Sore Throats: What’s Going Around for the Week of May 29

Antibiotics won’t help your little ones get over a sore throat that’s going around. That’s just one thing local doctors are talking about when looking at “What’s Going Around” the area where you live.

Dr. Arturo Quintanilla has treated several cases of viral pharyngitis at his practice in Rancho Mirage. This is basically a sore throat infection. Some children have a fever, others don’t. But the key thing is that it is not a strep throat infection. He says it is a viral infection that will resolve on its own without the need for antibiotics. “Have the patient’s pediatrician examine and decide about a plan of management,” Quintanilla says.
On the other end of the valley, Dr. Randolph Gibbs is looking into several cases of psoriasis. This chronic inflammatory skin condition can be genetic or environmental. Treatment includes topical steroids and phototherapy. Smoking, obesity and alcohol use increases the risk of this condition. Gibbs is also seeing inflammation of the colon known as diverticulitis. Watch out for pain in the left lower portion of the abdomen, tenderness, fever, loss of appetite, nausea and diarrhea or constipation. “Patients need more fiber in their diet,” Gibbs says. And he says, there is no evidence that avoiding nuts, corn or popcorn decreases the risk of diverticulitis. “Aspirin type medications, increasing age and lack of exercise seem to increase the risk of this condition.”

Watch “What’s Going Around” Tuesday evenings at 5:30 and Wednesday mornings on CBS Local 2 News.