BELLEVILLE, Mich. (WXYZ) — After a Belleville family experienced a severe case of bacterial pneumonia with their 6-year-old son, a local pediatrician is reiterating that pneumonia is common this time of year and "white lung syndrome" is just another term for the illness.
This is the time of year when respiratory infections and cases of pneumonia spike. It's normal and expected. What’s been unexpected this year is talk of white lung syndrome.
"Not sure where the phrase got coined. But really, it's just a name for plain old, boring... pneumonia," pediatrician at Birmingham Pediatrics and Wellness Center Dr. Molly O’Shea said.
O'Shea says white lung is a description of how lungs look in an X-ray of any case of pneumonia, and the term is not a new strain or infection.
"I think COVID heightened all of our anxiety levels," O'Shea said.
Fear of another respiratory illness potentially spreading has families on edge including Julie Thompson who noticed her son getting ill the day before Thanksgiving.
"He lost his appetite and he had also complained that his left shoulder blade was hurting," Thompson said about her 6-year-old son Joel.
After multiple trips to the doctor and lungs that consistently sounded good, Joel was sent back home. Julie Thompson was left to her computer screen looking for answers. That’s when white lung syndrome kept popping up.
"I was banned off Google. My husband said, "If you get back on there, I'm taking your phone away.' It was bad," Julie Thompson said.
After days of no answers and over a week of a fever that reached 105 degrees, Julie finally pushed for a chest X-ray, where doctors found Joel's severe case of bacterial pneumonia. He battled his condition in a hospital bed for six days.
According to the CDC, pneumonia cases are largely consistent with pre-pandemic levels, even though clusters may pop up. Currently, Ohio is seeing an uptick.
"The issue that's happening in Ohio, we haven't heard much about it spreading all over the country," O'Shea said. "Even though Ohio is clearly adjacent to us, I don't think we need to be worried any more than usual."
Meanwhile, Joel is back from the hospital, feeling better and stronger every day. His mom says she wishes she advocated for her son earlier in his illness.
"Advocate for your kid and get that chest X-ray," she said "Don't let it get to the point where he got."
O'Shea says pneumonia may be hard to detect in children as the illness develops over a period of days. Look out for common pneumonia symptoms like coughing, trouble breathing and a fever. If the fever lasts for more than several days, see a doctor immediately. Other symptoms of pneumonia may include chest, shoulder, back and side pain.
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