Children’s Hospital Colorado says it has seen record volumes of patients complaining of respiratory problems during the 2014-2015 season. From January through April of this year, the Children’s emergency department was 8 percent busier than last year.
The hospital reports rates of flu and the respiratory illness RSV have recently declined, but parainfluenza viruses and enterovirus continue to circulate.
Dr. Christopher Stille, a primary care physician at Children’s, says recent respiratory cases likely aren’t linked to the rainy weather.
“Generally, weather doesn’t have too much to do with viral seasons. Sometimes people think it does, but it doesn’t really. So it’s just, I think, the tail end of a tough virus season,” Stille explained.
Stille's best advice if you’ve got a sore throat, cough, or stuffy nose is to get plenty of rest and proper nutrition. But children should see by a doctor if they have a cold lasting two weeks, or a fever lasting more than five days.
