CINCINNATI (WKRC) - Reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that seasonal illnesses are surging across the United States, and separating the symptoms can be important for getting the right treatment.
Health care providers said that holiday family gatherings let people share gifts and memories, but it also lets them share the respiratory viruses going around.
Many of the symptoms overlap for the most common illnesses on the rise.
“Influenza, Covid is still out there, we're still seeing some RSV,” said Dr. Stephen Blatt, Medical Director of TriHealth infectious diseases.
The National Institutes of Health reports that colds rarely have extreme exhaustion, high fevers or headaches, but flu and Covid-19 often have all of those symptoms plus a bad cough, trouble breathing, and a fatigue or weakness that can last for weeks.
Dr. Scott Woods said that colds also aren't likely to put a person in the hospital, but both the flu and Covid-19 have led to a slew of admissions nationwide.
“In here, it’s more like shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, and a severe cough,” said Dr. Woods of TriHealth Family Medicine.
The latest CDC numbers show more than 20 children so far this season have died from flu complications.
Covid-19 detections in wastewater are climbing nationwide. Viral transmissions are higher now than they were a year ago at this time.
Emergency room visits were up more than 10% this past week for Covid-19, and hospitalizations jumped almost 20%.
So, what should a person do if he or she gets sick?
First, a person should get in for antiviral medications right away, particularly if he or she is at high risk for complications.
For the flu, there’s Tamiflu. For Covid-19, there’s Paxlovid. But, a person needs to take them within a certain window of when symptoms start.
“For flu, it's 72 hours, and the anti-flu drugs work best in the first 24 hours, but can be given up to the first three days. Covid-19 is the first five days,” Dr. Woods said.
It’s also not too late to get the vaccine against Covid-19, which does appear to protect against the omicron strains currently going around. It’s too soon to know about the flu vaccine and its protection.
“We do know from the southern hemisphere up to North America, that it was a pretty good match, up to about a 60% match, about what was going on in the community, and that’s good for flu,” Dr. Blatt said.
Click here for a NIH symptom chart to help determine if it’s the flu, Covid-19, a cold or allergies.
Health care providers caution everyone that if any symptoms seem to be getting worse instead of better, seek medical attention immediately.
