HIGH POINT, N.C. (WGHP) — With the holidays approaching, it’s the perfect storm to spread respiratory viruses.

Cases of RSV, COVID-19 and the flu are up in North Carolina, and people planning to travel or visit relatives can spread them.

RSV is responsible for a 60 percent increase in hospitalizations within the past month nationwide. Flu hospitalizations have gone up 200 percent, and COVID-19 is at 51 percent.

It can be tough for a parent to know what virus their child has.  

“He started making weird breathing noises,” Heather Smith said.

She knew her two-month old son Jace was sick, and it was bad. 

“He wasn’t able to take his formula. He was having a really hard time eating and breathing at the same time,” Smith said. 

She took him to the emergency room near her where they immediately airlifted him to Brenner Children’s Hospital in Winston-Salem. He was placed on oxygen and diagnosed with RSV. 

“I was really scared. If I had not taken him to the hospital, I would have lost him. That’s what his doctors said,” Smith said. 

Jace is now much better, out of the hospital and back to being a happy baby free of RSV. 

Local doctors say many parents don’t know about the danger of RSV. 

For children under five, it can look like a cold with symptoms including runny nose, decrease in appetite coughing, sneezing, fever and wheezing.  

For infants like Jace, they might show irritability, decreased activity, eating or drinking less and apnea or breathing pauses like he had. 

Doctors at Novant Health say if you are traveling for the holidays, you can spread any virus. 

“It’s the season for it. RSV typically hits around October, and it did hit, and it’s still going strong at this time,” said Dr. John Card, a physician with Novant Health. 

RSV can be spread by coughs and sneezes and also by kissing babies. 

And on average, 50,000 to 80,000 children under five are hospitalized with it every year, and 100 to 300 children die. 

With the risk of RSV, flu and COVID-19, the best advice is to use common sense.  

“I think the greatest gift we can give around this time of year is to be mindful of others,” Dr. Card said. “Wash your hands regularly, stay well hydrated, and if necessary, wear those masks when you are in close quarters with people.”

There is an RSV vaccine, but it can be hard to come by for adults. Doctors recommend pregnant people get them as that vaccine is readily available.