For most people, the approach of fall brings to mind pumpkin spice, apple pie, and chilly evenings. For pediatricians, however, fall means one thing: flu season.
Flu season is always a time of heightened concern for pediatric providers, because the flu can be a lot more severe for children than for adults. Especially for infants, toddlers, and immunocompromised patients, we take the flu very seriously - and, as a result, flu prevention.
In this blog, we will discuss how you can decrease the chances of your child contracting the flu, why your child’s flu vaccine is so important, and how to care for your child if they do get sick with the flu.
Preventative Care: Boost Your Child’s Immune System
While you can’t guarantee that your child won’t get sick this flu season, there’s a lot you can do to reduce their odds and keep them healthy. Additionally, following the right steps when your child has the flu helps prevent your kid’s peers from also getting sick.
Here are some of our tips for keeping your child and your community healthy this flu season:
1. Prioritize healthy habits
Avoiding the flu this season begins with your daily habits. Make sure your child gets enough vitamins and minerals through their diet! Nutrient-dense foods, such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, help your children get all of their essential vitamins and minerals.
Nutrients that help your child’s body fight infectious diseases include:
Vitamin C
Vitamin D
Zinc
Parents can struggle to meet their children’s nutritional needs for many reasons, such as picky eating or chronic illness. While vitamin supplements can help meet your child’s dietary needs, consult your pediatric provider about whether your child needs vitamin supplements before you give supplements to them.
Additionally, make sure you kids get plenty of good quality sleep. Sleep allows the body and mind to rest, recover, and regenerate cells necessary for the body’s proper function, so getting enough sleep is absolutely crucial for your child during flu season.
We know that getting your child to sleep on time and stay asleep through the night can be tricky. For tips on how to teach good sleep habits to your kids, check out our blog all about sleep!
2. Practice proper hygiene together
Let’s just be honest here for a second… Kids do gross things sometimes! Learning proper hygiene and respect for others is not only an important part of their development, but it also helps keep them and their friends healthy during flu season.
First, teach your child to cover their nose and mouth when they sneeze or cough. Some children have the instinct to cough or sneeze into their hands or not cover their face at all, but the most effective way to stop germs spreading from a cough or a sneeze is by doing so into the crook of your elbow. Why? That brings us to our next point:
Second, teach your children to wash their hands often! Throughout the day, your child will touch a variety of different surfaces that their classmates and teachers also touch, which means germs and viruses get transferred quickly throughout schools. By teaching your child to wash their hands often and well, they keep their hands clean and help slow down the spread of germs in their school.
To help your child learn proper hand washing, follow these steps:
Scrub the front and back of hands, between the fingers, and under nails with soap
Wash hands under warm water for at least 20 seconds (the amount of time it takes to sing “The Alphabet Song” once or “Happy Birthday” twice)
Rinse and dry hands well
Third, teach your child not to share food or drinks with their friends. Parents try hard to teach their children the value of sharing with others, so this one might be challenging for kids to comprehend. However, not only does sharing food with others amplify the spread of germs, but you also run the risk of triggering another child’s food allergies.
3. Keep kids at home when feeling sick
Whether or not you think you have the flu, the best practice when your children feel under the weather is to keep them at home. We know that this can be challenging for parents to navigate, as schools often have strict attendance policies, and kids also sometimes feign feeling sick to avoid going to school.
Generally, if your child is showing symptoms of a contagious illness, they should stay home. Your child might be fine to attend school with mild congestion or sinus issues, but you should keep them home if they experience fever (100.4°F or greater), sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, or persistent cough.
Similarly, avoid spending time with people who have the flu or flu-like symptoms. Teach your children what flu symptoms look like, and to keep distance between themselves and peers who exhibit flu-like symptoms at school.
The Importance of the Flu Vaccine
More than any other preventative measure, making sure your children stay up-to-date on their flu vaccine is the best way to keep your kids safe during flu season.
It is recommended that all children ages 6 months and older get a flu shot every year. The flu shot not only reduces your child’s risk of complications, but it also helps stop the spread of flu, which keeps other people from getting sick as well.
