Upper Respiratory Illnesses On The Rise: When To Go To the ER

The number of whooping cough cases in Oklahoma is at its highest level in nearly 70 years.

Hospitals in the area are reporting an increase in patients with upper respiratory illnesses, including the flu, colds, COVID-19, and whooping cough.

Both St. John and St. Francis report an increase in upper respiratory patients. Hillcrest Hospital has also noted a rise, with Hillcrest South reporting 69 cases of upper respiratory illnesses in the last two weeks. Mostly Viral Upper respiratory infections and pneumonia, then flu A and COVID.

When you're sick, it can be difficult to know when to wait it out and when you should head to the hospital.

One doctor explains that while some illnesses can feel quite severe and last for a while, there are clear signs indicating that you need extra help.

Q&A with Dr. Chris Guinn, D.O. Family Medicine

Q: Are the Whooping cough cases severe that you're seeing?

A: "It seems like the cough is the biggest thing that people are just struggling with to get over. And so they, you know, they try to do the things at home. They come in here, and it's, you know, there's not a lot else to do. It's just running its course. But we can treat whooping cough with azithromycin, but the most part, a lot of it is supportive care. And so for a healthy person, they're going to kind of, going to kind of deal with it and move on.

Q: What kind of illness would you say you're seeing the most of?

A: "It's all, it's been just upper respiratory So, and I do er work as well, and it's just constant with it, head congestion, cold, drainage, those types of things. And after time, it just gets irritating and then kind of moves into the chest. And, you know, people on a lot of times want to move right to an antibiotic. And of course, we have to be good stewards of that and watch the time frame. You know, it's not something you want to start just a few days in. We need to give it some time to make sure that this really is something that we need to treat with antibiotic versus just kind of supportive measures.

Q: When should you go to the Emergency Room?

A: "So the ER, I mean, obviously, is going to be for the most severe cases and so we want to try to reserve it for high fevers greater than 102, that aren't responsive to Tylenol, ibuprofen, those types of things. That response may vary a little bit if it's a child or the elderly, depending on their past history and other illnesses they might have. So, you might have a lower threshold to take someone like that, but the average healthy individual, if it's controlled with Tylenol, ibuprofen, you should be okay to kind of stay at home do the supportive care. You know, Flonase is a great thing to help dry things up a lot of times, just a daily allergy medicine which in Oklahoma, a lot of people are going to be on that daily anyway. So just kind of keeping those things up and of course drinking plenty of water helps keep the mucus thin you're able to clear it more easily and help your drier. For babies and the elderly, I would watch their O2 (oxygen) saturations. You know, you can buy the pulse oximeters at Walmart, Walgreens, local places like that, and just keep an eye on it. Anything that starts getting into the 80's, you know, you want to kind of watch for that. You know, 92% and above is really kind of where most people stay. But yeah, anybody who's just having a hard time recovering, having a hard time breathing even when they are at rest should seek medical attention.

Related Story: Q&A: Whooping Cough Cases Are Rising In Tulsa County, Here's What You Need To Know

Hillcrest South’s ER in the last 2 weeks has seen 69 upper respiratory illness cases, in this order from most to least:

• Viral upper respiratory infection

• Pneumonia

• Flu A

• COVID

“The biggest thing to remember for the community: If you are sick stay home. Wash your hands frequently. Seek medical attention if you cannot breathe well or if they have a fever they are unable to keep down with over the counter medications”

Last year around this same time frame they had 53 cases. Last year they also saw more Flu B cases over flu A. 

By the Numbers Breakdown:

National Total: 35,493 whooping cough cases were reported in 2024.

Top States by Case Numbers

1. New York: 2,704 cases (New York City Alone: 969)
2. Illinois: 2,304 cases
3. Minnesota 1,895 cases
4. California: 1,775 cases
5. Ohio: 1,708 cases
6. Michigan: 1,683 cases
7. Texas: 1,156 cases
8. Idaho: 1,049 cases
9. Oregon: 1039 cases
10. Virginia: 788 cases

Oklahoma's Ranking

Oklahoma ranks 21st in the nation with 469 cases.

While Oklahoma's overall case count is not among the highest, it stands out due to the historical context: 2024 marks the highest number of cases in the state since 1956. Additionally, Oklahoma has a per capita rate of 117.25 cases per 1 million people.

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System, Weekly Tables of Infectious Disease Data. Atlanta, GA. Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance, and Technology.