There’s a lot of confusion about what’s a cold and what’s flu. We all know flu is a lot more serious and can make us much more inadequately. But how might these symptoms manifest in children? What complications are there if you ’re pregnant? Read on to find out what you need to know about these common downtime ails.
cold? or flu?
The symptoms of cold and flu can be relatively analogous, and it can be especially delicate to tell them piecemeal in children who ca n’t inescapably explain to us what’s passing to their bodies. As an grown-up we’ve a sense when an illness is worse than a normal cold wave, and we can describe directly which corridor of our body hurt, and how important.
The main effects you ’ll notice if your child has flu are
· They will get ill snappily
· They’re veritably likely to have a fever/ high temperature
· If they’re at an age where they can speak, they might say everything hurts – this is because flu makes our muscles pain
· They will probably be too tired and bad to want to play
· They will feel inadequately for longer
If it’s a cold
· It’ll come on further gradationally
· The main symptoms will be a potty nose and a mild sore throat
· They wo n’t feel too inadequately or tired, and should be suitable to continue playing and have energy for their usual conditioning
· They should recover fairly snappily
so what’s flu?
Flu( a docked term for influenza) is a common contagious contagion which is spread by coughs and sneezes. It can be horrible and make you feel really grungy for around a week. You can catch it at any time of the time, but it’s more common in the downtime months.
It can be really nasty for children, and children under the age of 5 have a advanced sanitarium admission rate for flu compared to other age groups.
What are the symptoms of flu in children?
· A fever or high temperature of 38C or above
· A dry and chesty cough – your child might indicate it’s coming from their body by pointing at their casket
· A headache
· Earache
· Feeling tired and weak
· paining each over
· Diarrhoea or breadbasket pains
· Feeling sick and being sick
· A sore throat
· A watery or stuffed up nose
· Sneezing
These last 3 symptoms are what can confuse flu with a cold wave, but with flu, these cold– suchlike symptoms are generally less severe than the other symptoms( ie the fever, cough and pangs).
how long muscle flu last?
still, you ’re likely to start feeling ill within a many days of being infected, If you ’ve been spending time with someone with flu. You ’ll be contagious from the day your symptoms start and for 3 to 7 days after that, although children can remain contagious for longer than grown-ups – one of the reasons flu spreads so fluently in childcare settings and seminaries!
If your child does have flu they should recover within a week but they might feel more tired than usual for a while longer.
my child surely has flu and not a cold wave – how do i treat it?
It’s important to know you ca n’t get antibiotics for flu because it’s a contagion. You can generally look after your child at home and do n’t need to see a croaker .
Treatment at home
· Make sure your child gets as important rest as possible
· Keep them doused – water or weak squash is stylish, belted constantly
· Speak to your druggist about suitable drug for your child, depending on their age range. The applicable cure of ibuprofen or paracetamol will help relieve symptoms, but flash back you should noway give aspirin to children under 16
· Keep your child warm to help them recover more snappily
Keep your child off academy until their symptoms haveeased.However, or are getting worse, or if you feel commodity just is n’t right with your child, If the symptoms last longer than a week.
are there any complications that flu can beget?
Although flu is a contagion, it can lead to infections that would bear seeing your croaker , and frequently, a course of antibiotics. In some cases your child may need to be treated in sanitarium. These infections include
· observance infections
· Bronchiolitis
· Pneumonia
In children who have asthma, flu can make their symptoms much worse and you should consult your croaker if you have any enterprises.
It’s rare, but flu can bring on a febrile seizure, especially in babies – this is a fit brought on by fever or a high temperature. Flu can also develop into life– hanging meningitis and sepsis. You can find out each about febrile seizures, meningitis and sepsis at our award winning 2 hour baby and child class
what if i ’m pregnant?
There’s a threat that catching flu whilst pregnant could beget problems with your gestation. It can beget unseasonable labour or result in a low birth weight for your baby. Speak to your croaker or midwife about what you can do to avoid catching flu whilst you’re pregnant.
precluding flu
Your child will be offered a nasal flu spray if they’re over 2. presently, this is available for all primary aged children, and some secondary academy aged children. Children with long term health conditions will also be offered a vaccine, but this would be an injection rather than the nasal spray. The vaccine isn’t obligatory, and you’ll be asked to give informed concurrence. You can find out further about this on the NHS website.
Other measures to help the spread of flu include – you ’ve guessed it – good hygiene. Not as easy as it sounds with coughing spluttering kiddies touching everything in sight! Try your stylish to
· Help them wash their hands regularly with cleaner and warm water
· Clean toys they ’ve been playing with and regularly wipe down door handles, restroom flushes and sinks
· Follow them around with a massive gob of apkins!
· Put any used apkins straight into the caddy as soon as you can
We hope this has given you a better sapience into what to anticipate should your family come down with flu, but fritters crossed you make it through the downtime without encountering this seasonal nasty.
All the stylish, Mini First Aid xx
Sources NHS UK, NHS Inform Scotland
