The 7 winter illnesses threatening to ruin your Christmas – and how to keep your grandparents safe
THE days before Christmas usually herald a surge in parties and festive gatherings.
But it’s also the time of year that most of us are desperately trying not to get sick, for fear that an illness will ruin our carefully thought out plans.
Whether you don’t relish the idea of spending Christmas Day alone in bed or you don’t want to let your family down, you might gather yourself to meet your family despite feeling rotten.
But GP and clinical director of Patient.info, Dr Sarah Jarvis, told Sun Health that sticking to your Christmas plans when you’ve got a case of the sniffles or the flu could have serious consequences.
This is especially the case if you’ll be spending the day grandparents, little children or pregnant people, she warned.
The GP detailed seven illnesses that are a particular risk to you and your family members this Christmas – and what do if you have symptoms over the festive period.
1. Coughs and colds
“The obvious one is coughs and colds,” Dr Jarvis said.
“Coughs and colds are really, really common and children are extremely good at spreading them,” she explained.
“They’re usually spread through droplets – in other words, when you cough or sneeze and somebody breathes that in – or through what are called fomites, which is infected particles.
“When cough out, the particles land on a surface and somebody picks them up and touches their eyes and then their mouth.”
Children aren’t very good at covering their mouths when they cough or sneeze, nor are they very diligent at washing their hands, Dr Jarvis noted.
“And they spend a lot of time touching each other and their grandparents,” she went on, meaning it’s pretty likely they’ll pass on whatever lurgy they have.
Children also don’t have the same immunity as adults because they haven’t yet been exposed to the same bugs and germs, so they’re much more likely to get ill.
Coughs and colds are usually ‘fairly harmless’ even if they are miserable, Dr Jarvis said.
“But if you’ve got an elderly relative who’s got a lung condition or a heart condition, they can be more prone to getting severe complications,” the GP warned.
If you think you or your little one has a cold, it’s a good idea to avoid going somewhere if you think there’s someone vulnerable.
Symptoms include:
- A blocked or runny nose
- A sore throat
- Headaches and muscle aches
- Coughing
- Sneezing
- A raised temperature
- Pressure in your ears and face
2. Flu
Flu was next on Dr Jarvis’s list.
“It’s caught in the same way coughs and colds are, but it can be much more serious,” she stressed.
“Older people and people with immune systems that aren’t working very well are much, much more prone to getting complications.”
It can even be deadly for certain vulnerable groups, killing thousands of Brits yearly.
According to government statistics, some 14,500 people succumbed to the flu in the 2022-2023 season, the highest figure recorded in five years.
Even if you don’t suffer complications, Dr Jarvis said “there really is no such thing as a mild case of flu”.
“If you’re a bit sniffly and feel a little bit achy but you can get up and about, you’ve got a cold, you haven’t got flu,” the GP said.
She called going through the flu ‘miserable’.
“You’ll have a very high temperature, you’ll ache in muscles you never knew you had, you’ll have dry, harsh wracking coughs, you might be boiling hot one minute and freezing cold the next, you are exhausted.”
4. Covid
Flu has historically been dangerous to elderly and vulnerable and Covid is now on par with that, Dr Jarvis said – even if doesn’t cause as serious of an illness in most people as it did a few years ago.
For young people, a Covid infection can be ‘fairly mild’, according to the GP.
But for people over 65, “no matter how good they feel, unfortunately the immune system gets less effective with age”, Dr Jarvis explained.
“The older you are, the less effective it is at fighting off complications,” she stated.
People with long-term conditions affecting their lungs, heart, kidney, liver or central nervous system are vulnerable, as are cancer-sufferers and people takings medication that dampens their immune system.
The Zoe Covid Symptom Study, which collects data on self-reported symptoms in the UK, said the 10 most common symptoms currently are:
- A sore throat
- A runny nose
- A blocked nose
- Sneezing
- A cough without phlegm
- A headache
- A cough with phlegm
- A hoarse voice
- Muscle aches and pains
- An altered sense of smell
3. Norovirus
Another unpleasant illness that’s likely to crop up this festive season is the feared tummy bug, particularly norovirus.
“Norovirus is currently doing the rounds big style,” Dr Jarvis said.
Known as the winter vomiting bug, it’s “very, very contagious”, the GP said.
“It often doesn’t last for more than two or three days but it can leave you feeling completely exhausted.”
Norovirus can leave sufferers experiencing bouts of diarrhoea and projectile vomiting.
Older people – as well as small children – are again most vulnerable to serious consequences from the nasty bug, which strikes sufferers with sudden bouts of vomiting and diarrhoea.
“As you’re older, you’re less able to regulate your fluids, and when you’re younger you don’t need to lose very much fluid to become dehydrated,” Dr Jarvis explained.
Dehydration is the biggest risk people face from norovirus, as you lose a lot fluids from being sick and having diarrhoea.
“If you’ve had a tummy bug, don’t go near anyone or anything until you’ve been diarrhoea and vomiting free for at least two days,” Dr Jarvis stressed.
“And even if you do feel well, just be aware.”
You should also be super careful about hand-washing even if you’re feeling well, the GP went on.
The bug can be picked up from eating food prepared or handled by someone with norovirus – a bit of an issue during the holiday season when families gather to cook and eat food together.
Washing your hands frequently with warm water and soapy is one of the best things you can do to avoid spreading germs .
Don’t rely on hand sanitiser, as it won’t kill the norovirus germs.
4. Measles and rubella
There are a few illnesses that could be a worry if you or your little one haven’t been vaccinated against them, Dr Jarvis said.
The first she mentioned was measles, which causes flu like symptoms and a rash and has been described as one of the world’s most infectious diseases.
