Respiratory diseases are common in autumn. Experts share tips on how to prevent and treat them

Cough, sore throat...Recently, many people have reported that they have some respiratory disease symptoms, and the number of visits to respiratory departments and pediatric internal medicine departments in some hospitals has increased. Autumn has a large temperature difference between day and night, which is a high-incidence season for respiratory diseases. How can we prevent and treat diseases? Recently, the National Health Commission invited experts to accept media interviews to answer questions and give health tips for the public.

"This autumn, the prevalence of respiratory infectious diseases in children occurred earlier than in previous years. For example, the respiratory syncytial virus infection some time ago usually peaks in winter and spring, but this year it was significantly earlier." Xu Baoping, director of the Respiratory Department of Beijing Children's Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University , said that judging from the pediatric clinical situation, the current number of outpatient visits for respiratory infections continues to be high, and the number of children with the disease has increased, of which about 20% are suffering from Mycoplasma pneumonia.

According to the "Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Mycoplasma Pneumonia in Children (2023 Edition)" issued by the National Health Commission, Mycoplasma pneumonia is the most common community-acquired pneumonia in children aged 5 years and above in my country, with fever and cough as the main clinical manifestations.

Experts said that respiratory infectious diseases are more likely to occur in autumn and winter, and mycoplasma pneumonia has its own epidemic patterns and trends. It is not ruled out that this year will coincide with an epidemic peak year, leading to an increase in the number of children currently suffering from respiratory diseases.

Qi Wensheng, director of the emergency department at Guang'anmen Hospital of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences , said that judging from the clinical situation of adults, the symptoms of patients with respiratory infections in the fever clinic of the hospital are not much different from those in previous years. The number has increased slightly compared with the summer, but not significantly. The rate of elderly people visiting the clinic is also basically the same as in previous years.

How can we prevent respiratory diseases and protect key groups such as children and the elderly? Xu Baoping suggested that we should keep a distance from patients infected with respiratory diseases, wash hands frequently, ventilate the room frequently, avoid crowded closed places as much as possible, and wear masks when necessary.

Some parents are concerned about how to identify the symptoms of children infected with Mycoplasma pneumonia. Xu Baoping said that the most typical symptoms of Mycoplasma pneumonia in children are fever and cough. The cough has certain characteristics. In the early stage, it is a paroxysmal, irritating dry cough. As the disease progresses, coughing and sputum will appear. Some children with severe symptoms will have wheezing and difficulty breathing. If a child has these symptoms, he must be highly vigilant and go to the hospital as soon as possible.

Xu Baoping said that the peak of children's respiratory infectious diseases this year was earlier than in previous years. In addition to mycoplasma infection, the number of people infected with influenza virus, adenovirus, rhinovirus, etc. also increased. Among them, the number of mycoplasma-positive patients accounted for about 20% of the fever and cough clinics.