Pediatricians staying busy as viruses spread

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) - As schools and daycares see an increase in absences from kids getting sick, Dr. Neal Spears, a pediatrician at St. Joseph Health and Texas A&M Health Pediatrics, joined First News at Four to discuss what’s going around.

According to Dr. Spears, he’s seen kids coming in for a mix of things. Most children six and under have laryngitis croup caused by either rhinovirus or parainfluenza. This age group has also seen hand, foot and mouth disease spreading. About 10 days ago, older elementary school kids started coming in with influenza A and B.

Kids who don’t have a substantial fever and aren’t in pain can take over the counter cough and cold remedies. Dr. Spears recommends parents give it about two to three days to go away before visiting the doctor.

On the other hand, if a child has a fever over 102 or are in pain, then it’s important to see a doctor sooner rather than later “both to make sure it’s nothing serious or life threatening, but also to get a flu test because we do have medications that help us get over the flu that work best if they’re started early,” explained Dr. Spears.

While it does make kids stronger to fight routine illnesses, there are a few things parents should do to prevent more serious infections. Dr. Spears says the best thing to do is make sure little ones get everything out of their nose. Young kids like to sniff everything back and that worsening the cough and even leading to bacterial infections. Dr. Spears recommends having kids do a sinus rinse to prevent colds from turning into something worse.

Watch the full interview in the player above.

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