Feb 26, 09 | Posted by: David Melbye, M.D.

Influenza – It’s here

Influenza is here, including in my house.  Influenza is the disease  you and your kids (hopefully) got the flu shot for.  It is  a respiratory illness with high fevers up to 104 degrees for up to 5 days, chills, headache, cough, runny nose, sore throat, myalgias (muscle or joint pain) and malaise.  It is not the “stomach flu”. 

Most kids who get this feel miserable, it is worse than the common cold we see the rest of the winter.  If your kids did get the flu shot, the good news is the strains were matched pretty well this year, particularly for Influenza A.  This is good because if they do catch the flu, they should get a much more mild case.  Imagine, things can always be worse.  There are some medicines to treat influenza, but there is a lot of viral resistance to these because they have been used so much in the past.  They also have to be started within 24-48 hours of the onset of symptoms and only shorten the duration of the illness by 24 hours.  Another problem is these medicines have some unpleasant side effects, like abdominal cramping.  Because of all of this we don’t give these medicines out.  The things you can use to help your kids feel better are regular Tylenol and Ibuprofen.  Don’t use cough and cold medicines, they don’t work.  You should also encourage them to stay hydrated and get rest. 

Most community outbreaks of flu last 4-8 weeks.  Kids are contagious from 24 hours before the onset of symptoms and the 7 days afterwards.  They are most contagious with influenza during the time when they have fevers.  It is most contagious amongst school-age children, who then give it to their parents.  So if you are having flu symptoms, this time you can blame your kids.  Of course if you had gotten a flu shot too….

As always, watch out for new fevers late into the illness, trouble breathing, or any other concerning symptoms.  If any of this happens give your doctor a call.  Kids can get secondary ear infections (both of mine did) or pneumonia when they have the flu.  Hang in there.  It may not be spring quite yet, but the Brewers are playing baseball again so it can’t be far away.

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