Latest news with #PeterRichmond
Sydney Morning Herald
5 days ago
- Health
- Sydney Morning Herald
I took my son to the GP with what I thought was a cold. Now he is hospitalised every winter
As I sat in a Perth doctor's surgery with my young son in 2022, I had no idea how serious his condition was. At nearly two years old, he had a snotty nose and a cough. A common cold, or so I thought. The GP gave him a check over, including his oxygen saturation. It was dipping to 91 per cent. She explained anything under 92 per cent and the patient should be in a hospital bed, hooked up to oxygen. What happened next was a stressful whirlwind, rushing him to Perth Children's Hospital, before doctors stuck nasal prongs on his face and started administering oxygen. We were told he had parainfluenza, a relatively common virus which had triggered a viral induced wheeze – similar to an asthma attack. He remained in hospital for eight days. It unfortunately didn't end there. Every winter since, my son has been hospitalised with different viruses, from RSV to the common cold, all triggering wheeze. Unfortunately, his experience isn't isolated. Hundreds, if not thousands of other WA children are admitted with virus-induced respiratory problems every year. Some doctors say these incidents became much worse post covid, because of our border closures. University of Western Australia's head of Paediatrics, Professor Peter Richmond, says the state's covid lockdowns meant viruses like influenza and RSV weren't circulating in the community, creating an immunity gap in young children.
Sydney Morning Herald
5 days ago
- Health
- Sydney Morning Herald
How WA's border closures could have caused Perth's preschoolers to get sicker
WA's hard border closures caused more young children to be hospitalised with common viruses like the cold or flu, than pre-pandemic, according to one of Perth's top paediatricians. University of Western Australia's head of paediatrics, Professor Peter Richmond, says the state's COVID lockdowns meant viruses like influenza and RSV weren't circulating in the community, creating an immunity gap in young children. 'The restriction of transmission of viruses led to a deficit and development of natural immunity, so we then suddenly see these exposed children who have no immunity then getting sicker than they normally would,' he said. Richmond said when the borders reopened, an epidemic of winter viruses saw a rise in the number of young children admitted to Perth Children's Hospital with respiratory distress. Many experienced a symptom known as viral induced wheeze – also diagnosed as bronchiolitis in babies under the age of 1 – both triggering airways to swell up and constrict breathing, similar to asthma. Loading 'Sometimes with those children, even giving them ventolin and other forms of therapies, they end up in intensive care, and sometimes on a ventilator. And occasionally, young children with viral induced respiratory infections can even die,' Richmond said. Perth mum, Lisa Bentley-Taylor's twin four-year-old boys Arie and Luca, born in 2020, both experienced bronchiolitis when they first started daycare at 12 months old, and have since required multiple hospitalisations every winter. 'Generally, it's their oxygen levels that we struggle to get up and that's what keeps them in there for such prolonged periods of time,' she said.
The Age
5 days ago
- Health
- The Age
I took my son to the GP with what I thought was a cold. Now he is hospitalised every winter
As I sat in a Perth doctor's surgery with my young son in 2022, I had no idea how serious his condition was. At nearly two years old, he had a snotty nose and a cough. A common cold, or so I thought. The GP gave him a check over, including his oxygen saturation. It was dipping to 91 per cent. She explained anything under 92 per cent and the patient should be in a hospital bed, hooked up to oxygen. What happened next was a stressful whirlwind, rushing him to Perth Children's Hospital, before doctors stuck nasal prongs on his face and started administering oxygen. We were told he had parainfluenza, a relatively common virus which had triggered a viral induced wheeze – similar to an asthma attack. He remained in hospital for eight days. It unfortunately didn't end there. Every winter since, my son has been hospitalised with different viruses, from RSV to the common cold, all triggering wheeze. Unfortunately, his experience isn't isolated. Hundreds, if not thousands of other WA children are admitted with virus-induced respiratory problems every year. Some doctors say these incidents became much worse post covid, because of our border closures. University of Western Australia's head of Paediatrics, Professor Peter Richmond, says the state's covid lockdowns meant viruses like influenza and RSV weren't circulating in the community, creating an immunity gap in young children.
The Age
5 days ago
- Health
- The Age
How WA's border closures could have caused Perth's preschoolers to get sicker
WA's hard border closures caused more young children to be hospitalised with common viruses like the cold or flu, than pre-pandemic, according to one of Perth's top paediatricians. University of Western Australia's head of paediatrics, Professor Peter Richmond, says the state's COVID lockdowns meant viruses like influenza and RSV weren't circulating in the community, creating an immunity gap in young children. 'The restriction of transmission of viruses led to a deficit and development of natural immunity, so we then suddenly see these exposed children who have no immunity then getting sicker than they normally would,' he said. Richmond said when the borders reopened, an epidemic of winter viruses saw a rise in the number of young children admitted to Perth Children's Hospital with respiratory distress. Many experienced a symptom known as viral induced wheeze – also diagnosed as bronchiolitis in babies under the age of 1 – both triggering airways to swell up and constrict breathing, similar to asthma. Loading 'Sometimes with those children, even giving them ventolin and other forms of therapies, they end up in intensive care, and sometimes on a ventilator. And occasionally, young children with viral induced respiratory infections can even die,' Richmond said. Perth mum, Lisa Bentley-Taylor's twin four-year-old boys Arie and Luca, born in 2020, both experienced bronchiolitis when they first started daycare at 12 months old, and have since required multiple hospitalisations every winter. 'Generally, it's their oxygen levels that we struggle to get up and that's what keeps them in there for such prolonged periods of time,' she said.
