As emergency rooms in the First State see an influx of people with respiratory virus symptoms, health experts remind people that other options are available.
Cases of respiratory viruses - colds, flu, COVID, and RSV - are growing around the state, and that’s causing an influx of sniffling, sneezing, coughing people in the waiting rooms of health care providers.
Dr. Priyanka Dixit-Patel is a family medicine physician at Christiana Care’s Smyrna Family Practice.
“We are seeing extremely high volumes of people seeking care in actually all of our settings right now - our PCP offices, our urgent cares, and including our hospitals and emergency departments," she said.
But not all of those ER cases are necessary. Dixit-Patel says for most symptoms, a visit to your doctor or an urgent care is a better option, especially when symptoms first appear.
“Nasal congestion, sinus pressure, post-nasal drip, a cough that's not going away, but is not severe enough that you can't catch your breath. I think those symptoms are what we're seeing," she said. "So early on in your illness, if you're having symptoms, reach out to your PCP.”
But there are some warning signs that call for a trip to the nearest emergency room.
“If you are experiencing severe shortness of breath, high fever, if your family members observe that, you're having confusion or a bluish discoloration of your lips or fingertips, or coughing up blood or chest pain," Dixit-Patel said.
She notes that the Delaware Department of health has resources available on its website for people who don't have a primary care physician.
The state also maintains online dashboards tracking flu cases and flu hospitalization rates.
