For all families, prevention is key. Follow these 10 tips to stay healthy this winter:
1. Avoid taking babies or young children into large crowds when the flu is in your area.
2. Avoid close contact, such as kissing and holding, between infants and anyone who has a cold or the flu.
3. Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
4. Wash your hands or use alcohol-based hand sanitizers after being in public or around anyone with a cold or the flu.
5. Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze; use a tissue only once and then throw it away. If no tissue is available, cough or sneeze into the inside of your elbow.
6. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
7. Do not share things that go into the mouth, such as drinking cups, straws, spoons, etc.
8. Clean common surfaces, such as doorknobs, refrigerator handles and phones, frequently if someone in your house has a cold or the flu.
9. Keep your child home or stay home yourself if you have the flu (fever, muscle aches, cough).
10. Don't smoke around children, and avoid secondhand smoke.
Warning SignsIf your child experiences any of these symptoms, take the child to your pediatrician or to the emergency department right away.
Flu and Your Baby
influenza (flu) is a contagious illness caused by one of the three influenza viruses (types A, B, C). These viruses spread through the air in droplets from an infected person’s cough or sneeze, as well as by contact with infected surfaces or hands (for example, poor hand washing).If your child suddenly develops a high fever (above 101° F) accompanied by chills, muscle aches, fatigue, headache, dry cough and runny nose, he or she may have the flu. The fever and most other symptoms last about five days, though the cough may linger for several weeks. Antibiotics are not effective in treating the flu.Some children with chronic health problems are at increased risk of serious complications from the flu. These children include those with asthma, heart disease, sickle cell disease, diabetes, HIV and those undergoing cancer treatment, as well as children living in households with someone with these conditions. After these children reach six months of age, they should receive the flu shot each fall.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also encourage vaccination of healthy children between the ages of 6 and 23 months. This age group is at increased risk of complications and hospitalization due to the flu. The flu shot is also recommended for older children and other family members to help the disease from spreading within the household.Call your child's doctor right away if your child:
Develops any fever (more than 100.4° F) in the first three months of life, a temperature of 101° F or greater between three and six months, or 103° F after six months of age
Has trouble breathing, appears to have ear or face pain, or looks very ill (some children develop complications from the flu such as pneumonia, ear or sinus infection)
Has a cough that lingers more than a week or is getting worseWhen your child has the flu, make sure he or she gets lots of rest and drinks plenty of fluids. She may not have much appetite. Offer her small meals that can be easily digested.If your child seems uncomfortable from the fever, ask the doctor if you can give him or her infant’s or children’s acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Motrin or Advil) to help reduce it. Never give aspirin to a child or teenager for any reason. Aspirin can cause a rare, but life-threatening liver disorder called Reye syndrome.Your child most likely is contagious for about 7 days after symptoms begin, so have your child wash the hands frequently. Also wash your hands after caring for your child. Dispose of contaminated tissues promptly to help avoid spreading the illness to other family members. You may be able to reduce your baby’s risk of coming down with the flu by keeping him or her away from crowds when there are a lot of flu cases in your community.
Flu and kids
Begins with one sneeze. One sneeze leads to constant sneezing, which leads to a runny nose, sore throat, watery eyes and before you know it, everyone in the office is out taking care of their children who can't go to daycare or school because they have the flu. Epidemics associated with influenza or the "flu" tend to begin with children and spread.
Symptoms
Influenza, commonly called "the flu," is an infection of the respiratory tract that can easily be confused with the common cold. Typical symptoms of influenza include fever, which can range from 100 to 103 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, and respiratory symptoms such as sore throat, cough and runny nose. Symptoms may also include headache, muscle aches and extreme fatigue.
"Children generally catch the flu at school or in child care and then take the virus home to their parents and siblings," says Dr Daniel New, infection disease specialist at East Tennessee Children's Hospital. "The most common way to spread the virus is through contact with germs after sneezing or coughing."
Most children completely recover from the flu in one to two weeks, but without proper care, children can develop more serious complications such as sinusitis, bronchitis or pneumonia.
Cold or flu?How do you know if your child has brought home a cold or influenza? Although the symptoms are similar, children with the flu are usually sicker and typically get sicker over a very short period of time. If you are still unable to distinguish between a cold and the flu, there are laboratory tests available at your pediatrician's office or the nearest outpatient center.
The first symptoms of flu usually include a red, scratchy throat, hacking cough, watery eyes, runny nose, and a high-grade fever. "All these symptoms just get increasingly worse; the child feels miserable and begins to develop aches and pains in their muscles and joints -- called myositis," says Dr New. "Often these aches and pains can be very intense."
