HOUSTON — Do you have a runny nose or a cough? You are not alone. After taking a break during the pandemic, common illnesses are back big time.
Kids are getting hit especially hard.
Dr. Stan Spinner with Texas Children’s Pediatrics and Urgent Care tells KHOU 11 News that croup, a respiratory virus, is one of several bugs going around right now.
“We are starting to see the respiratory infections again,” Dr. Spinner said. “We’re starting to see the GI infections again. We’re starting to see asthma again."
He says social distancing and masks kept all those illnesses at bay during the pandemic.
“It’s amazing the difference. We weren’t seeing strep. We weren’t seeing croup. We weren’t seeing any of that in the practices,” he said. “First, we thought no one was willing to come in and everyone was staying home. Then as that changed, we just weren’t seeing it.”
They weren’t gone. COVID-19 precautions kept them under control too.
Now that people are taking off masks, getting together and traveling again, all the regular bugs are back.
“I think just the common cold, which again can be caused by any number of viruses. The runny nose, the cough, the sore throat,” Dr. Spinner said are back going around the Houston area.
Dr. Spinner says they’re seeing more cases of RSV and strep throat in children too.
So if you’re feeling under the weather, it may be a symptom of life returning to normal.