Jeremy Clarkson revealed he hasn’t had the best start to the year after suffering from what he believes is whooping cough. The 63-year-old said he has been experiencing symptoms such as a runny nose and a persistent cough since mid-December and is yet to get better.
He shared: “I cough myself to sleep at night, my nose is like a tap, and every morning I produce about a pint of phlegm. I’ve tried everything. Pills. Lemsip. Sitting in front of a roaring fire watching Slow Horses.”
With the symptoms still present a week later, Jeremy admitted he drank himself “into such a state that at one point, apparently, I was even spotted dancing” as he marked the end of 2023. The following day, he said along with a hangover headache, were the symptoms again.
According to the NHS, whooping cough (pertussis) is a bacterial infection of the lungs and breathing tubes. It spreads very easily and can sometimes cause serious problems. The health service advise for babies and children in particular to get vaccinated against it.
In his new column with The Sun, Jeremy added: “It seems I’m not alone. Doctors are saying that, across the country, thousands of others are suffering too from what’s become known as ‘the 100 day cough’ or as it used to be called ‘whooping cough’ – an infection he believed had died out several years ago.
According to data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), there were 716 suspected cases of whooping cough in England and Wales from early July to the end of November last year, compared with 217 in the same period in 2022, however it is unclear which ages they were.
The agency add that Covid-19 is most likely to be the reason for the current increase in pertussis cases.
After sharing that nearly 300,000 people, mostly children, die every year worldwide from the infection, he added: “And what fascinates me is that no one is paying much attention to the outbreak here.”
Despite his concerns, Jeremy said he has managed to continue with his everyday duties such as farming and writing and went on question whether it could just be a cold.
He sarcastically added: “Either way, it’s not the end of the world, because if I do become really ill, I can always see a doctor at my local hospital. No, hang on a minute.”
In November, Jeremy opened up about his fears of getting dementia as he admitted “most of my body doesn’t work anymore”.
The car enthusiast said he had put up with hearing issues for 12 years, but was now concerned about a potential connection between hearing loss and dementia.
He wrote in his column with The Times: “I was told after my most recent medical that hearing loss will double the chance of me catching dementia. Maybe it’s already happening. That would explain why I can never find my spectacles.”
According to the NHS, the risk of getting dementia almost doubles if you have an untreated mild hearing loss. With moderate hearing loss, the risk triples and severe untreated hearing loss means you are five times more likely to develop dementia.
The health service says it is not fully known why there is a link between dementia and hearing loss but that wearing hearing aids sooner could help reduce the risk.
Jeremy added he had now got himself a “snazzy” set of hearing aids which will hopefully help his problem.
