Medical Minutes: Understanding respiratory illness
Andrea Turisk
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – As kids head back to school, it’s just a matter of time before we start to see a rise in respiratory infections, from the common cold to the flu and other more serious viruses.
Close contact in classrooms can cause respiratory viruses to spread quickly.
Dr. Donald Hubbard, Medical Director and Emergency Medical Physician at Exceptional Community Hospital, says this is due to proximity.
“People are together, they’re close, so if one gets it, everybody’s exposed to it. These don’t really go away in the summertime, but the people are generally not together as much,” he said.
Dr. Hubbard adds there are common symptoms to look out for.
“I would say if somebody has a little cough, they have a runny nose, maybe a little bit of a sore throat, that’ll probably get better by itself within a few days. When you have to start worrying is if they start having trouble breathing, if they have a severe sore throat, they probably need to be seen,” Hubbard shared.