Educational/Care Guide for the Flu

Flu has hit our area. While the numbers of children affected by this presumed H1N1 (or swine) flu are staggering, and the media reports are frightening, the VAST majority of infected children are handling it very well.

The symptoms of H1N1, or swine flu, are similar to the symptoms of seasonal flu and include fever, cough, nasal congestion, sore throat, body aches, headaches, chills, vomiting and fatigue.

Tamiflu, an antiviral medication, is prescribed only for high risk flu patients, and must be initiated within the first 48 hours of symptoms. High risk patients include children over 1 year and under 5 years old, patients with underlying medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease and epilepsy.

Unless your child falls into one of these high risk categories, flu testing is not recommended and treatment is strictly supportive to make the child comfortable until symptoms resolve on their own. Treatment includes rest, fluids and fever control. If fevers are not responding to one medication, a full does of Tylenol can be alternated with a full does of Motrin every 3 hours. This alternating schedule is recommended for children over 6 months old, and is very effective at keeping fevers down.

Motrin dosing chart
Tylenol Dosing chart

All influenza is highly contagious, so it is recommended that all kids with suspected flu stay home until at least 24 hours after the fever resolves. As always, cough and sneezes should be covered, and good hand washing is essential. Typically children with flu are most ill in the first few days, then symptoms gradually resolve, but complications can occur with both seasonal flu and H1N1 flu. If your child experiences difficulty breathing, bluish or grayish discoloration, dehydration, severe vomiting, increasing lethargy or irritability, your child needs to be examined. Also, if fevers have resolved, but recur after a day or two, your child needs an appointment. In general, if you are concerned that your child is deteriorating in any way, an evaluation is recommended.

We recommend that when the H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccines become available, all children should be vaccinated, except those with egg allergy or less than 6 months old. Many patients ask about the time frame to receive these vaccines – they are recommended from now until the end of the flu season, which can be late spring. Our phone message will be updated daily as vaccines become available.

If you’d like more information on flu, we recommend you to refer to flu.gov or CDC.gov.

We hope we have answered many of your questions about flu.

Thank you for being patient during this busy time.

Dr. Kiernan
Dr. Leddy
Dr. O’Brien
Dr. Williams
Dr. Empie