Submitted by Sgchd t3_z11cys in springfieldMO

As Thanksgiving approaches, Springfield-Greene County Health, CoxHealth, Mercy Springfield and Jordan Valley Community Health Center are coming together to encourage families to take steps to prevent RSV, Influenza and COVID-19.

CoxHealth hospitals continue to see unusually high rates of children admitted due to respiratory illnesses, particularly RSV. Moreover, respiratory illnesses, including RSV, are a top diagnosis at their urgent care clinics.

“We are continuing to see higher than average respiratory illness numbers for this time of year, and we are closely monitoring the situation, especially heading into the holidays,” says Dr. Kofi Asare-Bawuah, medical director of Pediatrics at CoxHealth. “As families gather in the coming weeks, it’s important to remember to wash your hands and be careful around babies. Should your child become ill, we encourage parents or guardians to call their pediatrician or family provider to determine the best place to receive care.”

At Mercy Springfield, the pediatric floor and pediatric intensive care unit have been at or near capacity for the last month. Amongst these patients, children under 3 months old and those with underlying health conditions have been the sickest, requiring care in the ICU. Mercy Springfield’s pediatric offices are also seeing many children with respiratory illnesses, with most clinics reaching or exceeding daily capacity. Mercy said that providers are working overtime to see all the patients who need them.

According to Mercy Section Chair for Pediatric Critical Care Dr. Danyel Thaver, “As we progress into the winter, we may see more children requiring hospitalization as Influenza and COVID-19 cases increase. As the holiday season approaches, families - especially those with young or vulnerable children- can help control the spread of these viruses by masking while indoors.”

The Health Department and Jordan Valley encourage parents, leading into the holidays, to consider limiting their child’s contact with others if they are under the age of two or have pre-existing conditions to limit the spread of RSV.

“We are seeing a surge in the number of children diagnosed with RSV in our clinics, with the most significant illnesses in infants under two years of age and children with pre-existing conditions. For most children, RSV will have common cold symptoms, but if your child is having symptoms longer than seven days or experiencing trouble breathing, we want to see them right away,” said Dr. Matthew Stinson, Jordan Valley Family Practitioner and EVP.

In addition to taking precautions when around others, staying up to date on your COVID-19 vaccinations and getting your flu shot will help reduce the spread and severity of these viruses. To find a COVID-19 or flu vaccination opportunity that works for you, visit vaccine417.com or call 417-874-1211. To learn more about flu and RSV, visit health.springfieldmo.gov/seasonal.

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CetiCeltic t1_ix9vzwh wrote

See, they say this, but when I went in to JV UC with a respiratory illness last month they only tested for covid and when I asked for RSV test because I work with babies the doc straight up told me adults don't get RSV. I'm still fucking sick. Going to get a health dept test.

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DebbieDunnbbar t1_ixcn52n wrote

For what it’s worth, I’m a middle aged adult who tested positive for RSV over a week ago and it made me pretty sick. Not like full blown flu sick, but enough to ruin deer season for me. Lungs hurt when I breathed, coughing my brains out, snot, low energy, etc. Five of us in my house ended up getting it. My preschooler brought it home to us.

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hedge_ball t1_ixgkj4v wrote

I was tested for flu and COVID with negative results. I've been sick for nearly 3 weeks with the same symptoms you had. I'm in my mid 50s. I think this is the first day I have not coughed. My wife got it but recovered quickly with little symptoms. I had COVID back in July and it was not as bad as this!

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Zestyclose_Key_213 t1_ixa0b8j wrote

Yes they do... but Springfield medical care a joke. I heard some of the dumbest responses from doctors here. I think 90% of them

https://www.cdc.gov/rsv/high-risk/older-adults.html#:~:text=RSV%20infections%20can%20be%20dangerous,die%20due%20to%20RSV%20infection.

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CetiCeltic t1_ixk42ky wrote

Yeah. My concern was my heart and lungs. I have POTS from Alpha COVID in Jan. 2020 before we knew it was in the US (visited best friend, stayed the night shared food/drinks, his wife is air traffic control for stl int. And her dad is a pilot that does international flights to China. They were SUPER sick a few days after my visit and two weeks after that I almost died. Cox workers were literally coming into my room in hazmat suits and I tested negative for the flu. They couldn't test for covid because they weren't created yet, so they told me to go home and everyone in my house to stay home for a week.) I have asthma, had pneumonia 9 times in my life, get chronic bronchitis, had COVID twice, and was in a house fire. But this jack around wants to tell me "it's just a bug." Okay Doc, how about you run a test to make sure this bug isn't going to kill me because I'm high risk???? Especially since I also work with a high risk population???

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ShartsvilleDestroyer t1_ixa1rnw wrote

>See, they say this,

Say what?

From what I've read healthy middle aged adults will most likely only show cold like symptoms with RSV.

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CetiCeltic t1_ixa8b4q wrote

"Encouraging people to work together to prevent the spread of RSV covid etc"

If they're not even testing childcare workers who come in for RSV how is that helping prevent the spread?

Also, specifically in my case, I am very much not healthy and fairly high risk. As before mentioned, I've been sick for over a month now. And when I came in I was extremely sick, so much so that the doc highly suspected COVID, and when it came back negative he said I have some "unknown virus" that "everyone is getting right now." When I told him I worked with children and I wanted to be tested for RSV he told me "Adults don't get RSV."

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Wrinklestiltskin t1_ixcvqe5 wrote

RSV in adults

I'm an unfortunate case in which I've been sick for a week now, with such bad chest congestion I can hardly sleep and sometimes I feel like I've got COPD with how little oxygen I get at times. I'm finally breaking up the chest congestion, but I've been closely watching for pneumonia.

I don't normally get sick, and I've got a great immune system. But this RSV has absolutely kicked my ass.... I read an article recently talking about how RSV is infecting more adults than usual this year, with higher likelihood of more severe symptoms than in the past.

RSV may not be as concerning for adults, but I certainly don't recommend it...

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