THEFlu, respiratory syncytial virus and Covid are filling hospitals and primary care pediatricians’ offices. And the back to school could represent a further diffusion of respiratory viruses, which during the Christmas and New Year holidays affected millions of Italians, especially children. This is the fear of Italian society for childhood respiratory diseaseswhich has drawn up a series of preventive advice to be disseminated to parents.
Flu and return to school: pediatricians’ advice
«With the reopening of schools there is the risk that respiratory viruses peak“, which is leading to an increase in cases among children these days, “may it continue. Much will also depend on the climate. THE Viruses circulate when it rains and is humid. What would I tell parents? From avoid sending children to school if they are not perfectly healed, and to pay close attention to primary prevention. In other words, not to forget what we learned from Covid and the lockdowns experienced in the acute phase of the pandemic.”
This is the Professor’s message Fabio Midulla, president of Simri (Italian Society for Childhood Respiratory Diseases)head of the emergency pediatrics department of the Policlinico Umberto I in Rome, collected byAdnkronos Health News Agency.
Don’t go to school with flu symptoms
It remains fundamental recommendation not to send children and young people to school in case of symptoms such as cough, sore throat, cold and fever. Otherwise, not only will the child with symptoms take longer to recover from the respiratory infection, but he or she could infect many other children and teachers and spread the infection further. Let us remember once again that there are many fragile people with pathologies that can worsen in case of contagion. respiratory viruses and bacteria and even risk your life. It is therefore better to keep your symptomatic child at home for a couple of days longer, until the cough or cold has passed, rather than have the responsibility of making other fragile people ill.
If you have the flu, wear a mask
«If a mother has cold and cough and you have to breastfeed your baby, it is useful for you to wear a mask. The aim is to avoid infecting other people, transmitting fewer germs to those around us, it should be used this way. Other relevant aspects are obviously encouraging breastfeeding in the case of breastfed babies, and avoiding passive smoking.
Wash your hands often
Among the preventive measures aimed at parents, the expert recalls in particular “wash your hands often at homeAnd use a mask if you have a cold and have to go out”. Traveling on public transport without a mask, in case of symptoms, means infecting many other people. «But the Hand washing is the most important thing because contagion occurs above all with the larger saliva droplets that are on the hands”, recalls Professor Midulla.
The flu is back and the most affected, as also certified by the Higher Institute of Health, are children (Getty Images)
When to let children go outside after a respiratory infection?
«What I say is that the Your child should avoid going indoors where there are other people if he still has a cold or has a cough. So, sending him back to daycare with ongoing symptoms is not a good thing for other children. But if he doesn’t have a fever and it’s a nice sunny day, he can go out and nothing happens to him. In fact, it’s better to be outdoors than indoors”, says the pediatrician.
Influenza, bronchiolitis, pneumonia and bronchitis
A few days before the reopening of schools, “we are at the center of the peak of the epidemic of respiratory diseases also for children, not just for adults. We have many cases of bronchiolitis, we have children who have acute episodes of asthmatic bronchitis, pneumonia. But basically bronchiolitis is the most frequent disease and one that particularly clogs up emergency rooms. The three viruses that are circulating are: the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in first place, followed by influenza and the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus in more or less the same quantity.”
Infuenza & Co., the assault on the emergency room
As confirmed by AdnKronos Salute, «Access to the emergency room has tripled in the last month. And the 90% of the children admitted to our department are children with bronchiolitis. Children who need intravenous fluids, oxygen, who cannot stay at home”, continues Midulla. «There is also a particular influx of children in our emergency room. The respiratory syncytial viruswith the bronchiolitis that causes, is the one that is dominating, even if there are also gods Covid cases in children. But the Rsv virus is more serious and more pathogenic in children than the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus.”
The peak of infections
«Covid at this stage in pediatric age is almost never serious, RSV is more so, for which we have returned to the pre-pandemic period. If during Covid the bronchiolitis had disappeared, in the season immediately after we had seen a two-month anticipation of the peak and the beginning of the infections, and in fact the bronchiolitis had already started in September. Now we saw the first cases in mid-November and the peak is now, in December-January. It is an intense peak because there are many children who then come to the emergency room and who need intensive care. We will see the comparison data with pre-Covid at the end of the season”, explains the expert.
Many children in hospital
In our emergency room – calculates Midulla – every day we have at least 10 children who need to be hospitalized, there is a very high turnover between those who leave the hospital and those who are admitted. And, therefore, he explains, «we have blocked scheduled hospitalizations, i.e. those of children with chronic diseases who have to undergo planned surgical interventions, to give children with bronchiolitis the possibility of being hospitalized. At the moment we are managing the situation. But we have particular expertise in bronchiolitis and when we see that the peak of the symptoms has improved we send the children home, having them return to the clinic with an appointment for a scheduled visit in the short term, in order to carry out the follow up and follow them until they heal”, concludes the Professor.
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