Whooping cough could be one infection after another as social distancing weakens the nation’s immunity, a Royal College has warned.
Professor Camilla Hawthorne, president of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said doctors had noticed that the current round of respiratory infections appeared to be lasting longer than usual.
RCGP surveillance shows that levels of lower and upper respiratory tract infections are well above the average typically seen so far this winter.
This is reflected in weekly figures from the UK Health Safety Agency (UKHSA), which found high levels of flu and other respiratory viruses.
Professor Hawthorne said: “It is not clear why some of the current respiratory infections last longer than usual – this has been noticed by both doctors and patients, but we are not entirely sure why this is happening.
“The majority of people have been socially isolated over the past two winters and this seems to have lowered their resistance to infection – this seems to make them more likely to get infected than in previous years.
“So in some cases it can be one infection after another. They are all different, and getting one type of infection does not confer immunity against another.”
Experts said any cough that lasts more than three weeks should be investigated as it could be a symptom of lung cancer.
“Antibiotics won’t help”
Prof Hawthorne said most patients suffering from a cough and common cold would recover without the need for medical attention.
She recommended regular paracetamol for any temperature, sore throat or earache, keeping warm, getting plenty of rest and drinking plenty of fluids.
“We encourage patients to understand that giving antibiotics for viral infections will not help because they only help bacterial infections,” she said.
“Most upper respiratory tract infections are caused by viruses.
“Pharmacists will also be able to provide advice on suitable over-the-counter medicines which may help with symptoms but do not ‘cure’ the infection.
“If the cough is particularly persistent or produces discolored sputum, is severely aggravated with shortness of breath, or if the patient experiences chest pain or weight loss for no reason, they should seek medical advice.”
NHS figures suggest flu season may have peaked.
Statistics for the week ending January 8 showed 3,984 hospital beds filled with flu patients, down more than a quarter from 5,447 the previous week.
Get help for a persistent cough
Dr Andrew Whittamore, head of the UK’s Asthma and Lung Clinic, who is also a GP, said some long-term coughs could be the result of previous Covid, while more recent coughs could be linked to changes in weather and other viruses.
He said: “We haven’t seen as much Covid but it’s still there. And we also had viruses like Strep A, with many people coming to us who were coughing but also had sore throats – mainly children, but also many adults.
“Covid affects people in many different ways – some can experience scarring of their lungs and fibrosis, which can cause a long-lasting cough.
“That’s why we’re telling anyone who’s still coughing four weeks after they’ve had Covid to really get a chest X-ray and get checked out.”
He said anyone who has had a cough for about three to four weeks or more should seek help to rule out other illnesses.
“These checks allow us to detect lung cancer, long Covid and so on,” he said.
“It’s certainly worth seeing a GP for a persistent cough because you may need a chest X-ray.”
“In a lot of cases it’s kind of a comforting tip, just to say ‘well that’s what’s going on, it sounds like you’ve got a virus or something on it.’
“But sometimes these things need treatment, sometimes they need to be investigated, and sometimes you get people who maybe have underlying asthma or COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) because they get wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness.”
“So we can identify people who have these conditions that could make them sicker.”
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