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Your fever should be gone without the need to use a fever-reducing medicine, such as Tylenol®. Until then, you should stay home from work, school, travel, shopping, social events, and public gatherings. When to give kids medicine for coughs and colds.
Flu or influenza is an infectious disease caused by the influenza virus. It affects the respiratory tract causing symptoms, such as cough, running nose, fever, and difficulty in breathing. Flu often resolves on its own with home management. If your baby develops a serious illness characterized by high fever, refusal to take feeds, excessive lethargy, or bluish skin, you must seek immediate medical help. Since babies are more vulnerable to develop serious illness, it is advisable to consult a doctor before trying home remedies.
Nutrition and Healthy Living
It’s the body’s natural medicine for an infection. Treating a fever too quickly can hinder the body’s defenses against a virus, mask your child’s symptoms, spread the virus, and cause detrimental side-effects. While treating your child’s flu symptoms at home may not be easy—and oftentimes is a little overwhelming—we’re here to help. And remember, it’s never too late to get a flu shotor to encourage family and friends to do the same. Don’t give your child cough or cold medicine when also giving him fever-reducing medicines unless under the direction of his doctor. Cough and cold medicines do not treat the flu, and some ingredients may cause serious side effects for children younger than 6 years old.
A spoonful of honey helps a coughing child sleep. You may find it difficult to measure out medications in the cups that are included with the bottle. If you’re concerned about using the provided measuring cup, talk to your local pharmacist. Many pharmacies can provide measuring syringes that are more precise. If your child is over 6 months old, you may also give ibuprofen to help control fever or pain. Use a cool-mist humidifier in your child’s room.
Fighting Kids’ Cold & Flu Symptoms: Calming A Cough
If you don’t think that baby is producing enough wet diapers, it might be a good idea to give him some Pedialyte. Flush her nose out before every feeding to keep her appetite up and ensure her caloric intake. It may not be at pandemic proportions yet, but it is particularly severe and uniquely widespread. Not only that, as I’m writing this post, this year’s vaccine only has an estimated 10% efficacy rate. For the mother of a baby under a year old, these facts are disconcerting.
Luckily, Vicks sells a non-medicated version for babies, Vicks BabyRub. BabyRub doesn’t contain the ingredients that smash mucus to smithereens but it does contain soothing fragrances like lavender and eucalyptus that provide some relief. Having said that, elevating your baby’s head is a bit of a double-edged sword. The American Academy of Pediatrics is clear about safe sleep. Your baby should sleep on a flat mattress for the lowest chance of SIDS. Also consider that research suggests that any elevated surface can obstruct an infant’s airways when used for long periods of time.
What’s The Difference Between The Flu And The Stomach Flu
There are many different influenza viruses, and in any given year some are more prevalent than others. Studies show that honey is safer and likely more effective than cough medicines for children over 1 year old. You shouldn’t give honey to children younger than a year old due to the risk of botulism. How to Differentiate Between the Signs and Symptoms of COVID-19, Allergies, Cold, and Flu? Coronavirus disease or COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2. Most people with COVID-19 will experience a mild to moderate respiratory illness and recover without the need for intensive or special treatment.
However, at this time she cautions against it because it can actually be harmful if your child has COVID-19 and not a common cold infection. Honestly, it can be downright scary learning how to treat the flu in toddlers. Not only are toddlers unable to fully voice their pains, but they will often fight you every step of the way. It’s hard to diagnose a sore throat in nonverbal toddlers, so it can be extremely difficult to treat it. However, if you notice a loss in appetite, extra crankiness, or a raspy voice, it might be time to try a few toddler sore throat treatments. Sometimes it’s easier to treat the flu in toddlers with outright trickery.
When to See a Doctor for the Flu
The use of antibiotics is also recommended to be restricted in babies due to the risk of antibiotic-resistance. Flu symptoms can cause a world of misery, from fever and cough to sore throat, nasal congestion, aches, and chills. As with sore throats, lozenges can help relieve a cough for older children who are not in danger of choking on them. A flu vaccine can help prevent your toddler from getting the flu in the first place. The vaccine is safe for everyone 6 months old and older and is offered every September. Oseltamivir may make your toddler's bout with the flu end a day or two early.
Experts recommend using a cold air humidifier rather than a traditional, heated humidifier. One of the more undignified moments of motherhood was when I sucked the snot out of my baby’s nose. There is nothing that strikes terror in the hearts of new moms more than the idea of her baby catching the flu. Always consult with your doctor before giving your toddler an echinacea supplement.
Unfortunately, the group with the highest risk is also the group that cannot get the flu vaccine. Infants 6 months and under are not approved for receiving the flu vaccine, which makes a parent’s job of protecting them from the flu that much more critical. Keep your unvaccinated baby and vaccinated children away from people who are sick. If your child’s fever is not going down, the symptoms are getting worse, their diapers are not wet, or they’re having trouble breathing, call the doctor right away. They may recommend you go to the emergency room if symptoms are severe. For babies 6 months of age and younger presenting with fever and irritability, Segura recommends Tylenol.
“This is especially true for babies under the age of 6 months who are at higher risk of complications,” she says. Starting antiviral therapy within 48 hours of symptoms can help lessen the severity and length of symptoms. Flu symptoms in babies are similar to those in older children and adults.
For the most part, toddlers love to copy everything you do. Try pretending to spray the saline up your own nose. Laugh, make silly faces, and ask him if he’d like to try. Eventually, when he lets you spray a little in his nose, you can try acting like it tastes good. When your toddler isn’t communicating verbally yet, it can be difficult to diagnose exactly what is wrong with him.
And it takes a couple of weeks for the body to develop antibodies against the influenza virus. Ask your child's doctor when it would be best to vaccinate them. If you're sick with the flu within 2 weeks after birth, your doctor may recommend that you take antiviral medications, because postpartum women are at high risk of flu complications. The common cold, COVID-19, and the flu are all respiratory illnesses, but they're caused by different viruses. With all of these circulating, it can be hard to tell what your child has. Flu infections are most common during "flu season," which lasts from approximately October to May.
How to Treat the Flu in Children
In this case, 84% of readers who voted found the article helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. There are 20 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. Leah Campbell is a full-time parenting and health writer and has written extensively on the topics of infertility, adoption, and parenting. She is a single mom by choice and author of the book "Single Infertile Female." If your baby hates an aspirator (let’s face it, we all do), you can use a humidifier to break up some of that congestion.
From the Medical College of Wisconsin School of Medicine in 1995 and completed her residency at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Pediatrics in 1998. She is a member of the American Medical Writers Association and the Society for Pediatric Urgent Care. If your child is under the age of six, then do not give him or her cough drops that contain eucalyptus. You can add a few drops of eucalyptus oil to a humidifier to help relieve congestion and sinus issues. You can also use dried leaves or fresh leaves in a topical rub.Do not give eucalyptus oil orally or allow a child to drink eucalyptus tea. Ginger has antiviral and antibacterial properties and may also help reduce the production of mucus.
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