Stay Healthy This ‘Respiratory Season’

Winter typically brings an increase in contagious respiratory illnesses affecting children. But Children's Hospital Colorado is here to help make this “respiratory season” a healthy one for kids and their families.

With expert pediatricians, convenient locations across metro Denver and a new, state-of-the-art main hospital designed to isolate germs and speed the healing process, we’re equipped to diagnose and treat anything from minor sniffles to trouble breathing. Within our hospital and in our clinics, our goal is to vaccinate all children for whom the vaccine is recommended. And because our family-centered care philosophy treats parents and siblings as partners in health, our influenza vaccination program extends to household family members at no charge, while supplies last.

You're in Good Hands at Children's Hospital Colorado

The new Children’s Hospital, located near I-225 and East Colfax Avenue, was designed from the ground-up to ease the stress of hospitalization, promote healing and prevent the spread of germs. During “respiratory season,” we limit the number of visitors in each patient room at one time. We require that guests who are ill avoid visiting patients in the hospital, and we screen visiting children for contagious illnesses so they don’t spread to others.

Nearly all patient rooms are private, which helps keep patients and families together in one unit, preventing exposure to other people.

“Children get viral infections, but we know how to keep them from spreading within the hospital,” says Chris Nyquist, MD, an infectious diseases specialist at Children's Hospital Colorado. “For staff, two of the means to do this are washing hands before and after seeing patients, and wearing protective garments when in contact with infected patients in the hospital.”

With increased capacity, special isolation rooms to protect patients and family members, and one of the shortest door-to-doctor wait times of any children’s hospital in the country, our Emergency Department is ready to treat the most serious cases of the season. In fact, Children's Hospital Colorado was named No. 5 in the nation for emergency care by Child magazine in 2007.

Identifying respiratory conditions in children requires the ability to pick up on subtle clues – a “sixth sense” that our experienced care givers develop over the years. And our Emergency Department is pioneering research in the acute management of respiratory illness in young children, including new treatment options that may allow children who might otherwise be admitted to the hospital to be treated at home with close follow-up.

Common-Sense Prevention

Common-sense precautions such as frequent hand
washing can help prevent the spread of contagious
illnesses this winter.

Serious respiratory illnesses like influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and whooping cough can be spread by coughing, sneezing and unclean hands.

“Be smart about washing your hands, and avoid exposing other people when you are sick,” Dr. Nyquist says. “If you are sick but hoped to visit a friend or family member in the hospital, send an online cheer card instead.”

To help stop the spread of germs:

• Get your annual flu vaccination.
• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
• If you don't have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve, not your hands.
• Put your used tissue in the waste basket.
• Clean your hands after coughing or sneezing, before eating, and after using the restroom.
• Wash with soap and water, scrubbing for 20 seconds or as long as it takes to sing “Happy Birthday” twice.
• Clean with alcohol-based hand cleaner when a sink is not available or your hands are not visibly soiled.

Influenza and Flu Shots

Influenza, commonly known as "the flu," is a highly contagious viral infection of the respiratory tract. The flu is often confused with the common cold, but flu symptoms tend to develop quickly and are usually more severe than the typical sneezing and congestion of a cold. Learn more about the flu.

“The influenza vaccine changes every year because there are new virus strains in the community,” Dr. Nyquist says. “Annual influenza vaccine is recommended to provide optimum immunity against strains that are most likely to circulate in the current season.”

It’s too early to tell what the coming influenza season will bring, Dr. Nyquist says. The peak time is commonly January and February, but it can come as early as October.

“We are doing all we can to provide opportunities for staff, patients and their families to be vaccinated,” she says. “Our goal is to vaccinate 100 percent.”

Who Should Be Vaccinated?

We recommend that the following people receive flu vaccine at the beginning of the 2007-2008 influenza season:

• All healthcare workers in hospitals and outpatient/community/homecare settings
• All children ages 6 to 59 months and their household contacts or out-of-home caregivers
• All children and adults who have chronic disorders of the pulmonary or cardiovascular systems, including children with asthma
• All children and adults who require regular medical visits due to chronic metabolic diseases, renal dysfunction, hemoglobinopathies, or immunosuppression, including persons with HIV
• Children and teens (6 months – 18 years) who are receiving long-term aspirin therapy and might be at risk for Reyes syndrome after influenza infection
• Household members (including siblings and out-of-home care providers) of persons in high-risk groups
• Women who will be pregnant during the influenza season
• Persons 50 years or older
• Residents and employees of nursing homes and other chronic care facilities housing persons of age with chronic medical problems
• Anyone wanting to decrease their risk of acquiring influenza infection this year

“There is no time like the present to get a vaccination,” Dr. Nyquist says. “Once vaccine is available, it is never too early and never too late.”

Myths About Flu Vaccine

There are many myths that people use to avoid getting their annual influenza vaccination. Some people think they don’t need the vaccine because they don’t get sick with the flu. But despite the strength of your immune system, you may unknowingly spread influenza to someone else even without having symptoms.

There is also the longtime myth that the influenza vaccine causes the flu. This is not true. The viruses in the influenza vaccination are either killed (inactivated) or weakened (attenuated), so you cannot get the flu from an influenza vaccination. The risk of a flu vaccine causing serious harm is extremely small. However, a vaccine – like any medicine – may rarely cause serious problems, such as severe allergic reactions. Almost all people who get influenza vaccine have no serious problems from it.

Read more about influenza prevention, treatment and vaccination at Children's Hospital Colorado.

RSV and Bronchiolitis

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a common cause of respiratory illnesses such as bronchiolitis and pneumonia in young children. Bronchiolitis is the leading reason for hospitalization of infants in the United States , with more than 100,000 admissions annually.

Bronchiolitis is usually seen from December through April. It is a viral infection that begins in the upper respiratory system and then progresses to involve the lower small airways of the lung, known as the bronchioles. These tiny airways become swollen and filled with mucus, making it very difficult to breathe.

Nearly all children will battle RSV at some point before age two, and most cases are mild. However, bronchiolitis can be serious and require a visit to the hospital. Parents should seek medical attention if their child has difficulty breathing, a high fever, lips or fingernails that appear blue or a cough that continues to worsen.

Learn more about RSV and bronchiolitis.