The flu season is upon us. Those who are the most vulnerable are children and the elderly. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are recommending the following:
Advice on How to Fight Flu for Caregivers of Children Younger than 5 Years Old
- Take Time to Get a Vaccine
- A yearly flu vaccine is the first and best way to protect against flu.
- Flu vaccine has been shown to reduce the risk of flu illness, hospitalization, and death in children.
- If the child you care for is 6 months or older, they should get a flu vaccine each year.
- As a caregiver to a young child, you should get a flu vaccine, and make sure that other caregivers and all household members aged 6 months and older also get vaccinated each year. By getting vaccinated, you will be less likely to get flu and therefore less likely to spread flu to the child.
- Take Everyday Preventive Actions
- Keep yourself and the child in your care away from people who are sick as much as you can.
- If you get flu symptoms, avoid contact with other people when possible, including the child in your care. Consider arranging for another caregiver to care for the child if possible, so that you don’t make them sick.
- Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze—throw the tissue away after you use it, and wash your hands.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. If you are not near water, use an alcohol-based hand cleaner.
- Try not to touch your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs often spread this way.
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces, especially when someone is ill.
- Antiviral Drugs Can Treat Flu Illness
- Antiviral drugs are available to treat flu in children and adults.
- Antiviral drugs can make illness milder and shorten illness duration. They also may prevent serious flu complications.
- Antiviral drugs are different from antibiotics that treat bacterial infections. They are prescription medicines (pills, liquid or an inhaled powder) that are for treatment of the flu.
- Antiviral drugs work best when treatment is started within 2 days of becoming sick with flu, but starting them later can still be helpful, especially if the sick person is very sick with flu or is at high risk of serious flu complications. Follow your doctor’s instructions for taking or giving these drugs.
- Treating people who are very sick with flu or who are at high risk of complications from the flu with antiviral drugs can mean the difference between having a milder illness versus a very serious illness that could result in a hospital stay.
- CDC recommends that people at high risk of serious flu complications, including young children, should be treated with flu antiviral drugs as soon as possible if they get sick with flu.
- Although all children younger than 5 years old are considered at high risk for complications from flu, the highest risk is for those younger than 2 years old, with the highest hospitalization and death rates among infants younger than 6 months old.
Advice If You Are Sick with Flu and Care for Children Younger than 5 Years Old
Flu may cause fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills, and fatigue. Young children also may have vomiting or diarrhea with flu symptoms. It’s important to note that some people with flu may not have a fever. If you live with or care for a young child and you get flu symptoms, follow the precautions below to help prevent the spread of illness to the child or children in your care.
- Remember How Flu Spreads
- Flu viruses spread mainly by droplets made when people with flu cough, sneeze or talk. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby. People with flu can spread it to others up to about 6 feet away. Less often, a person might get flu by touching a surface or object that has flu virus on it and then touching his or her own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes.
- Follow These Steps
- Call your health care professional if you develop flu symptoms; they may prescribe antiviral drugs for flu, depending on factors including your age and overall health and the age and overall health of your young child or children.
- Try to minimize contact with the child in your care as much as possible, especially if the child in your care is younger than 2 years old or is an older child with chronic medical conditions. They are very vulnerable to the flu.
- Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when sneezing or coughing, and put your used tissue in a wastebasket, and wash your hands.
- Before engaging in any activity within about 6 feet of the child in your care (including feeding, changing, rocking, reading to your child) thoroughly wash and dry your hands. See more information about preventing the spread of seasonal flu.
- Be Watchful to See If Your Child Gets Sick Too
- Observe the child or children in your care closely for signs and symptoms of respiratory illness. If your child develops a fever* (or feels feverish with chills), cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle or body aches, headache, fatigue, or vomiting and/or diarrhea—contact your child’s health care provider.
- Flu antiviral drugs can be used to treat flu and are approved for use in children. These drugs are most beneficial when antiviral treatment is started as soon as possible after the illness starts, so it’s important to contact your child’s health care provider as soon as they exhibit flu symptoms.
- If your child demonstrates any Emergency Warning Signs of flu, seek medical care immediately.
For additional information, please visit https://www.cdc.gov/flu/
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