know what they are doing. Click here to find a doctor in your area that can treat coughs both whoopful and whoopless.
