Children among the highest with flu-like symptoms

COLUMBUS, Ga. (WTVM) - Kids in the area are among those being impacted by the quick spread of the flu this season and pediatric emergency rooms are seeing a rise in patients.

Some daycares in Columbus having to make changes to classrooms this week in hopes to start the process of stopping the spread.

“Some parents are still limited in their resources and have to send their child to school or daycare even if it’s just a sniffle and then of course it’s a domino effect from there, says Dr. Rebecca Reamy Chief of Pediatrics at Piedmont Columbus Regional.

According to Dr. Reamy the pediatric emergency room is reaching record numbers in how many children are coming into the ER earlier than expected.

“Cause October usually isn’t our busiest month, but right now it is on track to be our busiest month ever. Typically, this time of year we’d be seeing 80 to 100 in our Pediatric ER. We saw 210 one day last week, we see 205, 202, so literally twice of what we would be expecting,” says Reamy.

This flu season children are among the highest being sick with respiratory illnesses and flu like symptoms and Dr. Reamy says this could be happening because people are less worried about being exposed to illnesses.

“We think this year it’s more because they have been relatively protected for the last two to three years and now making up for lost time,” says Reamy.

Laurie Wolfe, owner of Puddle Jumpers Child Enrichment Center, says it is encouraged for children in their program to stay home when they are not feeling well.

“It’s huge that they keep them home until they are well and symptom free without medication because if not, once they come back in it gets spread to the next kid and it’s a vicious cycle. We have an illness log that each classroom shows any diagnosed illness that is happening in that particular room,” says Wolfe.

Dr. Reamy says since they very busy in both in-patient and in the emergency department with flu-like illness, parents should take their children to their pediatrician or an urgent care.

“The emergency department should be reserved for those kids that are really sick so like kids that have difficulty breathing, loss of color, or maybe lethargic,” says Reamy.

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