Doctors treating ‘a lot of respiratory illness’ in children

An unwelcome visitor could be at your family’s holiday gathering. Viruses, that lead to respiratory illness, are surging among children across the country.This year’s cold and flu season got started early and is proving to be severe.”We are seeing a lot of respiratory illnesses,” said Zoey Goore, MD, a pediatric hospitalist and assistant-physician-in-chief of the Women and Children’s Center at Kaiser Permanente Roseville. “In a normal year … we see one thing at a time. Right now we’re seeing everything, all at once.”The types of respiratory illnesses pediatricians are seeing run the gamut.”You name it, we’re seeing it from a respiratory viral standpoint,” Goore said. “We’ve seen kids with enterovirus – giving them respiratory and GI symptoms – we’re seeing a ton of (respiratory syncytial virus) and we’re starting to see a lot of influenza A.”Children with asthma can be particularly susceptible to those illnesses, and doctors said they’re noticing a trend among kids who end up getting the flu.”Our kids with influenza A are predominantly children who have not received the influenza vaccine,” said Goore.Another possible complication health care providers across the country may face is that certain drugs used to treat respiratory illness are in short supply.According to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, an organization that tracks national drug shortages, supplies are low of antiviral medicines like Tamiflu, the inhaled drug Albuterol – which is used to prevent/treat breathing difficulty – and some antibiotics commonly used to treat secondary bacterial infections, which can be triggered by respiratory viruses.Goore explained that the jury is still out on why health practitioners are seeing so much illness right now.Doctors think it may have to do with the end of pandemic-era isolation.”The probably predominant theory is that kids have been isolated and not been sharing their germs like they would’ve in previous years,” Goore said. “So everyone’s exposed to these illnesses for the first time all at once.”Children, she said, are catching illnesses in a short timeframe, that they otherwise would have experienced more incrementally.Current respiratory illnesses are symptomatic, according to Goore, making it easier to know when it’s probably a good idea to stay home for the holidays.”You have runny nose, you have cough, you have sore throat, you have fever,” she said. “If you are experiencing those symptoms, don’t spread it. I don’t want to tell people not to join with their loved ones during the holidays, but … if you’re symptomatic, please don’t share your illness with your loved ones.”

An unwelcome visitor could be at your family’s holiday gathering. Viruses, that lead to respiratory illness, are surging among children across the country.

This year’s cold and flu season got started early and is proving to be severe.

“We are seeing a lot of respiratory illnesses,” said Zoey Goore, MD, a pediatric hospitalist and assistant-physician-in-chief of the Women and Children’s Center at Kaiser Permanente Roseville. “In a normal year … we see one thing at a time. Right now we’re seeing everything, all at once.”

The types of respiratory illnesses pediatricians are seeing run the gamut.

“You name it, we’re seeing it from a respiratory viral standpoint,” Goore said. “We’ve seen kids with enterovirus – giving them respiratory and GI symptoms – we’re seeing a ton of (respiratory syncytial virus) and we’re starting to see a lot of influenza A.”

Children with asthma can be particularly susceptible to those illnesses, and doctors said they’re noticing a trend among kids who end up getting the flu.

“Our kids with influenza A are predominantly children who have not received the influenza vaccine,” said Goore.

Another possible complication health care providers across the country may face is that certain drugs used to treat respiratory illness are in short supply.

According to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, an organization that tracks national drug shortages, supplies are low of antiviral medicines like Tamiflu, the inhaled drug Albuterol – which is used to prevent/treat breathing difficulty – and some antibiotics commonly used to treat secondary bacterial infections, which can be triggered by respiratory viruses.

Goore explained that the jury is still out on why health practitioners are seeing so much illness right now.

Doctors think it may have to do with the end of pandemic-era isolation.

“The probably predominant theory is that kids have been isolated and not been sharing their germs like they would’ve in previous years,” Goore said. “So everyone’s exposed to these illnesses for the first time all at once.”

Children, she said, are catching illnesses in a short timeframe, that they otherwise would have experienced more incrementally.

Current respiratory illnesses are symptomatic, according to Goore, making it easier to know when it’s probably a good idea to stay home for the holidays.

“You have runny nose, you have cough, you have sore throat, you have fever,” she said. “If you are experiencing those symptoms, don’t spread it. I don’t want to tell people not to join with their loved ones during the holidays, but … if you’re symptomatic, please don’t share your illness with your loved ones.”

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