Respiratory diseases enter a period of high incidence

The core reason why respiratory diseases have recently entered a high-incidence period is that multiple pathogens such as influenza, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, rhinovirus, and respiratory syncytial virus are prevalent in a superimposed manner, rather than an outbreak of a single virus. There is no need to rush to buy specific drugs. The general population can survive smoothly by taking targeted protection, and special groups can avoid the risk of severe illness by seeking medical treatment as needed.

Last week, I accompanied a relative's child to a community hospital for a follow-up consultation. As soon as I entered the door, I was startled by the crowd of people in the waiting area - the plastic chairs in the pediatric department were full of people. Children in school uniforms were lying on their parents' laps, coughing with red faces. Several elderly people wearing two-layer masks next to them were waiting in line with numbers in hand. The nurse at the nurse's desk had to refill antipyretic patches and disposable masks every half an hour. According to calculations, the amount used this week was nearly twice as much as last month.

Speaking of which, I specifically asked acquaintances from different departments, and everyone's response ideas were really different. Dr. Li from the Respiratory Department is a "pragmatic" person. He said that 80% of the patients in the outpatient clinic recently have symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection such as cough and fever. As long as there is no persistent high fever for more than 3 days, no coughing of thick phlegm, chest tightness and breathlessness, you can take symptomatic medicine at home first, drink plenty of warm water and rest. There is no need to stick an needle to draw blood and take a CT scan as soon as you come in. On the contrary, it is easy for cross-infection in the hospital. However, Director Zhang of the Department of Infectious Diseases is more of a "cautious" person. He specifically mentioned that children under 5 years old, elderly people over 65 years old, and people with basic diseases such as COPD and diabetes, if their symptoms persist for 3 days and have not improved, they must do a pathogen test early and find out the cause before taking medication to avoid pneumonia or other complications. Both statements are actually correct, but they are aimed at different groups of people.

Recently, many people around me have stocked up a medicine box full of azithromycin, and some people take two tablets to "prevent" any cold. But last week, a friend had a fever for two days and took azithromycin, which was completely useless. He went to the hospital to find out that it was influenza A, and he took the medicine for two days in vain and had diarrhea for several days. In fact, to put it bluntly, azithromycin is only effective against mycoplasma and bacterial infections, and has no effect on various viruses. Taking it indiscriminately can easily increase drug resistance. There is another interesting phenomenon. Recently, many community health service centers have launched tea drinks with traditional Chinese medicine to prevent infections. My mother goes to get a cup of it every day and says that her dry throat problem is much better after drinking it. Friends of traditional Chinese medicine also said that for ordinary dry throat and cough, some diet therapy or traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions for dispelling wind and heat are not bad, and the effect is not bad. There is no need to stick to Western medicine.

As for protection, you really don’t need to be too nervous. Some people previously said that we should return to the protection standards of the strict lockdown period. We must wear N95 when going out and disinfect our entire body when we come home. My colleague actually did this. As a result, he wiped the table with 84 every day. The disinfectant floated all over the room. Instead, it stimulated him to cough for almost a week. He went to the hospital to check for airway hyperresponsiveness. In fact, it is enough for ordinary people to wear a medical surgical mask when going out. It can not only block pathogens, but also block dust and pollen in autumn. It is actually friendly to people with allergic rhinitis. There is no need to spray disinfectant at home every day. Opening the windows to ventilate the air for half an hour every morning and evening is more effective than any other disinfection measure.

I also had a dry throat last week. I didn’t take any medicine, so I soaked some chrysanthemums and fat sea every day. I carried a throat lozenge with me. I never touched my mouth or eyes after touching the handrails on the subway. I washed my hands first when I got home and it was fine in two days. To be honest, there is no need to scare yourself when you see a case, and don’t be so worried that you still carry a fever of 39 degrees.

In fact, the cold and dry air in autumn and winter every year is a period of high incidence of respiratory diseases. This year, a variety of pathogens just happened to come together to become popular. It is not a special "new and strange disease". If you are really feeling unwell, most community hospitals now have specialized diagnostic windows for respiratory diseases. You don’t have to queue up in big hospitals. It’s also convenient to register and get medicine quickly. Just deal with it calmly.