It spreads when an infected person coughs or sneezes and can cause complications such as pneumonia, meningitis, seizures and blindness if it spreads to other parts of the body, such as the lungs or brain.
Measles cases recently reached a three-year high in England and rising by 3,000 per cent in Europe last year.
You can get protection from measles from the combined MMR jab, but “unfortunately, there are more people that haven’t had vaccinations”, Dr Jarvis explained.
The same vaccine protects against rubella too, also known as German measles, which the GP described as “a particular risk to pregnant women”.
“It’s usually fairly mild when you’re not pregnant, but if you do get German measles when you’re pregnant – especially in the first three months of pregnancy – it can cause really nasty complications for you and the baby,” she said.
These range from deafness and brain damage to a 50 per cent higher risk of your little one developing type 1 diabetes, according to Dr Jarvis.
“A lot of this we can prevent with making sure that our vaccinations are up to date,” but she noted that it’s too late to develop immunity by Christmas or the New Year if you get jabbed now.
It usually takes a couple weeks to get protection from the illnesses you’re vaccinating against.
The main symptom of rubella is a spotty rash that starts on the face or behind the ears and spreads to the neck and body – it takes two or three weeks to appear after you’re infected.
It can also cause:
- Aching fingers, wrists or knees
- A high temperature
- Coughs
- Sneezing and a runny nose
- Headaches
- A sore throat
- Sore, red eyes
5. Whooping cough
Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, has also seen a resurgence in recent weeks.
It’s a bacterial infection of the lungs and breathing tubes characterised by a distinctive ‘whoop’ sound as sufferers gasp for breath between coughs.
“It tends to be particularly bad for children,” Dr Jarvis told Sun Health – particularly infants under six months old.
It can be fatal to little ones, but it can also cause complications such as brain damage.
Dr Jarvis added: “In older people, it’s sometimes called the cough of 100 days, in that it really can last for three months and it’s a miserable condition to have.”
Taking antibiotics won’t stop you coughing but they can make you less likely to pass it on – whooping cough is also spread by germ-laden droplets released into the air when you cough.
Children can be protected from getting the nasty cough through vaccination, which is routinely given to babies and children.
Dr Jarvis urged parents who have hesitated about getting their children jabbed to “please speak to your GP”.
“The benefits of vaccination dramatically outweigh any potential risks,” she stressed.
6. Pneumonia
China, the US and regions of the UK such as Wales have recently recorded a rise of mycoplasma pneumoniae infections.
This lung infection is “always a concern in the UK”, according to Dr Jarvis.
But she said health practitioners were much more worried about pneumococcal pneumonia, a bacterial infection that spreads though droplets and fomites and can cause pneumonia as well as sepsis.
Symptoms can include fever, cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, stiff neck, confusion, increased sensitivity to light, joint pain, chills, ear pain, sleeplessness, and irritability, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
“It’s a particular issue for older people and for babies,” the GP told Sun Health.
That’s why older people and those with compromised immune systems are eligible for a pneumococcal vaccine.
It’s offered to babies, people aged 65 and older and children and adults at higher risk of getting seriously ill.
One jab should be enough to ‘protect you for life’, Dr Jarvis said, but people whose spleen doesn’t work properly and those with with sickle cell disease may need to get jabbed every five years.
7. Chickenpox and shingles
Chickenpox is one those illnesses that we expect most children will pick up at some point.
Causing itchy spots that can blister and scab over, as well as fever and aches, it can be ‘miserable’ to go through but it’s generally considered to be fairly harmless.
But Dr Garvis warned chickenpox can be dangerous to pregnant mums and can also “cause really nasty complications” in kids and anyone who has it, such as brain inflammation and serious bacterial infections.
You can catch chickenpox just by being in the same room as someone with it, the NHS said, so crowding into a family member’s house for the holidays with a person who has it is certainly not the best idea.
It’s also spread by touching things that have fluid from the blisters on them.
Shingles is a condition related to chickenpox, which people should also be wary of over the holidays, the GP went on.
“You can’t catch shingles from chickenpox, but if you’ve ever had chickenpox then you can develop shingles in later life,” Dr Jarvis explained.
The chickenpox virus goes dormant after you’ve gone through the illness, but certain circumstances can reactivate it to cause shingles – a painful, blotchy rash that appears on one side of your body and can last for up to four weeks.
“Things that can reactivate it include stress and sleep deprivation, as well as getting older.”
As a result, the GP advised you “try and keep your stress levels down [as] there’s the possibility that it may increase the chance of developing shingles”.
That’s certainly a reason to try a bring down your pre-Christmas stress levels.
You can’t spread shingles to other people, but your family could catch chickenpox from you if they haven’t had it before.
There is also a possibility of experiencing lingering symptoms after your shingles rash heals, Dr Jarvis warned.
Post-herpetic neuralgia affects one in five people who’ve had shingles and causes continuous nerve pain in the area of the skin where your rash was.
The GP recalled treating patients who’d had their lives ‘utterly ruined’ by the excruciating aftereffects of shingles.
That’s why she advised you get your shingles vaccine if you’re over 65 or at higher risk of being seriously affected by the illness.
WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IF YOU’RE ILL OVER THE HOLIDAYS?
Though it can be incredibly disappointing to be ill over Christmas, Dr Jarvis stressed that you shouldn’t come into contact with any family members or friends if you suspect you have some sort of bug, cold or the flu.
Wait “two days at least after you get better” before seeing anyone, the GP said.
“Do have your vaccines, it’s not too late,” Dr Jarvis added.
“But do remember that if you’re having them in the days running up to Christmas, then you’ll get good protection from the New Year but they won’t necessarily protect you at this time of year.”