Fever is something that every parent is extremely worried about, especially when the A flu is raging, many children will get more than 40 degrees Celsius at any time, and there are no other obvious symptoms. Most children only have mild coughs and runny noses. Some will cause muscle aches, and some will cause stomach pain and vomiting, which makes every parent panic. What are the symptoms of fever that should be worried about? Is oseltamivir effective? When will you be hospitalized?
How many days will it work after taking oseltamivir?
According to the CDC statistics of the US Bureau of Disease Control, the course of discomfort can be shortened by 1-2 days after using oseltamivir. As for the prevention of severe influenza complications, such as pneumonia, myocarditis , encephalitis, and multiple organ failure, the evidence is not very clear. However, we should remind everyone that children, elderly people older than 65 years old, pregnant women, or patients with chronic diseases (asthma, heart disease...) have a higher chance of complications after getting influenza.
Studies have confirmed that oseltamivir is recommended to be used within two days of symptoms, and the symptoms will improve more significantly, but this tests the speed of the doctor's diagnosis and the acuity of the children's families! But don’t worry too much, it will still work if you use it for more than two days.
In addition, oseltamivir is not a fever-reducing drug. oseltamivir can prevent influenza A and influenza B from entering our cells and reducing replication. Therefore, there may be repeated fever at the beginning. According to experience, there may be repeated fever for another 2 days. Most patients will have symptoms significantly improved after taking the treatment for 5 days, but respiratory symptoms such as cough will be delayed for a long time.
What are the symptoms that should be alert after taking oseltamivir?
Most influenza patients can recuperate at home, but if the following dangerous signs appear, it is recommended to visit the hospital immediately.
Tough breathing, purple lips, bloody phlegm, chest pain (worry about pneumonia)!
Conversation of consciousness, severe headache, continuous vomiting (worrying for complications of encephalitis or meningitis)
Poor appetite, decreased activity (it is still poor after the fever is reduced)
After all, the development of the disease is a process, and it may worsen at the beginning. The family needs to be alert and help the doctor observe it together, but not every child must be hospitalized if they get influenza.
What are the side effects of oseltamivir? Can children take oseltamivir if they are so young?
The main side effect of oseltamivir is nausea and vomiting, which will occur in about 10% of people. Most of them are taken on an empty stomach, so oseltamivir should be taken after meals. According to the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatric Medicine, oseltamivir can be used to treat children over 2 weeks old, or to prevent children over 3 months old.
How to isolate the flu from? How long will it take to isolate?
(1) Sleep alone and don’t need to bring a mask alone in the room. You have to wear the mask when you leave the room.
(2) Do not eat with your family, because the mask must be taken off during meals. Sneezing and coughing will cause droplet infection. Therefore, let the infectious patients eat on their own plates and eat at a distance of more than 1 meter away. Wash the tableware with dishwashing essence, and do not mix it with your family.
(3) Please throw the toilet paper used by the patient in a specific trash can in the room by yourself, because these snot and saliva contain a lot of viruses. If you accidentally touch it, rub your hands with soap.
After getting influenza, it may be transmitted to others one day before the onset to 3-7 days after the symptoms appear. Because it is during a high fever, the contagiousness is even more amazing, so it is best to isolate for one week. If the fever subsides quickly, the infectiousness will be relatively low. Parents should notify the teacher that their children will test positive for the quick screening and need to be quarantined at home.
Parents must be very anxious when children get influenza, but when seeing a doctor, you should still remember to respect each other! After all, everyone hopes that the child will recover as soon as possible, so try to keep the negative emotions as good as possible. In addition, if a child who has not received the flu vaccine this time, please remember to get the vaccine next time! Evidence tells us that flu vaccines can reduce the risk of infection and reduce the severity after infection!
