The cough, congestion, sore throat, aches, and pains are on the rise once again.
“Especially with this rainy weather we're having and people are going to be gathering for the holidays and we've already got this flu season going. This is going to be the beginning of what might be a very big flu season in January,” said Med Stop Urgent Care medical director, Dr. Brian Roberts.
Med Stop Urgent Care in San Luis Obispo has been seeing a lot of respiratory illnesses, including flu, and COVID.
“This year it's built up a little quicker than usual,” Dr. Roberts said.
Health officials say in San Luis Obispo the flu season started right after Thanksgiving but normally the surge for respiratory illnesses starts in January.
So, if you are gathering this holiday season, keep in mind, that those who are most susceptible to upper respiratory illnesses are the elderly and people who have heart and lung problems.
“Especially those over 75 and 85 they are by far the highest risk but then there's patients who are in treatments or diseases that lower your immune system,” Dr. Roberts said.
According to the California Department of Public Health, a report from Dec. 15, 2023 tracking respiratory illnesses in California, both COVID positive tests and influenza-positive tests have been on the rise since October.
“If you're high risk you need to stay up to date on your vaccinations. You need to avoid risky situations and you need to wear a mask around others and be seen early when you're sick,” Dr. Roberts said.
A San Luis Obispo pediatrician said there is also an uptick of RSV in children right now as well, so always take extra caution before the illness progressively gets worse.
“By the time they come to see me in the hospital it has progressed beyond the upper respiratory and it's in the lower respiratory tract,” said Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center pediatrician, Dr. Courtney Holt.
Dr. Holt describes what to look out for in babies.
“If there's cold with nasal congestion a cough and the baby’s otherwise eating well: taking bottles, breastfeeding, and not looking like they're having trouble breathing- as long as the ribs aren't sucking in or they're not breathing excessively fast or seeming to paint, those would all be signs to bring them in,” Dr. Holt said.
And more than just respiratory viruses are spreading right now, according to the Centers for Disease Control, health officials are also seeing an increase in pneumonia cases in children worldwide.
