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It’s sick season; What’s going around and how to avoid getting it

A BinaxNOW home COVID-19 testing kit.
Angel Huracha
/
NSPR
A BinaxNOW home COVID-19 testing kit.

Sniffling, sneezing and coughing have been the soundtrack of the past few months.

Health officials in the North State say this year has been tough, with illnesses lasting longer and with more complications.

NSPR spoke with doctors in the region to find out what illnesses are circulating and how to avoid getting sick.

The ick that’s out there

The most common illnesses this season are RSV, norovirus, COVID-19 and influenza A, or the common flu.

While all of these illnesses can be serious, the flu has been bringing people increasingly to the hospital.

Hospitals in the region are seeing between 7 to 12 admissions a day for severe cases of the flu, said Dr. Tanya Layne. She’s the ambulatory chairperson for Enloe Prompt Care and also owns a private practice.

“We're seeing more complications, and our pediatric age group is getting hit pretty hard, not only with the flu but with RSV too,” Layne said.

Most of the illnesses spreading right now tend to last about a week. But Layne said with the strains this season, that week can feel a bit like forever.

“During those 5 to 7 days, you're pretty ill,” she said.

Layne’s patients have tended to have strong fevers, body and muscle aches and other typical flu symptoms. However, she said her patients this year seem to be feeling worse than usual.

“We had one young lady, she had a temperature of 104 degrees,” Layne said.

Brian Bradley, Chief Nursing Officer at Shasta Regional Medical Center, said his team’s main concern is COVID-19. He said Shasta County has seen more cases this year than last year.

Bradley’s biggest piece of advice for residents is to take all forms of illness seriously, even if you don’t feel that bad. Whether people think they may have just a small cold or COVID, he recommends people self-isolate and seek medical care sooner rather than later if necessary.

“Be responsible and minimize your contact with the general public and make sure that your social distancing,” Bradley said. “I know those are kind of dirty words, but it works.”

Protecting yourself and others

Unfortunately, this year’s cold and flu season will get worse before it gets better.

Lisa Almaguer with the Butte County Public Health Department predicts the season will last at least another month before calming down.

Almaguer said people should take basic precautions to keep themselves and others safe. It’s the same advice given by health officials every year, she said, but it’s the same advice for a reason.

“Regardless of what you have, stay home if you are sick until your symptoms have begun to resolve and you’ve been fever free for 24-hours without using fever-reducing medication,” Almaguer said.

Bradley echoed Almaguer’s advice and said residents should treat colds and the flu the same as COVID-19. He said people should be mindful of others, wear a mask in public if sick, and keep a 6-foot distance to minimize the spread of all droplet-spread illnesses.

When to see a doctor

Health officials recommend people see a doctor if they are experiencing severe or prolonged symptoms such as;

  • Shortness of breath
  • Dizziness or lightheadedness
  • Fever that does not go away with over-the-counter medications
  • Symptoms lasting longer than 5-7 days

Bradley said people should seek medical care sooner rather than later if they experience any of the above symptoms, or if they have severe cold and flu symptoms.

“When you're ill, you want to stay in front of things as much as you can and get early intervention. Don't wait until you're struggling to breathe,” he said, “The sooner we can get people’s illnesses identified, the sooner we can get them on the appropriate treatment. The outcomes are vastly improved.”

Officials say people who are sick should drink as much water as possible, make sure they get plenty of vitamin C to boost their immune system and isolate until symptoms have completely dissipated for over 24 hours without the help of medication.

Ava is NSPR’s Morning Edition anchor and reporter. They previously worked on NPR’s Weekend Edition and NPR’s Weekend All Things Considered broadcasts and produced weekly national news stories focused on contextualizing national issues for individual communities. They love NorCal and spending time outdoors.