Easing painDr New suggests some things that can be done at home to help ease your child's flu symptoms: have them drink lots of fluids, get plenty of sleep and wash hands regularly. If your child is achy, give him or her a non-aspirin product such as Tylenol or Motrin. Never give your child aspirin to relieve his or her pain or fever because aspirin has been connected with a potentially fatal childhood disease called Rye's syndrome.
articles
Suspected bird flu kills baby 07/09/2004 09:11
Hanoi - A 14-month-old baby boy in Vietnam has died from suspected bird flu despite claims by the government that the deadly disease has been brought under control, officials said on Tuesday.
The baby, who was hospitalised in Hanoi on August 28 and then transferred to the Central Paediatric Hospital for specialist care, died on Sunday, said Nguyen Duc Long, deputy director of the Ministry of Health's legal department.
He denied that the child, Le Viet Anh, had been infected with the lethal H5N1 strain of avian influenza that has already killed 19 people in Vietnam this year and eight others in Thailand.
"The baby tested positive for Type A H5 virus, but this is not bird flu," he said.
However, Hans Troedsson, the World Health Organisation's (WHO) representative in Vietnam, said it was "highly likely" that the child's death was caused by bird flu.
"We suspect that H5N1 was responsible but we need to investigate it further," he said.
The child and his family lived near a market in Hanoi's Thanh Tri district, according to state media.
WHO probing bird flu in cats 03/09/2004 21:39 - (SA)
Geneva - The World Health Organisation said on Friday it was taking seriously a scientific report that domestic cats could contract bird flu and pass it on to humans, but that it had no evidence so far to support it.
"This is an extraordinary finding because it has been thought that cats could not be infected" with the disease, said WHO spokesperson Dick Thompson when asked to comment on the report published in Friday's issue of the journal, Science, in Washington.
Dutch researchers at the Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam reported that six European shorthair cats, which had been experimentally infected with the H5N1 virus, developed avian flu and transmitted it to other cats.
"Cats may form an opportunity for this avian virus to adapt to mammals, thereby increasing the risk of a human influenza pandemic," said the research team led by Thijs Kuiken.
Taking a harder look at possibility
Bird flu has killed 27 people in Asia this year.
"We are going to be looking at cats to see if they play any role in the human disease," Thompson said.
"There is no indication now that they do, but that is something that we are going to have to take a harder look at," he added.
In their report, the Dutch team said the cats in the study appeared to be resistant to the H3N2 strain of bird flu, the most-prevalent form of the virus in humans.
Flu in pigs: No need to panic 23/08/2004 10:13 - (SA)
Penang - The reported discovery of a lethal strain of bird flu in Chinese pigs has taken the world closer to a human flu pandemic but there is no need to panic yet, the World Health Organisation said on Monday.
WHO regional director for the Western Pacific, Shigeru Omi, was speaking at a news conference here shortly before China's agriculture ministry denied the flu was found in pigs this year.
The ministry did not say whether it had been discovered in pigs in 2003.
Need for vigilance
Asked about the threat of a global epidemic if pigs had been infected, Omi said: "Of course it's a little bit closer but how close we don't know. This is one factor we have to monitor very closely."
The WHO needed to study how widespread the virus was among pigs, he said. "At this point there is no need for the global community to panic but we need to remain vigilant."
A respected Chinese researcher told a conference in Beijing last week the H5N1 virus was discovered in pigs in the south-eastern province of Fujian in 2003 and in "another place" in 2004, but only in one farm.
Scientists have warned that if pigs are infected the virus could mutate to a more lethal form which could spread more easily to humans. Pigs are a "mixing vessel" in which viruses swap genes.
H5N1 is the most deadly strain of the bird flu virus and has killed 27 people across Asia this year.
Omi said the struggle to eliminate bird flu in Asia would take several years.
"The WHO view is that this is a long battle that we have to fight for several years at least. We cannot finish it this year because the virus is circulating among poultry, wild birds and migratory birds," he said.
Flu (0-12 Months)
An article fromBabyCenter.com
Recognizing flu symptoms in young children and how to help your baby feel better and prevent recurrences.
How can I tell if my baby has the flu?
Sometimes it's not easy. In young children flu symptoms resemble those of other illnesses such as colds. That said, your baby is more likely to have the flu if he gets sick between November and April (prime flu season) and experiences the sudden onset of fever, typically 101 degrees or higher; fatigue; and chills, followed by respiratory symptoms such as a runny nose and a dry cough. (Hint: If congestion or coughing shows up much before the fever, it's more likely your child has a cold.) He may also be irritable and have a poor appetite, sore throat, and swollen glands. The flu can also bring on diarrhea and vomiting. My baby is home full-time with me. How could he have picked up the flu?
