Why is the common cold on the rise now? Doctors break ‘highly contagious’ rhinovirus

During the height of the epidemic, COVID-19 Cases of other respiratory viruses such as rhinovirus have decreased due to restrictions. But now, it seems, rhinovirus is back in a big way.

The virus, which usually causes the common cold, is behind a major wave of illness in Los Angeles County, where Show information At least 30% of respiratory virus tests have returned positive for rhinovirus and its sister illness enterovirus in the past few weeks. It is the next closest illness, parainfluenza (A respiratory illness usually in infants and children that is different from influenza), which is seen in 5% of positive respiratory virus tests.

Rhinovirus also came up in a report issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last week, which noted that The incidence of viruses (including enterovirus) has increased this summer — Although rhinoviruses usually peak in the spring and fall.

Add that to the news Hospitals are overflowing with children infected with the disease which usually grows in winter — including, yes, rhinovirus — and it’s understandable to question. But what is rhinovirus and why is this spike happening now? Here’s what you need to know.

What is Rhinovirus?

Rhinoviruses are the most common cause of the common cold CDC. According to the CDC, rhinoviruses can also trigger asthma attacks and have been linked to sinus and ear infections.

Viruses can cause pneumonia and bronchiolitis, along with some sore throats, ear infections, and sinus infections. American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) said.

Rhinoviruses spread easily — they can be passed when the virus touches another person and then touches their own eyes, nose or mouth, the AAP says. People can also inhale the virus after an infected person coughs or sneezes.

Symptoms of rhinovirus

According to CDCSymptoms of rhinovirus usually include:

• sore throat

• a cold

• cough

• sneeze

• headache

• body aches

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In children, the virus can also cause mild fever and mild loss of appetite AAP. People infected with rhinovirus usually get better on the inside Seven to 10 days.

Why is there a spike in cases now?

A lot has to do with people communicating more than last year, Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist and professor at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, told Yahoo Life “Kids are back in school, and everyone is around each other again, spreading viruses that we haven’t been able to spread as much for the past two years,” Schaffner said. “These viruses are taking the opportunity to spread to children who haven’t experienced them in the past, because of the pandemic.”

Social distancing and wearing masks “definitely affected how little rhinovirus we saw during the pandemic,” he said. Dr. Rosemary Olivero, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the University of Michigan’s Corwell Health Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, told Yahoo Life. But, he added, “this comes with a downside: Many of us may have lost our short-lived immunity to rhinovirus, which may contribute to seeing more of the virus this year.”

But rhinovirus is also “highly contagious” and consequently “spreads rapidly.” Dr. A.S. Daniel Fisher, pediatrician and pediatrician at Providence St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California, told Yahoo Life. “Some kids get the common cold from it, and some get more sick — it can be really bad,” she adds.

Fisher said he is having conversations with patients’ parents “multiple times a day” about rhinovirus. “These viruses are stronger than they have been in years,” he added.

What does this mean for cold and flu season?

It can be intense. “I think it could be a bad season, primarily because the world has pulled back all the COVID-19 mitigation measures at this point,” Dr. Sheng Mao, an internist and pediatrician at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, told Yahoo Life. “Wearing masks and social distancing have not only helped the spread of Covid-19, but also other respiratory viruses, so I suspect more people will get respiratory viruses.”

Mao said serious illness and hospitalization are expected. “It’s a numbers game,” she explains. “More people getting sick means more people getting seriously ill.”

How to protect yourself

Again, rhinoviruses are highly contagious, and it can be difficult to avoid them completely. But you can reduce the risk of you or your family members getting sick.

That includes practicing “tried-and-true” methods of avoiding illness, such as using good hand hygiene and avoiding sick people, Olivero said.

Also to consider: Although there is no vaccine to prevent rhinovirus, There are vaccines to prevent other respiratory illnesses. “It’s best that we vaccinate ourselves against viruses for which a vaccine is available: COVID-19 and influenza, which will keep hundreds of thousands of Americans out of the hospital and reduce disease severity overall,” Olivero said.

If you or your child is infected with rhinovirus, Fisher notes that, unfortunately, “there’s no cure — you just have to suffer through it.” However, the CDC says getting plenty of rest and drinking plenty of fluids can help. Over-the-counter medications like acetaminophen (Tylenol) and cold medicine can help you feel better, but they won’t make your illness go away quickly.

“Rhinovirus and other respiratory viruses are back,” Schaffner said. “Staying aware.”

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