GREENSBORO, N.C. — Sick right now? The unseasonably early warm-up isn't correlating with a slowdown in virus season, as flu, COVID and bacterial ailments keep North Carolina doctors' offices full.
Flu
The NCDHHS's flu outlook shows this season is the worst since 2017 to 2018 and deadlier than the last three seasons combined. Children, unfortunately, aren't out of harm's way. The flu death report for the week ending March 2 showed two more children died, bringing the total pediatric deaths this season to 14.
Cone Health's children's unit medical director Suresh Nagappan, MD explained, "One theory is during COVID, when people were masking, it blocked a lot of the flu, so our flu seasons in 2020, 2021 and 2022 were not so bad. Now, it's coming back with a vengeance."
Pink Eye
So, too, are allergies -- not to be confused with itchy eyes that spread contagion. Pink eye continues to circulate, at a pace forcing some pediatricians' offices to prescribing antibiotics by phone so as not to clog in-person visits.
"Unlike some of the other things, pink eye is not that seasonal, so sometimes it goes on and on. The thing about pink eye is it's really contagious, so if someone rubs their eyes and then touches something, and you touch that thing, you can imagine at a pre-school or daycare how easy it is to spread," Nagappan said.
He emphasized the best advice is washing hands and seeing a doctor.
RELATED: How to treat pink eye in adults
COVID
Meanwhile, COVID continues to circulate, even as the world adapts and the CDC adjusts its response. As of March 1, the CDC modified the five-day isolation rule for positive COVID cases and encouraged a 24-hour rule -- if fever-free for at least 24 hours without fever-reducing medication, the patient can go back to work or school.
"This is good news in a lot of ways. This means COVID is less severe, and the hospital is seeing less patients than in years past, but of course, parents want to protect their kids, and the vaccine is the best way to do that," Nagappan said.
The pediatric COVID vaccine, he said, works similarly to the flu shot, in that it doesn't 100% prevent the illness but will reduce the severity of symptoms if the child gets infected.
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