How to treat flu in child

Influenza (Flu) in Children | Johns Hopkins Medicine

What is the flu in children?

Influenza (flu) is a very contagious viral infection that affects the air passages of the lungs. It causes a high fever, body aches, a cough, and other symptoms. It's one of the most severe and common viral illnesses of the winter season. Most children are ill with the flu for less than a week. But some children have a more serious illness and may need to be treated in the hospital. The flu may also lead to lung infection (pneumonia) or death.

Because of COVID-19, the CDC says getting a flu vaccine is more important than ever to protect yourself and the people around you from flu. Flu vaccines and COVID-19 vaccines can be given at the same time. Talk with your healthcare provider about vaccines.

What causes the flu in a child?

The flu is caused by flu viruses. Flu viruses are divided into 3 types:

• Influenza types A and B. These 2 types of viruses cause widespread illness (epidemics) almost every winter. They often lead to more people needing to go to the hospital, and more people dying from the flu. Public health officials focus on stopping the spread of types A and B. One of the reasons the flu remains a problem is because the viruses change (mutate) often. This means that people are exposed to new types of the viruses each year.

• Influenza type C. This type of virus causes a very mild respiratory illness or no symptoms at all. It does not cause epidemics. It does not have the severe public health impact that influenza types A and B do.

A flu virus is often passed from child to child through sneezing or coughing. The virus can also live for a short time on surfaces. This includes doorknobs, toys, pens or pencils, keyboards, phones and tablets, and countertops. It can also be passed through shared eating utensils and drinking. Your child can get a flu virus by touching something that was touched by an infected person, and then touching their mouth, nose, or eyes.

People are most contagious with the flu 24 hours before symptoms start, and while symptoms are most active. The risk of infecting others often ends about day 5 to 7 of the illness. Because the flu can be spread before symptoms start, it’s easy to pick up a flu virus. This is true especially with children, who often touch many surfaces and then their mouth, nose, or eyes.

Which children are at risk for the flu?

A child is more at risk for the flu if they:

• Are around people infected with the flu

• Have not had the flu vaccine

• Do not wash their hands after touching infected surfaces

Young children and children with certain underlying health conditions are at increased risk for a hospital stay or severe or complicated influenza infection.

What are the symptoms of the flu in a child?

The flu is a respiratory disease, but it can affect the whole body. A child can become suddenly ill with any or all of these symptoms:

• Fever, which may be as high as 103°F (39. 4°C) to 105°F (40.5°C)

• Body aches, which may be severe

• Headache

• Sore throat

• Cough that gets worse

• Tiredness

• Runny or stuffy nose

In some cases, your child may also have symptoms such as:

• Nausea

• Vomiting

• Diarrhea

Most children recover from the flu within a week. But they may still feel very tired for as long as 3 to 4 weeks.

It’s important to note that a cold and the flu have different symptoms:

A cold is usually mild and often goes away after a few days. The flu can cause severe symptoms and lead to problems such as pneumonia and even death. Many flu symptoms may be caused by other health problems. Make sure your child sees their healthcare provider for a diagnosis.

How is the flu diagnosed in a child?

The healthcare provider will ask about your child’s symptoms and health history. They will give your child a physical exam. The symptoms are often enough to diagnose the flu. Other tests may be done such as a nose or throat swab. This depends on your child’s symptoms and overall health.

How is the flu treated in a child?

Treatment will depend on your child’s symptoms, age, and general health. It will also depend on how severe the condition is. The goal of treatment is to help prevent or ease symptoms.

Treatment may include medicines such as:

• Acetaminophen. This is to help lessen body aches and fever. Don't give aspirin to a child with a fever. 

• Antiviral medicine. This may help to ease symptoms, and shorten the length of illness. The medicine can lessen the chance of developing an ear infection from the flu. It may also be able to decrease other complications including the need for hospitalization. The medicine is most useful if started within 2 days after symptoms start. But it may be started later if the child is having complications or is at high risk for them.

Antibiotics aren’t effective against viral infections, so they are not prescribed. They may be used, though, if your child has developed bacterial pneumonia. Otherwise, treatment focuses on helping ease your child’s symptoms until the illness passes.

