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Home / My 8 Week Old Baby Was Exposed to Flu

My 8 Week Old Baby Was Exposed to Flu

Cardinal POINTS

  • The flu can be dangerous for all babies, even healthy babies.

  • Babies 6 months and older need a flu vaccine every year. Information technology helps protect children from serious wellness problems.

  • Parents, other family unit members and caregivers need a flu vaccine every year to help protect babies who are too young to get the vaccine.

  • Flu signs and symptoms include trunk aches, chills, coughing, fatigue, fever, headache, runny or stuffy nose, sore throat, airsickness and diarrhea.

  • If you think your baby has the flu, telephone call her provider right away. Quick treatment can help forestall serious flu complications.

What is the flu?

Influenza (also called flu) is a virus that tin can cause serious illness. It's more simply a runny olfactory organ and sore pharynx. It's really important to protect babies and immature children from the influenza considering it can brand them very sick. In rare cases, flu can crusade expiry. In 2017, the flu acquired a record number of deaths in children. Most of the children who died didn't go a flu vaccine.

How does the influenza spread?

The flu spreads hands from person to person. When someone with the influenza coughs, sneezes or speaks, the virus spreads through the air. Your infant can go infected with the flu if she breathes the virus in or if she touches something (like a toy) that has the flu virus on it and so touches her nose, eyes or mouth.

People with the flu may be able to infect others from ane day before they get sick upwards to 5 to 7 days later. People who are very sick with the flu or young children may be able to spread the flu longer, especially if they notwithstanding take symptoms.

Does your child need a influenza vaccine every year?

Yes. The Centers for Affliction Control and Prevention (too called CDC) and the American University of Pediatrics (also called AAP) recommend that everyone half-dozen months and older go the flu vaccine each year. Information technology's peculiarly important for children younger than 5 to get information technology because they're more than probable than older kids to have serious health bug caused past the influenza. The flu can be unsafe for all children, even healthy children.

The best way to protect your child from the influenza is to brand certain he gets a flu vaccine each year earlier influenza flavour (Oct through May). Even though your child's more likely to get the flu during influenza season, he can get information technology whatsoever fourth dimension of year.

In that location are two means for your child to get the flu vaccine:

  1. Flu shot. Children 6 months and older tin get the flu shot.
  2. Flu nasal spray. This is a spray your child's provider puts in your child's nose. Most children 2 years or older tin can go the influenza nasal spray. But it'south not recommended for children who accept certain health conditions, similar asthma, heart and lung problems, or a weak immune system that doesn't protect him well from infection. The flu nasal spray as well isn't recommended for children who take certain medicines for a long time, like aspirin (called long-term aspirin therapy).

The first time your baby gets the flu vaccine, he gets ii doses to give him the best protection from the flu. Your child gets one dose of the vaccine every year later on.

If you're not sure which vaccine is best for your child, inquire his health care provider. Visit flu.gov to acquire more almost flu vaccines.

The flu vaccine is safe for most children, fifty-fifty babies born prematurely (before 37 weeks of pregnancy). But if your child had a bad reaction to the influenza vaccine in the by, tell his provider. The provider may want to watch your kid closely afterwards getting the vaccine to check for a reaction. If your child is allergic to eggs, talk to his provider to determine if it'southward OK to get the flu vaccine. Some flu vaccines are made from eggs.

There are many different influenza viruses, and they're e'er changing. Each year a new flu vaccine is made to protect against three or four flu viruses that are likely to make people sick during the upcoming flu season. With the vaccine, protection from the influenza lasts near a yr, then it'due south important to get your child vaccinated each year. You get the vaccine from his provider or from other places, like pharmacies, that offering it. Use the HealthMap Vaccine Finder to discover out where you can get a flu vaccine for your kid.

Are some children more likely to have serious wellness problems caused by flu than others?

Yep. Babies and children younger than v years old—and especially those younger than 2 years old-- are more likely than older children to accept complications from the flu. Premature babies also are at increased risk of serious complications from flu. The CDC recommends that premature babies go most vaccines, including the flu vaccine, according to their chronological age (the time since birth). Even if a infant is built-in small or with a low birthweight, she can get her vaccine at the same fourth dimension as other babies who are the same historic period. If y'all have a premature baby, talk your baby's provider to make certain your baby gets the influenza vaccine on fourth dimension. Children with chronic health conditions, like asthma, middle disease or claret disorders, also are at high take a chance of flu complications.

What health issues can flu cause in children?

Complications from flu in children younger than 5 years onetime include:

  • Making chronic health conditions, like eye affliction or asthma, worse
  • Brain problems, like encephalopathy. Encephalopathy is any encephalon disease that affects the brain'southward structure or how the brain works.
  • Aridity. This means non having enough water in your body.
  • Pneumonia. This is an infection in one or both lungs.
  • Sinus problems and ear infections. Sinuses are hollow air spaces within the bones around the nose. Sinus infections can happen when fluid builds up in the sinuses.
  • Death. Flu complications can sometimes lead to death, only this is rare.

What are signs and symptoms that your baby has the influenza?

