Prepare For Winter As Respiratory Illnesses Rise In Central Minnesota

Influenza, COVID, the common cold and RSV are all respiratory illnesses that will likely impact Central Minnesotans this winter.  Dr. Kimberly Tjaden from CentraCare joined me on WJON.  She has been a family physician in the St. Cloud area for 26 years and is currently working at the Southway Clinic on the southside of St. Cloud.

When Respiratory Illnesses Are Common

Tjaden says the fall is when the amount of respiratory illnesses tends to increase and they peak in the winter months of December-February.  She says influenza is caused by the influenza virus and typically includes the following symptoms; high fever, body aches, headaches, and chills.  Dr. Tjaden says often times patients are fine one minute and the next minute it's hard to lift your head up off the pillow.

Difference Between Cold and Flu

Dr. Tjaden says the common cold often brings sniffles, a cough, headache, sore throat and possible mild fever.  She says the fever is not near the degree you often find with the high fever encountered with the flu.  Dr. Tjaden says both influenza and the common cold typically last 7 to 10 days.  She indicates it is possible that people will still fight a cough for 2 to 3 weeks after mostly recovering from the flu.  Dr. Tjaden says the biggest difference between influenza and a cold is the flu will include a high fever and body aches.

COVID

COVID is another respiratory illness.  Dr. Tjaden says each variant of COVID has varied in its presentation.   She says the majority of the COVID cases we see now are mild.   Dr. Tjaden says it's unclear if the variants have lessened in the severity or the amount of people immunized has affected the severity of the illness.  She says COVID can still look like a cold but also also become more severe.

Severe Illness

Dr. Tjaden explains influenza, when severe enough, can result in death.  She says people can get inflammatory responses to the viral infections weeks after the initial illness.  Dr. Tjaden says they see deaths of both influenza and COVID each season.

RSV

RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) is a threat for the very young and very old population.  Dr. Tjaden says it can represent as a mild cold in those outside the high risk population but can be much more severe with infants and elderly people.

Prevent Illness

Ways to prevent any of these illnesses include frequent hand washing, avoiding known sick individuals, wearing a mask, exercising on a regular basis and eating a healthy diet.

If you'd like to listen to my 4-part conversation with Dr. Kimberly Tjaden, click below.