Talk with your healthcare providers about the risks, benefits, and possible side effects of all medicines.

Also make sure your child:

What are possible complications of the flu in a child?

The flu can cause severe breathing problems. A child with severe symptoms may need to stay in the hospital. The flu can lead to a lung infection called pneumonia. In some cases, the flu can lead to death.

Children who have other health conditions that affect breathing, such as asthma, are at greater risk for flu complications. Their asthma or other lung condition can also be triggered by the flu.

Children with the flu are also more likely to develop ear infections.

How can I help prevent the flu in my child?

The best way to prevent flu is to have the yearly flu vaccine. Each year, a new flu vaccine is available before the flu season starts. Flu shots and nasal spray are available. Talk with your healthcare provider if you have questions about how vaccines work and how well they prevent flu.

The flu vaccine is most often given as a shot into the muscle. For babies and young children, it's given as a shot in the thigh muscle. In older children, it's given as a shot in the upper arm muscle. It's also available as a nasal spray for healthy children over the age of 2, including teens who are not pregnant. Check with your child’s healthcare provider to see which is the best choice for your child.

The first time a child between the ages of 6 months and 8 years gets a flu vaccine, they will need a second flu vaccine 1 month later. This is to build up protection against the flu. Get your child’s first dose as soon as the vaccine is available. This allows the second dose to be given by the end of October. This will give your child the best protection for the flu season. After the first flu season, your child will need only 1 dose.

The vaccine is advised for all children 6 months and older. But for some children, it’s more critical for them to get a flu shot because they are more likely to have complications from the flu. The flu shot should be given to any child who has any of these:

• A long-term heart or lung condition

• An endocrine disorder such as diabetes

• A kidney or liver disorder

• Weak immune system from HIV/AIDS, long-term steroids, or other immune-suppressing medicines

• A blood disorder such as sickle cell disease

A flu shot should also be given to:

• A child who has a family member with a chronic health condition

• A child or teen taking aspirin as long-term therapy

• A child with parents or caregivers at high risk of complications from the flu

Some side effects of the vaccine can seem like mild flu symptoms. But the vaccine doesn't cause the flu. Side effects can be prevented by taking over-the-counter medicines such as acetaminophen. Never give your child aspirin without talking to your child's healthcare provider first. Possible side effects of the flu vaccine include:

• Soreness in the arm where the shot was given

• Short-term symptoms such as mild headache or a low-grade fever for about 1 day after the shot

• In rare cases, an allergic reaction in a child who has a severe allergy to eggs. Vaccines are available for those with an egg allergy.

In addition to the flu vaccine, you can do other things to help reduce your child’s risk of getting the flu. You can also:

And you can help prevent your child spreading the flu to others if you:

• Have your child cover their nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing. Use a tissue or cough or sneeze in the crook of the arm.

• Wash your hands before and after caring for your child.

• Clean surfaces in the home that others may touch.

When should I call my child's healthcare provider?

Call the healthcare provider if your child has:

Key points about the flu in children

• Influenza (flu) is a very contagious viral infection of the respiratory system.

• It causes a high fever, body aches, a cough, and other symptoms.

• Most children are ill with the flu for less than a week. But some children have a more serious illness and may need to be treated in the hospital. The flu may also lead to lung infection (pneumonia) or death.

• The flu may be treated with acetaminophen, cough medicine, and antiviral medicine. Your child will also need lots of rest and plenty of fluids.

• The best way to prevent flu is to have the yearly flu vaccine. The vaccine is advised for all children 6 months and older.

• Because of COVID-19, getting a flu vaccine is more important than ever to protect yourself and the people around you from flu.

Next steps

Tips to help you get the most from a visit to your child’s healthcare provider:

• Know the reason for the visit and what you want to happen.

• Before your visit, write down questions you want answered.

• At the visit, write down the name of a new diagnosis, and any new medicines, treatments, or tests. Also write down any new instructions your provider gives you for your child.