Signs of a condition are things someone else tin can see or know about you, similar yous accept a rash or yous're cough. Symptoms are things y'all feel yourself that others tin can't see, like having a sore throat or feeling dizzy. If your baby has whatsoever of these signs and symptoms of the flu, call his health care provider right away or take him to run into his provider:

  • Being very tired or sleepy (also chosen fatigue)
  • Cough
  • Fever (100 F or above), chills or body shakes. Not anybody who has the flu has a fever.
  • Headache, or muscle or trunk aches
  • Runny or stuffy nose
  • Sore throat
  • Vomiting (throwing up) or diarrhea

The influenza often comes on chop-chop.  Fever and nigh other signs and symptoms tin can final a week or longer. While your baby can't tell you how she's feeling, babies who have the influenza often are sicker, fussier and seem more uncomfortable and unhappy than babies with a cold. If you think your baby has the influenza even if she got a flu vaccine, phone call her health care provider.

If your infant has whatsoever of these signs or symptoms, have her to a hospital emergency room:

  • Being so fussy that she doesn't want to be held
  • Blue colour of lips or face
  • Chronic health conditions, like asthma, get worse
  • Fast animate, trouble breathing, chest pain or ribs pulling in with each breath
  • Fever in a babe younger than 12 weeks old, fever above 104 F in older babies or children, or fever with a rash
  • Fever or cough that gets better merely then returns and gets worse
  • Having seizures. A seizure is when the whole body or parts of the trunk motility without command.
  • Non drinking plenty fluids or not making as much urine as she normally does. If your infant doesn't make urine for eight hours, has a dry mouth or doesn't make tears when crying, she may exist dehydrated.
  • Not waking up, or not being alert or interacting with you lot when she is awake
  • Astringent musculus pain. It may be so severe your child can't walk.
  • Vomiting (throwing upward) that'southward severe or doesn't stop

How is flu treated in babies and children?

Your baby's provider may prescribe an antiviral medicine to prevent or treat the flu. An antiviral is a medicine that kills infections caused by viruses. Antivirals tin can make your infant's flu milder and help your baby feel better faster. Antivirals too tin assist prevent serious flu complications, like a lung infection called pneumonia. For influenza, antivirals work best if used within two days of having signs or symptoms.

If your baby is at high run a risk for flu, his provider may prescribe an antiviral as soon every bit he begins to have flu symptoms. All children younger than 5 are at loftier gamble for flu, especially children younger than 2. Children who were built-in prematurely  or who have chronic wellness conditions, like asthma or sickle cell illness, besides are at high chance.

Three medicines are approved in the The states for preventing or treating the flu in children:

  1. Oseltamivir (Tamiflu®) for children equally immature as ii weeks.  This medicine comes as a capsule or liquid.
  2. Zanamivir (Relenza®) for children at least 5 years old.  This medicine is a powder that your kid breathes in by mouth. Information technology isn't recommended for people with breathing problems, like asthma.
  3. Peramivir (Rapivab®) for children at least two years old. This medicine is given through a needle into a vein (also chosen IV) by a health intendance provider.

If your child has the flu, help him get lots of rest and drink plenty of fluids. He may not desire to swallow much. Try giving him small meals to aid his body get better.

If your babe seems uncomfortable from a fever, enquire her provider if you can requite her infant's or children'southward acetaminophen (Tylenol®) or ibuprofen (Motrin® or Advil®). Don't requite her aspirin without checking with her health care provider. Aspirin can cause a rare just life-threatening liver disorder called Reye syndrome in children with certain illnesses, such as colds, the flu and chickenpox.

If your baby has a cough or a common cold, don't give her over-the-counter cough and common cold medicine. These are medicines you can buy without a prescription from a wellness care provider. AAP says these medicines tin can crusade serious wellness problems for children. Talk to your baby's provider before you lot give your baby any kind of medicine.

How tin y'all stop the flu from spreading?

Everyone half dozen months and older needs to go a influenza vaccine. This means y'all, particularly if you have or take care of a baby younger than 6 months. Getting a flu vaccine can assistance keep you from spreading the influenza.

If y'all or your child has the flu, yous tin spread information technology to others. Here'due south how to assistance prevent the flu from spreading:

  • Keep your child home from day care, schoolhouse or military camp for at least 24 hours after her fever (100 F or higher) is gone. The fever should be gone without using a medicine that lowers fever.
  • Avoid contact with other people.
  • Don't buss your baby and avoid touching your eyes, nose and rima oris.
  • Teach your child to cough or sneeze into a tissue or his arm. Throw used tissues in the trash.
  • Wash your hands with soap and water before and subsequently caring for your babe. You also can use booze-based mitt sanitizers. Use plenty manus sanitizer so that information technology takes at least xv seconds for your hands to dry.
  • Make clean surfaces and toys that may have the influenza virus on them.
  • Utilize hot, soapy h2o or a dishwasher to make clean your babe'south dishes and utensils.
  • Don't share whatsoever of your baby's dishes, glasses, utensils or his toothbrush.

More information

Flu.gov

Run across also: Flu and pregnancy, Your baby's vaccinations

Last reviewed: September, 2019

My 8 Week Old Baby Was Exposed to Flu

Source: https://www.marchofdimes.org/complications/influenza-and-your-baby.aspx