This is not the first time they have been hit by a wave of summer viruses since the pandemic began. Last year, her youngest child ended up in A&E with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a cold-like germ that can make babies seriously ill. “This summer we’ve all had colds, coughs, stomach bugs as well as Covid. I don’t think we’ve ever been to the doctor this much.” The illnesses started when the older children returned to school after the Easter holidays and the youngest returned to her playground. Davies runs a part-time freelance coaching business and the disorder has had a significant impact on her work. Constant illnesses have also stopped the family from enjoying hobbies and socializing. “I have friends and family who have gone through cancer treatment or are immunocompromised. You just don’t want to transfer any germs to people who might be vulnerable, so that’s a constant concern.” Davis is not alone in facing these challenges. Across the UK, GP surgeries and hospitals are seeing an influx of patients with typical winter ailments including coughs, colds, flu, stomach bugs and chicken pox. Dr Hana Patel, a London-based GP and mental health coach who works in the NHS and private practice, says younger children are particularly affected. “During the lockdown we were exposed to fewer germs and therefore the immune system didn’t have a chance to develop in some children,” he says. “This is the first summer where people are back to normal routines and mixing again. Kindergarteners tend to pick up a lot of bugs in their first year, especially in the winter. Because of the restrictions, we see it at a different time of year.” Dr Patel also continues to see large numbers of Covid cases, which can be difficult to distinguish from other respiratory viruses. The new variants, he says, “cause slightly different symptoms, and people get it over and over again.” Zeinab Ardeshir, the founder of online pharmacy home delivery service PillSorted, has noticed that people are catching colds more often and taking longer to recover. “I’m seeing a lot more spicy recipes coming out than usual this time of year,” he says. The majority are for steroid inhalers, which can help people manage symptoms such as coughing and breathing problems, and antibiotics for those who develop a secondary infection. “We’ve had more than 20 families in the past few weeks with complaints of headaches, sore throats, coughs and fevers that don’t go away as quickly as a virus usually does. They test negative for Covid, but continue to be unwell.” “Hand washing is important to prevent norovirus,” says Cheshire GP Chris Ritchieson. Photo: Images by Tang Ming Tung/Getty Images George Ike, 19, a student in Salford, has had a summer cold for the past month. “It became exhausting because everything was so exhausting. I found it difficult to work and do normal daily activities – even cleaning became impossible.” When he lost his voice, he had to call in sick to his freelance job as a radio host, which meant lost income. “The volume of illness has certainly affected the businesses I work for. A lot of people take time off.” He worries that the problem will get worse when he goes back to university and everyone catches ‘youth flu’. “It’s always bad, but this time people will come sick.” According to Dr. Maroof Harghandiwal, a functional physician and Covid specialist with Zen Healthcare, the human immune system is at its best when it has constant exposure to stimuli. “Most of us have gone a year without coming into contact with common bacteria and viruses.” Now, when we encounter these bugs, he says, “it may take a little longer” for our immune systems to activate. “Therefore, the infection lasts longer. People’s immune systems have also been affected by anxiety and stress.” For Suzanne Samaka, 34, “endless bugs” have been affecting her family for months. “I got everything, including bad colds. I feel like the moment I get rid of something, I get something else,” he says. Despite being on maternity leave from her banking job and avoiding her usual route on public transport, she has experienced a significant increase in viral infections compared to previous summers. He attributes this in part to not having had a chance to recover. “It was a really exhausting time,” he says. “When I’m poor, I still have to take care of the children. Because of Covid, a lot of plans and events have been postponed and now we have a lot of things going on, so it feels like there’s never any time to stop.” We were seeing people with chronic fatigue syndrome getting recurrent infections. Now the same symptoms are caused by Covid Samaka has also noticed that she is sick more often since she had Covid in January and wonders about the impact of this first infection on her immune system. It’s a theory that has yet to be proven, but according to Harghandiwal, scientists are exploring the possibility. Early research has found that abnormalities in immune cells may contribute to long-term Covid, which is estimated to affect more than 2 million people in the UK. “Even in mild cases of the disease, changes in immune function can occur. We were seeing people with chronic fatigue syndrome getting recurrent infections. Now the same symptoms are caused by Covid, which is much more prevalent,” says Harghandiwal. Dr Chris Ritchieson, a Cheshire GP, has also noticed a pattern of increased ‘winter’ illnesses in the north of England. While these illnesses can make healthy adults and older children very unwell for a few days, they usually get better on their own. For babies, the elderly and anyone who is immunocompromised, the risks are greater. Social mixing is important for people kept apart in lockdown, but there are small steps everyone can take to reduce the risk of contracting and spreading these viruses. “Using masks on public transport and in crowds has really helped reduce the spread of respiratory diseases,” he says. “Meanwhile, hand washing is important to prevent norovirus [winter vomiting bug]. Some stomach bugs are resistant to hand sanitizer, but thorough washing with soap and warm water is very effective at getting rid of these germs. Many people do not wash their hands properly before eating or handling food.” Increasingly lax attitudes toward hygiene and common viruses aren’t just due to pandemic fatigue — they’ve been building for decades. “Before routine vaccination there were higher rates of more dangerous diseases and fewer treatments, so the public was more aware and perhaps took public health more seriously. However, we still see a small but significant number of children and vulnerable people being hospitalized with respiratory viruses and vomiting. They are definitely still worried.” People can unknowingly spread serious illness when they are unwell. “Whooping cough and RSV, both of which can be very dangerous to babies, have been on the rise in the population for some time,” he says. “Because people don’t look for them and often start with mild symptoms, they assume it’s a cold and keep messing around. If people have the option to work at home when they are mildly unwell or to take time off, it could help reduce the spread of illness and the risk to young and vulnerable people.”
