MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Sneezing, coughing, and congestion has been making its way around the Mid-South.
Many call it “the crud”.
Dr. Jeff Mullins at Mid-South Family Medicine at Methodist Healthcare said the crud can be used to describe a variety of bugs, like sinus infections, colds, and bronchitis.
All of them are going around.
“It’s just kind of a perfect storm of things to bring people together, bad circumstances, and now we’re seeing them in the office. They’re just flooding in,” Mullins said.
Mullins said it got worse after Thanksgiving and could continue the rest of this holiday season.
He said stress from travel and tons of family members gathered together inside can help the crud spread.
“Uncle Ralph is sitting there at the table coughing away, exposing everybody what he’s got,” Mullins said.
Colds, including symptoms like runny noses, are most common.
“Most of the crud is cold, okay, rest and fluids and taking reasonable amounts of over the counter medications to help with the drainage. The biggest problem I see is people won’t stop this time of year,” Mullins explained.
Mullins suggested people watch their symptoms.
Serious pressure in the sinuses could mean a trip to the doctor’s office.
A bad cough and high fever could be symptoms of pneumonia, which Mullins said also requires treatment.
He said people traveling on airplanes this holiday season might want to keep their hands out of the seats’ backseat pockets, because they do not know who had the magazines before them.
Mullins also recommended washing hands to keep the crud off.