The flu viruses (influenza A and influenza B) become pretty potent pathogens in close quarters. They spread easily through the air. If your baby is near a person with the flu who is coughing or sneezing, he'll breathe those infected droplets in through his mouth or nose and get infected.Because the flu proliferates when people are in close contact, it goes through schools, daycare centers, playgroups, and families like wildfire. Usually, the unsuspecting victim will get sick one to three days after exposure. It's possible your baby became infected at your last playgroup or other gathering with children. Or someone else in your family may have been infected yet developed only mild symptoms that you wrote off as a cold, even though it was actually the flu (the severity of the flu differs from person to person). My baby is miserable. What can I do to make him feel better?
For an infant, the best treatment is bed rest and plenty of fluids. For an older baby who is eating some solid foods, try frozen fruit bars as a way of encouraging him to get extra liquids. Soup or broth may ease his congestion as well. For muscle aches and fever, give your baby a pain reliever such as children's acetaminophen or ibuprofen. (Never give a child aspirin unless your doctor recommends it, especially when he has a viral infection; this can cause Reye's syndrome, a rare but potentially life-threatening condition.)While it's always a good idea to call your doctor about any illness in a young baby, don't pressure your pediatrician for medication. You may have heard of antiviral drugs that can help halt the flu's progression, but they haven't been approved for children less than a year old. Antibiotics are also off limits. A virus, not bacteria, causes the flu, so antibiotics won't work. In some cases, however, if your baby develops a secondary bacterial infection, such as pneumonia, an ear infection, or bronchitis, antibiotics are in order.Your baby should start feeling better in three to five days -- you'll notice his fever break first and then his appetite should return. But this is just an average. Some babies (and older children and adults) have the cough and flu-associated body aches for two weeks or more. What can I do to prevent my baby from getting the flu again?
The good news is, if he has the flu now, he's less likely get it again this year because he's developed immunity to the strain currently roaming around. But next year is another story. The type of virus that causes influenza changes every year. If your baby is under 6 months of age, the best advice is to keep him away from other flu sufferers.If your baby is between 6 and 23 months, your best bet, according to the current guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is to have your child get the flu vaccine. Until recently, health officials didn't routinely recommend the shot for babies and toddlers because they considered it only moderately effective in children under age 2. But new research finds that the shot can protect very young children from developing serious flu-related complications, like pneumonia.The vaccine is particularly important if your child is in a high-risk group: if he has diabetes, a suppressed immune system, severe anemia, or chronic heart, lung (including asthma), or kidney disease. Children on long-term aspirin therapy for diseases such as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis are also good candidates for the flu vaccine because aspirin puts them at risk for Reye's syndrome -- a rare, but potentially fatal disease -- if they come down with a virus.If you decide to have your child vaccinated, you should do it in the fall or early winter so your child will have enough time to develop immunity before flu season gets into full swing, usually in January. If your child has never been vaccinated for influenza, keep in mind that he'll need two shots, one month apart, to build immunity, so schedule his vaccines accordingly.Babies under 6 months of age are also at increased risk from flu-related complications, but the vaccine has not yet been approved for this age group. You can protect your infant by reducing his exposure to the flu bug -- namely, by making sure that everyone who comes into regular contact with him has been vaccinated.Tell your pediatrician if you have a family history egg allergies. If it's likely that your child will have a severe egg allergy, he probably shouldn't receive the flu vaccine, since it's made with egg protein. The flu vaccine can be given to a child who is mildly sick (such as with a cold), even if he has a low fever.Note, too, that although flu shots are one of the few vaccines still made with the preservative thimerosal, which contains ethylmercury, the CDC has concluded that the benefits of the flu shot outweigh any potential risks from thimerosal for children. Although thimerosal has now been removed from most childhood vaccines, it has never been shown to be harmful and is still used in other drug products. When should I call my child's pediatrician?
Call your baby's doctor:- At the first sign of the flu if your child is HIV-positive or has a chronic illness (such as cancer; sickle-cell anemia; diabetes; or lung, heart, or kidney disease).- At the first sign of flu if he has rheumatoid arthritis or Kawasaki syndrome, both of which are treated with long-term aspirin (in this case, the benefits of aspirin outweigh the tiny risk of Reye's syndrome).- If your baby seems to have an earache or severe pain in his face or forehead (he may have an ear infection or sinusitis).- If your baby has persistent chest pain and fever, or if he's wheezing and coughing up discolored mucus (he may have pneumonia or bronchitis).- If he becomes sick again soon after bouncing back from the flu, or if he has a high fever for more than three to four days (he may have a secondary infection that needs to be treated).- Anytime a baby under 3 months has a rectal temperature of 100.4 degrees F (38 degrees C) or higher.