• Know why a new medicine or treatment is prescribed and how it will help your child. Also know what the side effects are.

• Ask if your child’s condition can be treated in other ways.

• Know why a test or procedure is recommended and what the results could mean.

• Know what to expect if your child does not take the medicine or have the test or procedure.

• If your child has a follow-up appointment, write down the date, time, and purpose for that visit.

• Know how you can contact your child’s provider after office hours. This is important if your child becomes ill and you have questions or need advice.

Tips for Treating the Flu (for Parents)

Reviewed by: Elana Pearl Ben-Joseph, MD

en español Consejos para tratar la gripe

What Is the Flu?

The flu (influenza) is a very contagious viral infection of the respiratory tract (nose, throat, and lungs). The flu can make someone feel pretty sick for up to a week.

How Is the Flu Treated?

The flu usually doesn't need medical treatment. Sometimes, doctors might prescribe an antiviral medicine for some people who have the flu. This medicine works best if given within the first 2 days of the illness. It can make flu symptoms milder and shorten the illness by a couple of days. But it has some side effects, so discuss the pros and cons of taking it with your doctor.

Doctors don't prescribe antibiotics for the flu. Antibiotics only work against bacteria, not viruses.

How Can I Help My Child?

If your child gets the flu:

• Offer plenty of liquids. Fever and appetite loss are common with the flu, and can lead to dehydration.
• Encourage your child to rest in bed or on the couch with a supply of magazines, books, quiet music, and perhaps a favorite movie.
• Dress your child in layers that are easy to add and remove during bouts of chills or fever.
• Give acetaminophen or ibuprofen for fever and aches. (Do not give aspirin unless your doctor tells you to. It has been linked to a rare but serious illness called Reye syndrome.)
• You can give over-the-counter cough or cold medicines to children over 6 years old if your doctor says it's OK. Follow the package instructions carefully so you give the right amount. Do not give these medicines to children under 6 years old because they can cause bad reactions.
• Running a cool-mist humidifier can help relieve coughs and runny or stuffy noses. Clean it after each use or at least once a day.
• Honey can help loosen a stubborn cough in children older than 12 months of age. Give 1–2 teaspoons of honey at night. Do not give honey to children under 12 months old.
• For a stuffy nose:
  • For babies: Put a few drops of saline (saltwater) into the nose, then gently suction the mucus out with a bulb syringe. Do this no more than 2–3 times a day so that the inside of your baby's nose does not get swollen or sore.
  • For older kids: Give 2 sprays of saline nose spray 3 times a day.

Take care of yourself and the other people in your family. If you haven't already, speak to your doctor about getting the flu vaccine for you and other family members. It's recommended yearly for everyone older than 6 months of age. Also, wash your hands well and often, especially after picking up used tissues.

If your doctor prescribes medicine to ease symptoms, call the pharmacist before you go to pick it up. In a severe flu season, some pharmacies might have trouble keeping the medicines in stock.

Kids who are sick should stay home from school and childcare until they:

• feel better
• have been fever-free for at least 24 hours without the use of a fever-reducing medicine

Reviewed by: Elana Pearl Ben-Joseph, MD

Date reviewed: November 2022

Influenza in children: symptoms and treatment

22.Nov.2019

Every year in autumn and winter there is a period of influenza epidemics. And if adults tolerate this disease relatively easily, then in children it can cause severe complications. The younger the child, the more dangerous the flu is for his health and life. Therefore, it is so important for parents to know how to act in order to reduce the possible risk.

• Influenza is a viral disease. Fighting the virus when a person is already sick is very difficult. Usually the body copes with such an invasion on its own, but the flu is fraught with the development of complications. nine0007 • Antibiotics may be needed by a child with the appearance of bacterial complications of the disease, but they have no effect on viruses.
• To prevent influenza, you should avoid contact with sick people, wash your nose with saline and get vaccinated.

