ST. LOUIS – A late-season peak in respiratory illnesses is affecting schools and families across the St. Louis area.
Flu cases, in particular, have spiked as of late. Missouri Baptist Medical Center pediatrician Joel Koenig said while the late peak is unusual, the problem itself is unfortunately unavoidable.
“If you want to have a 100% safe school environment where you’ll never catch germs, you’re dreaming,” Koenig said. “It’s never going to happen.”
Koenig saw the late surge in flu cases start two weeks ago. His office was seeing two to three flu cases per week. Now, he’s seeing that many every day. But he said there are things you can do to limit the damage.
The big one?
You’ve likely heard it before.
“Wash your hands!” Koenig said. “So, it turned out with COVID, handwashing didn’t make much of a difference; it was more about masking up. But with flu and other respiratory viruses, it’s more about handwashing.”
Koenig hasn’t seen many kids with COVID-19. He has had to send two young children to the hospital with symptoms of RSV, but the flu is the most common illness right now. He added that you should seek care if your symptoms are getting worse or if you have complications from the flu, such as a sinus or ear infection.
Koenig’s office has seen one other, rather strange flu side effect.
“This year, I’ve seen a few kids with an unusual one called myositis, where their calf muscles hurt so bad that they can’t walk,” he said. “It’s like you had a mean coach that made you run around the trees one time too many.”
Koenig recommends doing in-person visits for flu cases rather than virtual as it’s more difficult to diagnose through a screen.
Anyone who is having severe difficulty breathing should go straight to the emergency room. Although it’s late in the season, Koenig still recommends to go ahead and get the influenza vaccine if you haven’t already.