Just a few days ago, Ding Dang heard from his colleagues that flu broke out in Hangzhou recently, and almost all pediatric outpatient clinics were crowded. Many children were unfortunately caught.
Ding Dang went to the National Influenza Center to check out the flu situation this year. It turned out that it was not only Hangzhou, but also the level of influenza activity in the country, whether in the south or north.
In other words, there may be many people suffering from influenza recently, and the number will continue to increase in the near future.
Many parents may think, "It's just a flu, it's not so serious", but in fact, the flu can be very serious.
Ding Dang invited a professional pediatrician today to take you to get to know the flu disease.
Influenza is not cold
People often like to use "cold" to explain all kinds of discomforts, but influenza is not "cold". influenza is caused by infection with the highly contagious influenza virus . At most, it is a cause of cold caused by .
In the 1 to 4 days after infection with the virus, the influenza virus will temporarily "get in harmony" with the body, and when the human immunity decreases due to certain factors, the virus will reproduce and damage the body.
After the virus enters the body, it will not "lie down" quietly. 24 to 48 hours before the onset of influenza symptoms, the influenza virus has begun to be excreted from the body through droplets, phlegm, etc. This process generally lasts for 3 to 8 days, while infants and young children can last for 1 to 3 weeks.
During this period, infected children (who may not have shown symptoms) will be highly contagious and will often pass the flu virus to their families or take it to public places such as schools, nurseries or communities.
Influenza is easily "misdiagnosed". Pay attention to distinguishing the symptoms of
influenza. Adults and children are similar, but they are just that children are not very good at expressing.
Children who are usually healthy may show mild flu after being infected with the influenza virus. Mild flu is no different from common cold , but it is more contagious, usually it will be cured in 2 to 3 days.
. Typical influenza usually occurs suddenly, from head to toe, and the following symptoms may occur:
Fever: will generally have fever for 3 to 5 days, and the body temperature can be as high as 39 to 40℃. It may cause fear of cold, chills, cold hands and feet, headaches, etc. The younger the child, the harder he can express himself. He may just be irritable, crying, etc.
Eye manifestations: Many children will also cry, have eye boredom or have slightly congested eyes, etc. If the child has these symptoms, don’t think it’s just conjunctivitis , and don’t classify these abnormalities as “angering”.
Symptoms of rhinitis : Rub your nose; sneeze; runny nose. If you don’t have too much snot, it will easily become a “bottle”; if your nose is congested, children may manifest as crying, whimpering, breathing or snoring.
Discomfort in the throat: Older children will say that their throats are dry, itchy and painful, while children may be more crying or afraid of eating, especially solid foods.
Cough: is mostly paroxysmal, not a constant cough. The number of coughs may not be very large each time, but they will be more frequent. At the same time, it is mostly dry cough.
Other discomforts: Old children may say that their muscles and joints are sore and weak. Children are prone to crying and clinging.
These symptoms may occur, but may not necessarily occur. The younger the child, the more atypical the symptoms are.
Babies before full months have fewer flu, but once they have flu, they are more likely to be associated with pneumonia and sepsis, which makes them appear drowsy, refusal to breastfeed, cry less, and move less.
What is scary is not the flu itself, but various complications
Most children infected with the flu will improve after 3 to 7 days. It often takes 1 to 2 weeks to recover from cough and physical strength, so the symptoms of the flu itself are not scary.
However, it will be very troublesome when influenza complications occur, such as laryngitis , acute otitis media , bronchitis, pneumonia, myocarditis , encephalitis, etc.
Among them, the condition of severe influenza is very dangerous, pneumonia often occurs, and dyspnea occurs, etc. This is also the primary cause of the flu death.
A large number of statistical results show that children under 5 years old are more likely to suffer from complications as they are younger. Babies under 2 years old are more likely to suffer from serious complications.
Common cold does not require antiviral treatment, but influenza requires
Common cold generally does not require antiviral treatment, but influenza requires.
2 Children under the age of 2 are prone to influenza complications. When a flu is diagnosed or suspected, antiviral treatment should be started as soon as possible regardless of the underlying disease, the immune status of the influenza vaccine, and the degree of influenza condition. It is ideal to start treatment within 48 hours of the onset of the disease.
But over time, influenza viruses are prone to drug resistance.
Since October 2015, drug resistance monitoring has shown that alkamines have little effect on influenza A H1N1 and A(H3N2) subtypes.
So, when faced with influenza, parents should not use drugs such as adamantine, adamantine and other drugs to fight influenza. These are not only useless, but may also have adverse reactions such as anxiety, inattention, and headaches.
No matter how good the treatment is, it is not as good as the prevention
1. Getting influenza vaccination
This is the most effective prevention method. The protective effect begins 2 to 4 weeks after vaccination, and the protection intensity gradually decreases after 6 to 8 months. Therefore, the vaccine needs to be vaccinated every year to obtain effective protection.
Usually, babies over 6 months old can start getting influenza vaccination. Children under 8 years of age have better protective effects than 1 dose of vaccination for the first time (the interval between 2 doses should be ≥4 weeks).
If there is a baby at home, then adults who will have close contact with the baby should also receive the flu vaccine.
2. Taking anti-influenza drug
drug prevention cannot replace vaccination and can only be used as a temporary preventive measure that has not been vaccinated or has not yet obtained immunity after vaccination. The course of treatment is generally 1 to 2 weeks.
3. Pay attention to the details of life
(1) Wash your hands frequently, use soap or hand sanitizer and wash your hands with running water, and do not wipe your hands with a dirty towel. Wash your hands immediately after contacting respiratory secretions (such as after sneezing).
(2) Use a handkerchief or tissue to cover your mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing to avoid droplets from infecting others. Flu family members wear masks at home or when they go out to avoid spreading to others.
(3) During the high incidence of influenza, try not to have crowded places and polluted air. It is best to wear a mask when you have to go there.
(4) Eat a balanced diet, exercise moderately, and rest sufficiently to avoid excessive fatigue.
(5) Pay attention to opening the windows for ventilation to keep the indoor air fresh.