Symptoms and development of the disease

The disease goes through several stages. The first - the incubation period - can last from 2 hours to 3 days, it all depends on the state of the child's immune system. In this phase, weakness and drowsiness may appear. nine0003

In the second stage, there is a headache, pain in the joints and muscles, the temperature rises, it can reach up to 40.5°C. It is painful for the baby to move his eyes, an almost transparent liquid flows from the nose, the nasopharynx swells strongly, the child cannot breathe through the nose. Then a barking cough appears, intestinal disorders may occur.

Gradually, the body copes with the virus and, although the temperature still persists, the ache in the bones and muscle pain disappears, and the discharge from the nose becomes thicker. After this, recovery occurs, however, with improper treatment, complications can develop. nine0003

What causes influenza in children?

The causative agent of influenza is a virus that constantly mutates, that is, it changes, so every year new varieties of it appear and it is necessary to re-vaccinate. In wet, cold weather, when our immunity is also reduced, influenza viruses become especially active. They are transmitted from one person to another by airborne droplets - with particles of saliva and sputum.

Once in the body, the influenza virus is embedded in the cell and changes its work, forcing to reproduce new microbes. When their number reaches a certain value, symptoms of the disease appear. nine0003

Consequences of influenza

Influenza in children is known for its severe complications. If the child's immunity is reduced, meningitis may develop, inflammation of the kidneys may begin - nephritis. These are the consequences of the spread of the virus throughout the body.

In tissues damaged by a microbe, including airways filled with sputum, various bacteria begin to multiply rapidly, so the flu has so-called bacterial complications. These include inflammation of the lungs (pneumonia) and otitis media (inflammation of the middle ear). nine0003

How is influenza diagnosed and treated in children?

For an accurate diagnosis, a nasopharyngeal swab should be taken, and only after a while it will become clear whether the child has the flu. But in practice, of course, not in all cases it is necessary to take tests, and treatment, as with many other infectious diseases, is prescribed without waiting for the results of the study.

It must be understood that viruses cannot be destroyed by antibiotics. Therefore, influenza therapy is aimed at maintaining immunity, which fights the virus. In addition, there are drugs that suppress its reproduction. nine0003

A child may need antibiotics only if there are bacterial complications, and a doctor should diagnose them and prescribe such drugs.

What can parents do?

First of all, as with any infection of the respiratory tract, you need to ventilate the room where the patient is, do not dress him too warmly and give him plenty to drink (preferably plain water).
With influenza, it is advisable not to give the child antipyretics until the temperature reaches 38.5 ° C, if he tolerates it well, since high temperature slows down the reproduction of viruses. nine0003

Ibuprofen syrup or paracetamol preparations can be used to lower the temperature. Aspirin for influenza is dangerous for children, as against the background of infection with a virus, it can cause fatal changes in the liver or brain.

To reduce fever, use one medication (containing ibuprofen or paracetamol) and follow directions exactly.

Combination cold medicines contain paracetamol, and when combined, there is a risk of overdose of this substance, which can cause liver toxicity. nine0003

It is safe to use a saline (saline) solution to treat a runny nose, and only a doctor can prescribe vasoconstrictor drops for a child.

Prevention of influenza is vaccination. Each year we are vaccinated against the type of virus that is expected based on the study of migration routes. These drugs can be administered to children from the age of six months. In addition, during the period of the epidemic, large crowds of people should be avoided and more often rinse the nose with saline.

how and how to treat the flu in a child?

Flu viruses in the midst of an epidemic do not spare anyone, especially babies. Children's immunity is imperfect, at an early age the body is not yet able to cope with the infection, and it needs help. Meanwhile, there are very few drugs that can be given to babies. How to treat flu in children? What medicines can defeat the virus, but will not harm the child's body? The answers to these questions are in the article.

What is the flu - we recognize the enemy by sight

Influenza is an acute infectious disease of viral origin that mainly affects the upper respiratory tract. In other words, this is a type of SARS caused by a special type of virus. But due to the more severe course and frequent complications, influenza is considered separately from other infections.