The flu vaccine is especially important for children with chronic health conditions because their immune system is compromised. For this reason, if they were to contract the flu, their immune system would have a much harder time fighting off the inflection, leading to an increased chance of them developing complications.
Studies show that people who get the flu vaccine are 50-60% less likely to contract the flu. Additionally, those who do contract the flu with the vaccine typically experience less severe flu symptoms than those who do not.
If you have any questions or concerns about your child receiving a flu vaccine, talk to your provider. Your child’s pediatric team wants what is best for your child, just like you do, so feel free to speak with them about any reservations you might have about the flu vaccine.
Flu Symptoms
Even if you’ve done everything you can to prevent your child from getting sick with the flu, there’s a possibility they still might contract it. As a parent, it’s important that you know the symptoms of the flu so that if your child does come down with it, you can be prepared.
Common Symptoms
The most common symptoms of the flu include a sudden onset of:
Fever of 100.4°F or greater
Headache
Chills
Sore throat
Runny nose
Nausea
While some of these symptoms can be caused by allergies or the common cold, pay attention if you start to notice one or more of these symptoms in your children. Take a moment to check in with them, ask them how they are feeling, and continue to monitor symptoms.
When should I see a doctor?
For most children, the flu can be managed with over-the-counter medicine, rest, and plenty of fluids over the course of a week or so. However, there are certain circumstances where the flu can cause other complications that require medical attention. Additionally, certain children are likely to experience flu symptoms more severely than others.
If you suspect your child has the flu, you should always take them to the doctor if:
Child has been diagnosed with a chronic illness that makes them immunocompromised
Flu symptoms do not get better/get worse over the course of the illness
Child contracts fever and is 3 months of age or younger
Fever does not go away within 5 days
Fever reaches 104°F or higher
Child shows signs of dehydration (infrequent urination, sunken eyes, vomiting, or crying without tears)
Treating the Flu
Unfortunately, since the flu is a viral infection and not bacterial, doctors cannot prescribe antibiotics to heal your child of the flu. There are, however, antiviral medications that can minimize symptoms of the flu and decrease the length of time your child is sick. In addition, there are ways to treat the flu to minimize further complications and to help keep your child as comfortable as possible while they are sick!
Rest
The best way for your child’s body to naturally fight off the flu is with ample rest. During sleep, the body releases substances called cytokines which attach themselves to sites of inflammation and aid the body’s immune system in fighting infection.
Make sure your child is comfortable, and encourage them to get plenty of rest for the duration of their flu. If your child is running a fever, dress them in lightweight clothes and provide them with ample blankets to help cope with fluctuating body temperatures.
Hydration
Sickness can affect the body’s ability to retain water, and children already have a hard time regulating their own water intake, so help your child stay hydrated by providing them with plenty of fluids. Water is always the optimal choice for hydration, but if your child seems resistant to drinking water, you can help them get more fluids through oral rehydration solutions such as Pedialyte, sports drinks, popsicles, juice, and clear broth.
Medicine
You may also administer over-the-counter medicines to your child to help ease their pain and discomfort while they have the flu. Cold and flu medicines can help with runny nose, sore throat, and congestion, while acetaminophen or ibuprofen can help with reducing fever and alleviating headaches.
Never give your child aspirin when they are sick with the flu. The use of aspirin to treat fever in children has been linked to Reye's disease, a condition that affects the liver and brain.
Additionally, make sure you give the correct doses to your children according to the instructions on the bottle. If your child is 6 years old or younger, contact your pediatric provider and ask whether it is safe to give your child medication.
Stay Healthy This Fall
Flu season can be a rough time for parents and children. We know your child’s health and safety are of the utmost importance to you because it’s important to us, too.
With this blog, we hope you feel confident as you navigate flu season with your kids this year. Call today to schedule your child’s flu vaccine at 972-355-7900, or if you have any questions for our office. You can also email us at phpflowermound@gmail.com or reach out through our website!
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