Children and the Flu

Influenza is a virus that can spread very quickly and easily. It’s a respiratory illness that spreads through coughing and sneezing. Few people realize that a sneeze or a cough can send influenza viruses as far as three feet away! When these viruses find their way towards a person’s nose or mouth, they will become infected with the illness. Since proper hygiene is the most important step in preventing the flu, it can be difficult to keep your children healthy when flu season comes around. Schoolyards can be breeding grounds for the influenza virus, and entire classrooms can become affected. In this article, we’ll offer some tips for keeping your child safe from the flu.

The most important thing that you could ever teach your child about the flu is to wash their hands regularly. The most common method of passing on the flu can be prevented if your child can adhere to strict hygiene. You may want to consider giving your child a small bottle of hand sanitizer so that they can keep clean when the need arises. Another thing to consider is getting your child to get the vaccine for the flu. Vaccines for the flu change from year to year, as different strains of the illness become dominant while others fade away. To that end, it’s important to get your child vaccinated before flu season occurs (in the wintertime). The vaccines have been shown to be between seventy and ninety percent effective when it comes to stopping influenza from affecting an individual. If your child is scared of needles, you may want to consider the new nasal spray vaccine that has become available for dealing with the flu.

Despite your best preparations, sometimes your child will get sick. One of the most important things that you can do for the welfare of your child’s classmates is to keep them out of school if they are infected with influenza. While it may be troublesome to organize child care and you may feel bad making the call, it’s in the class’s best interests to keep those who are infected at home. Studies have shown that one infected individual can pass the illness on to as many as 180 people within the span of the day, showing how drastically influenza can spread. To lessen your child’s problems with the flu, you may want to consider speaking to a physician who can prescribe antiviral drugs to help combat the virus. These antiviral drugs inhibit the virus’s ability to replicate, causing it to be less infectious and making the symptoms go away at a quicker pace. For at-home care, be sure to keep your child in bed, giving them plenty of rest and ensuring that they are getting a lot of fluids. Chicken soup has been a time-honored method of dealing with the flu, and it may contain antibiotic properties which can really help your body to fight the virus. If your child is in serious pain, be sure to consult a doctor to ensure that the illness is not causing extreme damage to your child’s livelihood.