Scientists know three variants of influenza viruses: A, B and C (epidemics are usually provoked by the first two). Moreover, within each of them there are many subtypes. A distinctive feature of influenza viruses (primarily A) is the variability of the properties of proteins in their structure. Despite the fact that after recovery, immunity is formed for life, this does not exclude the possibility of getting sick again. Only the next time the disease will be caused by another, already changed, subtype of the virus. This explains the regularity of epidemics. nine0003

Like all acute respiratory viral infections, influenza is transmitted:

• by airborne droplets from people with obvious and erased forms of influenza - when sneezing, coughing, talking, patients release viral particles into the external environment;
• by contact when shaking hands with sick people, as well as when touching surfaces (for example, in public places, transport) that sick people have previously touched: from unwashed hands, the virus is transferred to the mucous membranes of the mouth, nose, eyes. nine0089

Those who become ill are contagious for five to seven days after the first symptoms appear. Influenza is a seasonal disease: epidemics occur mainly during the cold period.

Influenza affects everyone without exception, but it is especially dangerous for patients at risk. These are people with chronic diseases, the elderly, as well as children under five years of age: their immune system is not able to fight viruses, so they often get flu with complications and even carry the threat of death. nine0003

Signs of the flu: how to identify the disease at a glance

Considering how dangerous the flu is for the smallest, it is important to recognize the disease in time and start the right treatment. This is not always easy, because in terms of clinical manifestations, the disease resembles ordinary acute respiratory viral infections, and an accurate diagnosis can only be made based on the results of the tests. But still there are characteristic differences by which it can be determined that the child has the flu.

So, first, about the similarity of influenza with other SARS. Common manifestations of any respiratory viral infections are a rise in temperature and signs indicating inflammation of the upper respiratory tract mucosa. But if with “harmless” SARS in the clinical picture, a runny nose and sore throat come to the fore, then the flu is characterized by nasal congestion and a dry, painful cough. Symptoms of respiratory tract damage in children are not obvious and appear, as a rule, one to two days later than the symptoms of intoxication. nine0003

Now for the differences. The first of these is the onset of the disease. If a simple ARVI progresses slowly, sometimes imperceptibly, then the symptoms of influenza develop rapidly. The state of health deteriorates sharply within a few hours. In children, signs of infectious toxicosis quickly appear: lethargy, poor appetite, sleep disturbance. General weakness, appearing from the very beginning of the disease, is increasing. The child becomes apathetic, withdrawn, irritable, lethargic or, conversely, excited. A high fever is another typical symptom of the flu. In the first hours the temperature rises to 38°C and above) [1] . In common respiratory tract infections, the temperature rarely exceeds 38.5 ° C, while with influenza it can reach 39-40°С. In uncomplicated cases, fever lasts three to four days, gradually returning to normal. If the fever persists for longer, this is an occasion to urgently consult a doctor to rule out pneumonia and other complications.

As we have already indicated, severe intoxication is expressed with influenza. It is manifested not only by fever, but also by weakness, headaches, muscle pains. Headache is sometimes accompanied by photophobia and discomfort when moving the eyes.

Due to the age characteristics of the immune system in children under three years of age, all diseases, including influenza, develop differently than in adults. The onset of the disease is not so abrupt, and the symptoms are usually mild. The baby becomes restless, then lethargic, his appetite worsens. There is no severe fever: the temperature only rises slightly (up to 37.5 ° C) or remains normal at all. Signs of inflammation of the respiratory tract are expressed slightly. Sometimes parents notice a slight cough, sneezing. The skin of the child turns pale, a marble pattern appears on it. Babies often vomit when they have the flu. Toxic damage to the nervous system can also manifest itself in the form of seizures. nine0003

Although the symptoms are subtle, the disease in young children is severe and fraught with dangerous consequences. A viral infection is often complicated by a bacterial one; pneumonia can develop against the background of the flu [2] . Therefore, sick children should be under the vigilant attention of parents and pediatricians. If the doctor suspects that the child has the flu, it is likely that he will suggest hospitalization.

This is important

Clinical manifestations of influenza also depend on the form of the disease. Most often it is mild or moderate. But sometimes the disease is severe. In this case, all the symptoms are more pronounced. Rarely, but there are fulminant forms of influenza. The disease develops rapidly and quickly leads to complications that pose a serious threat to life. nine0072