< But now that we’re starting flu season,
what can we expect? Will H1N1 rebound this fall like the 1918 flu
epidemic causing severe illness in many people, or will it be just
another pesky bug that keeps us home this year? “For the most
part, it (H1N1) has been mild,” says Galit Holzmann-Pazgal, MD,
assistant professor of pediatrics at The University of Texas Medical
School at Houston, adding that there is no evidence that the virus has
mutated into a different, more dangerous strain at this time. That
doesn’t mean H1N1 should be taken lightly, Pazgal says. The virus has
caused severe illness and deaths nationwide; much like the seasonal flu
does every year. More than 1 million Americans have been infected with
H1N1 and nearly 600 have died from it, according to the Centers for
Disease Control’s estimates. Severe illness is more common in persons
with underlying medical conditions. So far this fall, outbreaks
of H1N1 have been worst in southeastern states, although cases are
picking up in Texas. The volume of patients coming into the emergency
room with flu-like symptoms has increased since school has started,
says Pazgal, she also is medical director of infection control at
Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital. Parents can ease their
anxieties by arming themselves with facts about H1N1 and using the
following commonsense tips to get through this stressful flu season. *Wash your hands after you touch...and Twitter Washing
your hands is the single-most important step to prevent the spread of
H1N1. The virus is spread by droplets from coughs and sneezes as well
as touching hands and objects contaminated with these droplets. H1N1
can survive on surfaces for two to eight hours. After contracting H1N1,
you can be contagious up to 24 hours before becoming ill, and up to
seven days after your symptoms first appear. Younger kids spread
the virus easily because their personal hygiene leaves something to be
desired. But, your ultra-connected tweens and teens also can spread the
virus when they handle each other's phones, computer keyboards, iPods
and video games. Encourage your kids to use hand sanitizer and
sanitizing wipes after each use. “Every kid should be armed with
their own bottle of Purell and know when to use it,” says Houston mom
and businesswoman Gail Gerber Stalarow, who had H1N1 this summer
together with her sons, ages 14 and 11. *Know the symptoms Fatigue
and fever were the main symptoms in her family, she says. Other
symptoms of H1N1 include body aches, runny or stuffy nose, cough, sore
throat and fever, headache, chills, diarrhea and vomiting. “We had such
light cases,” she says. “My younger son never had a fever higher than
102.5 and my older son truly had fever only one day and felt better a
few days later.” *Know when it is an emergency Unfortunately,
not all youngsters are as lucky, and may become severely ill from H1N1.
Call your doctor if your child has symptoms including rapid breathing,
not drinking enough, fussiness or if symptoms improve and then return
with fever and worsened cough. Take your child to the emergency room
immediately if he has trouble breathing, bluish or gray skin color, has
severe or persistent vomiting, is not easily aroused from sleep or is
not interacting with others. *With mild cases, call your doctor first If
your child just feels lousy, and doesn’t have a high fever or trouble
breathing, call your pediatrician instead of heading to the hospital.
If it is a mild illness in which there is no evidence of respiratory
distress, I would definitely avoid the emergency room, because your
wait time is probably long, and you don’t need emergency care,” says
Pazgal. Ask to talk to your doctor or his office staff first
before you make an appointment. Depending on your child’s health
history, your doctor may want to prescribe treatment over the phone to
avoid spreading the virus to others. *If it looks like the flu, treat it like the flu If
you do go in, your doctor may give your child the rapid influenza
diagnostic flu test that can determine whether your child has the flu
and the general strain of the flu, but not whether it is H1N1. The
Texas Department of Health is "sub-typing" for H1N1 only in seriously
ill patients admitted to the hospital. False negative tests are common
with the rapid flu test (both Stalarow and her younger son tested
negative, but a retest revealed her son had the flu virus) so a
negative test doesn’t definitively rule out an infection with influenza
virus. Your doctor may decide to start treatment if your child
has an underlying condition that places her at high risk. If the office
is full of flu cases, your child’s buddies all have the flu and your
child has symptoms—it is likely that she has the flu. If your
child has the symptoms and is in an at-risk group, your doctor may
choose to treat her with oseltamivir (Tamiflu) or zanamivir (Relenza),
antivirals that shorten the duration and severity of the illness for
H1N1 virus. The CDC currently recommends treatment of H1N1 only
for persons who are hospitalized with the flu or who have an underlying
medical condition that places them at high risk. Others not in these
categories do not usually need treatment. Otherwise, drinking
lots of fluids and resting at home are the recommended treatment. If
your child develops a secondary infection, your doctor may prescribe
antibiotics to counteract opportunistic bacteria. *Keep the kids home He’ll
be heartsick of course, but your sick child should stay home for at
least 24 hours after his fever is gone (without the use of a
fever-reducing medicine) except to get medical care or for other
necessities, according to the CDC. That’s the amount of time most
school districts require students to stay home for any illness, and
quite a difference from the seven days that was previously recommended
during the spring outbreak. Try to keep your child away from
others as much as possible. Encourage her to cover her mouth and nose
with a tissue when coughing or sneezing, throw away used tissue in the
waste basket, and to clean her hands every time she coughs or sneezes. “We
washed our hands more than ever,” says Stalarow of her family’s
attempts to stem the spread of germs after they got sick. “My kids were
really considerate. They didn't open the refrigerator with their hands,
they wiped off surfaces they touched and used Purell. Now, even though
we aren’t sick anymore, we are still being proactive in terms of
hygiene.” *Start the vaccinations Federal officials expect
release of the H1N1 vaccine in October. The vaccine may require a
second shot given three weeks after the first. It may take another two
weeks before the vaccine fully protects the body against the flu.
Recent studies showed that one shot may protect against H1N1,
stretching the supply of the vaccine. Until the H1N1 shot is
ready, Pazgal advises families to go ahead and get the “regular” flu
shot, which protects against the seasonal flu and is already available.
That way, your children won’t get the flu twice in one season. The
seasonal flu can be more dangerous than H1N1. Annually, an estimated
36,000 people die from flu-related complications and more than 200,000
people are hospitalized from flu-related causes. Of those hospitalized,
20,000 are children younger than 5 years. If your child had
H1N1 over the spring or summer, she will have some immunity to the
virus. However, if you aren’t sure that your child had H1N1 (she wasn’t
tested or had a false negative), the CDC recommends vaccinating anyone
between 6 months and 24 years of age. Other at-risk groups that should
get the vaccine include pregnant women, people who live with or care
for children younger than 6 months of age, health care and emergency
medical services personnel, and people ages of 25 through 64 years of
age who are at higher risk for 2009 H1N1 because of chronic health
disorders or compromised immune systems. Live your lives
“It is understandable that parents may have a sense of panic about H1N1, but we need to remain as calm as we can.” Pazgal says.>>
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