What’s Going Around: Strep throat, allergies, asthma attacks
This week, the providers at UPMC Children’s Community Pediatrics in York and Spring Grove are still seeing lots of strep throat, plus adenovirus and allergies.
WellSpan Pediatric Medicine Physicians across the Midstate report a stomach bug, seasonal allergies and asthma attacks.
Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health Physicians Roseville Pediatrics reports they are still seeing high numbers of strep throat cases. They also are still seeing a decent number of viral fevers caused by both enterovirus and adenovirus.
There was an increase in cases of swimmer’s ear and they also saw a lot of seasonal allergy symptoms with pollen counts remaining high. There was also an increase in asthma exacerbations.
Dr. Joan Thode offered the following advice about swimmer’s ear:
“The medical term for swimmer’s ear is otitis externa, which is an infection of the ear canal. This is different from an inner ear infection, which is an infection of the inner ear fluid. The most common cause is swimming, where water sits in the warm ear canal, allowing for a perfect environment for bacterial or even fungal infections to grow. There can sometimes be a thick ear discharge that frequently has a bad odor. The immune system will fight back against the bacteria, creating painful inflammation and causing ear pain that worsens when the ear lobe is touched, pulled, or moved. Chewing can often cause pain in the ear canal as well.
Trying to keep the ears dry after swimming is important. External ear pain that persists for more than a couple of days should be evaluated by a doctor, as antibiotic or antifungal ear drops may be indicated. Ear discharge should also always be evaluated by a doctor.
While pain from an inner ear infection will possibly improve with different head or body positions, pain from swimmer’s ear will not change. Burping or sneezing can make the pain of an inner ear infection much worse but will not affect the pain of an outer ear canal infection. Outer ear infection pain will get much worse when the ear lobe is pulled or moved, or if the child sticks their finger into the ear canal.
Since the eardrum completely seals off the inner ear from the outer ear canal, swimming cannot cause an inner ear infection. If your child has ear tubes, however, there is a connection through the ear canal, so it’s important to check with your child’s ENT physician about swimming recommendations, such as the use of ear plugs.”
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27.
