Dr. Comilla Sasson is the 9NEWS Medical Expert and a practicing emergency medicine physician. She answers questions about health issues for 9NEWS.
You can break your tailbone?
FACT. Yes, the tailbone is also known as the coccyx. Most often, the tailbone is broken by falling down directly on the bone. Unfortunately, not too much to do about it other rest, ice, sit on a donut-shaped cushion at work, and letting it heal. It can be very painful and take quite a bit of time to heal (6-8 weeks potentially).
Whooping cough (pertussis) is a vaccine I got when I was young. I don’t need to get another vaccine.
FICTION. Whooping cough is a highly-contagious disease spread through the air, often with strong coughing spells. Pertussis can be deadly especially in infants less than a year old. Infants can get their first vaccine for pertussis at 2 months old.
Expecting mothers should get a booster in the beginning of their third trimester for EACH pregnancy to protect their fetuses by passing on their antibodies to whooping cough until the infants can get their vaccine.
Most importantly, anyone who is going to be around the infant, like grandparents and family members, needs to make sure they have gotten a pertussis booster at least once as an adult. Make sure they get vaccinated at least two weeks before meeting your new infant.
