What to do if my child has swine flu? And when to call 999
Experts are recommending that antivirals are of little to no benefit for children who contract seasonal flu let alone swine flu.
If a child is confirmed as having swine flu it is recommended by the NHS that they stay at home and have their symptoms treated like any other cold or flu.
Make sure you are 100 per cent sure your child has swine flu. Trust your own parental instinct. If you are not happy with the diagnosis of swine flu by internet, phone or even NHS Direct, then get a second or a third medical opinion.
It is important to know the symptoms of meningitis as medical attention should be urgently sought should your child have this.
Symptoms of meningitis
Bacterial meningitis begins suddenly and quickly worsens. If you think your child has meningitis dial 999 and ask for an ambulance. Forget English reserve and the Pandemic Flu Service. Meningitis is a killer.
Symptoms of fever with severe pain in the legs or hands, cold hands or feet, or pale skin and blue lips are the early warning signs of meningitis.
In children watch out for:
Terrible headache
Fever and high temperature
Being sick
Drowsy and listless
Confusion
Fits
Dislike of bright lights
Stiff neck
In babies and young children watch out for:
Becoming floppy or unresponsive
Irritable and not wanting to be held
Unusual crying
Being sick
Refusing feeds
Pale, blotchy skin
Loss of appetite
Not wanting to wake up
Staring expression
A swelling of the fontanelle or soft part of the head
If you are sure your child doesn’t have meningitis but you don’t think it is swine flu it could be that they have a bacterial infection rather than a viral one.
Bacterial infections are caused by bacteria and viral infections are caused by viruses.
When infectious bacteria gets into the body it makes people sick. Bacteria can make toxins that damage the cells they have infected.
Viruses are different. They do not live like bacteria and require living hosts such as people or animals to multiply. Viruses invade cells and make them produce the virus possibly even killing the cells.
It is important to get a correct diagnosis between a bacterial or viral infection because medication prescribed for one is not effective against the other.
Bacterial infections should be treated with antibacterial antibiotics.
Viruses should be treated with antiviral antibiotics.
Taking the wrong medication for the wrong type of infection can be harmful for two reasons. Firstly because the original infection will not be treated. This can lead to serious complications. Taking the wrong type of medicine is also harmful for the body.
Limitations in the way that swine flu is being diagnosed has led to the misdiagnosis of bacterial/viral infections and the subsequent incorrectly prescribed medicine.
A toddler has also died of meningitis having been caught out in the swine flu diagnosis system.
So what is seasonal flu?
Flu is an infections disease of the lungs and upper respiratory tract.
How long does flu last
It can take between one to four days from infection to symptoms to manifest. You can be infectious from the day before the start of symptoms then five days afterwards.
Symptoms are at their worst within two to three days. Within five to eight days patients should feel better, though fatigue can last for several weeks afterwards.
What are the main symptoms of seasonal flu?
Fast developing fever with a temperature of 38-40C
General aches and pains
Sweating
Fatigue
Sneezing
Blocked or runny nose
Loss of appetite
Nausea
Dry chesty cough
In children, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea is common
In babies and young children drowsiness and poor feeding is common.
How do I catch it?
Flu is spread when an infected person coughs and sneezes and spreads their diseases.
It’s worth keeping those hands clean and sanitised as direct contact with contaminated hands also spread flu.
How do I treat it?
So far, seasonal flu and swine flu are similar. The NHS direct website recommend that fit, healthy people and children should treat their swine flu symptoms at home using over the counter remedies in the same way they would treat seasonal flu.
Infected people should stay at home in bed for as long as the acute symptoms persist, drinking plenty of fluids.
It is possible to treat flu with antivirals, though new research published today suggests that children will not benefit from taking them and side effects such as vomiting whilst already sick may cause more harm than benefit.