DAYTON, Ohio– This flu season started earlier, and health officials say it’s getting worse.

It’s the reason area hospitals are taking action, putting an age restriction on who gets to come to the emergency room.

“If you’re under 14 or have a child who’s under the age of 14 and healthy, you might not make it much farther than the Emergency Room doors. That’s because hospitals have put in place new restrictions because of the flu.”

At the place where there’s hand sanitizer around every corner, face masks, and gloves in every room to protect you from germs, they still keep getting in.

“It’s not letting up; we see more and more cases every week, so we’re still in that upslope for new influenza cases,” says Roberto Colon, Associate Chief Medical Officer, Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton.

He says Montgomery County has the highest amount of flu cases in the state, and when the beds in the ER started filling up with flu patients, he says they had to do something.

“Nobody under the age of 14 Is going to be allowed, that’s because those patients really are at the highest risk for getting complications from influenza.”

Those complications can include pneumonia, bronchitis, sinus, and ear infections, which can all come from the flu. They’re all illnesses that young kids with developing immune systems can’t always fight off.

It’s part of the reason why he says; there are age restrictions at four hospitals in the area run by Premier Health. No kids under 14 allowed unless they need medical care.

But, even if you are older than fourteen, with all of the flu cases, Dr. Colon says to try to avoid the ER if you can.

“For milder illnesses, you’re able to get care at a primary care office and an urgent care center, or if the symptoms are mild enough, you’re able to manage them on your own.”

Health officials tell Spectrum News 1 those restrictions could be in place as late as March when the flu season is expected to end.