Seasonal Flu
Seasonal flu, like other diseases, affects different people in different ways. For some it can mean a few days home from school or work while for others it can become much more serious. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 5% to 20% of the population contracts seasonal influenza each year resulting in about 200,000 hospitalizations and anywhere between 3,300 to 48,600 (average 23,600) deaths from flu-related causes.
Influenza complications can include severe bacterial pneumonia, dehydration and worsening of chronic medical conditions such as congestive heart failure, asthma or diabetes. Inflammation of the heart (myocarditis) may also occur as a result of a flu infection. The CDC recommends an annual flu vaccine as the first and best way to protect against influenza. Each season, people should get the flu vaccine as soon as it’s available and they can continue to get the vaccine into January and beyond. Annual outbreaks of the seasonal flu usually occur during the fall through early spring.
Is My Family at Risk?
During a "typical" flu season, the majority of deaths resulting from seasonal flu occur in the elderly. However, the highest rates of infection and hospitalization are among young children. The 2009-2010 flu season was not "typical". The 2009 H1N1 strain of influenza did not cause much sickness in the 65 years and older population and was much more likely to cause illness, serious complications and even death in young people and pregnant women. Even healthy children and adults can get the flu and it can be serious. Also, keep in mind that healthy people can spread the flu to those individuals with weaker immune systems and it can result in serious illness. It’s important to protect your family and those around you from getting sick.
People 2 through 64 years of age with certain chronic conditions or a weakened immune system are at higher risk for developing pneumococcal disease after a flu infection. You can learn more about this disease and the vaccines to protect against the illness on the CDC's Web page.
What Are the Symptoms?
Common symptoms of the flu include fever, headache and/or body aches, fatigue, coughing and/or sore throat, and runny or stuffy nose, and chills. Many people confuse the flu with the common cold, which are both respiratory illnesses but are caused by different viruses. In general, colds are milder. Symptoms such as fever, body aches, extreme tiredness and dry cough are more common and intense with the flu and influenza can result in serious health problems such as pneumonia, bacterial infections or hospitalizations.
For an easy-to-read chart on cold vs. seasonal flu symptoms, click here. If you suspect your child has the flu, you should contact his or her pediatrician immediately. If any family member is diagnosed with the flu, the CDC recommends that they stay home for at least 24 hours after their fever (100F or 37.8C) is gone (without the use of a fever-reducing medicine, such as Tylenol®).
What Can I Do to Protect My Family?
The flu vaccine is the best way to protect your family against the disease. The medical community recommends that everyone over 6 months of age receive the flu vaccine. Since the flu vaccine is not approved for use in infants younger than 6 months old, the best way to protect these children is to make certain that their household contacts and caregivers are vaccinated.
Immunization is especially important for people at high risk of serious flu complications including children less than 5 years of age, pregnant women, people 65 years of age and older, people with chronic health conditions, people who live in nursing homes/long-term care facilities, and people who live with or care for those at high risk for complications from flu.
Influenza can cause serious harm to pregnant women and their babies. To protect them both, pregnant women in all trimesters and women who are breastfeeding should make certain to talk to their doctor about receiving the seasonal flu vaccine.
A new seasonal flu vaccine is created and distributed every year. While there are many different flu viruses, the flu vaccine protects against the three viruses that research suggests will be the most common that season. The 2011-2012 seasonal flu vaccine protects against the same three flu viruses as the 2010-2011 vaccine: a H3N1 virus, an influenza B virus, and the 2009 H1N1 virus. It’s generally rare for the same three influenza virus strains to be chosen for the flu vaccine from one season to the next, but this has happened before.
Even if you and your family members received the flu vaccine last season, you still need to get vaccinated again this year. Annual vaccination is recommended because a person’s immune protection from vaccination declines over time. Therefore, annual vaccination is needed for optimal protection.
There are two different kinds of flu vaccine your family may be able to receive- the flu shot and the nasal spray. Both are effective against the flu. Talk to your doctor about which is better for you and your family.
In addition to the flu vaccine, medical professionals recommend that you and your children wash your hands frequently, avoid touching your eyes, noses or mouths and try to avoid close contact with sick people. However, if someone in your family does get the flu, you may want to talk to your doctor about prescription antiviral drugs, which can prevent the rest of the family from becoming ill and lessen the symptoms of flu. Antivirals will only help those who have contracted the flu if it is taken within two days of experiencing symptoms.
For more tips on how you can prevent and treat the flu, check out www.preventchildhoodinfluenza.org and www.flu.gov.