GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – It’s that time of year when illnesses ramp up and Northeast Wisconsin is no exception.
Between flu, RSV and COVID-19, it can be hard to stay healthy.
Dr. Brad Burmeister, an emergency physician with Bellin Health, tells FOX 11 viral infections are up this year and health care providers are busy.
He says patience is key when going to the doctor’s office, urgent care or the emergency room as wait times are higher.
Hospitals across Wisconsin have seen a strong growth in flu cases. They even doubled from one week to the next.
Dr. Burmeister says the peak in viral infections this year differs from the peak of COVID-19 cases last year as viral infections are affecting children more than COVID did.
Right now there’s about 500 people in the state hospitalized for COVID-19. That’s about a quarter of the number that were hospitalized last year for COVID-19.
RSV is a common virus. Most kids will have had this virus at least once by the time they turn 4 years old.
“It’s a sort of interesting virus because in adults it can just sort of cause the sniffles or a cold but in kids, particularly the younger kids, it can put them in pretty significant respiratory distress.”
The most common question parents have is when should they bring their child to the doctor if they believe they have RSV.
Look for these red flags:
Are they in respiratory distress? Are they breathing faster than normal?
In little babies, their head might bob up and down a little when they breathe and their ribs might pull in when they take a breath.
If a baby can feed or hold a pacifier in its mouth, typically the respiratory distress isn’t too bad.
Some parents get concerned when their child gets a fever.
“For most kids, particularly older than three months, a fever is a sign of a virus and isn’t something that we necessarily need to have them come into the emergency department, urgent care or primary care provider for that alone, typically it’s fairly easy treatable,” he said.
Here are some ways Dr. Burmeister recommends to ease the symptoms:
Tylenol, Ibuprofen can help
Use an air humidifier
For kids who aren’t eating as much, it would be a good idea to feed less but more frequently
He doesn’t recommend antibiotics as those can have side effects too and likely don’t help
As far as prevention goes, he recommends to get your vaccines.
You can schedule a flu shot at your local doctor’s office or click here to find a clinic here near you.
Regular hand washing and hygiene can also help but viruses are not 100% preventable and can sometimes be inevitable.
