Check out one industrious mom’s attempt to keep her child flu-free. While the message here applies to seasonal influenza, there’s still too little H1N1 vaccine available to make it relevant to swine flu. Most folks can’t currently protect their kids from H1N1 simply by getting vaccinated right now! For the time being, we’ll have to trust in preventive measures like hand washing, getting plenty of rest, eating well, and staying home if we get sick.
Posts Tagged ‘influenza’
Influenza Moon Landing …
Friday, November 13th, 2009Do the “Dracula” Just Like Dr. Sears
Thursday, November 5th, 2009
Dr. Bob Sears shows a few friends the "Dracula sneeze."
Wherever you turn these days, you’re likely to run into a runny nose – or someone else’s sneeze. Seasonal flu shots are available, but H1N1 vaccine is still scarce and we’ve got no vaccine at all for the common cold. How’s a family to stay healthy?
Pediatrician Bob Sears, M.D., of the renowned Sears medical family, says he’s noticed families focusing on preventive measures to keep illness at bay. And when they do get sick, they’re embracing more natural remedies. “Americans are getting tired of just popping a pill and turning to pharmaceuticals to fix things,” says the co-author of the Sears Parenting Library series. Here are a few things Dr. Sears recommends:
- Wash those hands. We just can’t say this enough. Teach kids to wash their hands several times a day at school, especially before eating, and after using the bathroom or doing a big group project. Younger kids can sing the ABCs while they wash as a way to measure the 20-30 seconds it takes to do it right.
- Master the “Dracula sneeze.” And teach the kids, too. If you’ve got to ahhh-choo it, your elbow is the place to do it.
- Humidify. Dry air dries out the sinuses, so consider buying a humidity gauge at your local hardware store to monitor the level in your home. You want to keep humidity at around 40%, and you might need to use a humidifier to do this.
- Cut down on sugar. This will help keep your immune system strong. “Spread out the sugar,” Sears suggests. “Make that Halloween candy last.” At his house, the rule is just one treat a day. If you keep the candy out of sight, they might eventually even forget about it, he says.
- Eat a breakfast with antioxidants. Put blueberries or other berries – fresh or dried – on your child’s cereal. Or just let the kids graze on berries any time. “That would be a great snack idea,” Sears says.
- Keep up your exercise routine. That’s especially true for moms and dads. “Stress and lack of exercise definitely will lower your immune system,” Sears says.
- Supplement up. Sears recommends that families consider supplementing their healthy diets with extra vitamin C and D, and zinc.
- Go natural. Dr. Sears is big on Echinacea this time of year, and has also been promoting a product called Sinupret. This natural herbal blend is designed it keep the sinuses healthy and boost the immune system, and Sears says he tends to recommended it for anyone with sinus trouble. “It’s been a good way to keep my patients’ sinuses healthy,” he explains. (They’ve sent us a sample. We’re checking it out.)
None of these measures is guaranteed to keep your family from falling victim to this year’s cold and flu season, but they can help. And good habits like these are worth keeping all year.
Who’s Being Hurt By H1N1 …
Wednesday, November 4th, 2009There were 1,088 people hospitalized or killed in California by H1N1 flu between April 23 and Aug. 11, and a report out in today’s issue of JAMA sheds some light on who they were:
- Their median age was 27 – much younger than is common with seasonal flu.
- 68% of them had risk factors (underlying health conditions) for influenza complications.
- More than half were obese.
- Those most likely to be hospitalized were infants.
- Those most likely to die (18%-20%) were age 50 or older, and the most common causes of death were viral pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome.
Health-E Books: Felicity Floo Visits the Zoo
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009
In my experience, kids with runny noses tend to do what comes naturally. They wipe them. And who has time to stop and look for a tissue?
Not Felicity Floo! Because she’s headed to the zoo, where she plans to meet – and pet – animals of every stripe, feather and hue with hands that are covered in sticky green goo. The result, which you can read about in this wonderful book written and illustrated by E.S. Redmond, goes something like this:
All of the animals down at the zoo are snuffling and snorting and sneezing ACHOO. The lions won’t roar, and the tigers just mew.
Follow this jaunty little rhyme, and Felicity’s shiny green handprints, for a fun way to help your children understand how colds and flu spread. Along with the giggles, they’ll get a reminder (that might just stick) to use tissues on their drippy noses, and wash those little hands.
Depressed Pregnant Women Could Face Greater Flu Risk
Thursday, October 29th, 2009
Women who are pregnant and have significant symptoms of depression could be at greater risk of complications from the flu, an Ohio State University study released yesterday suggests. Researchers had 22 pregnant women complete questionnaires about their depressive symptoms, then took blood samples after the women had received flu shots. They found the women with the most severe symptoms of depression had double the response to the vaccine as those who weren’t depressed.
The researchers suggest that their responses might also be more severe to an actual influenza infection, and that these women might be more susceptible to complications. The study appears online and is scheduled for eventual print publication in Brain, Behavior and Immunity.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has recommended for several years that pregnant women get vaccinated against seasonal flu, but only about 12-13% actually do. And pregnant women have been more vulnerable to the H1N1 flu circulating since April, accounting for 6% of all deaths in the U.S. from the virus even though they make up just 1% of the population.
H1N1 Vaccine Is Here, Regular Flu Shot Might Offer Some Protection, Too
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009
CDC/ Judy Schmidt
The first wave of H1N1 flu vaccine is now available in most areas, but some high-risk groups will have to wait a week for their turn, says the CDC. That’s because this round of doses is made up of the nasal spray version of the vaccine. That version is created from weakened live virus – rather than the killed virus used in the flu shot – and isn’t recommended for pregnant women or people with asthma.
Thus far, the CDC has reports of 28 H1N1-related deaths in pregnant women, who are high on the vaccination priority list, and 60 deaths in children. Kids over age 2 can take the nasal spray vaccine, and health officials are making a big push to get them vaccinated.
For those stuck waiting (because while the government has been promising vaccine for all who want it, the supply is expected to trickle in slowly), a study released today might be of interest. Mexican researchers reporting in the online edition of the British Medical Journal found that seasonal flu vaccine might offer some partial protection against H1N1. Looking at a small group of hospital patients during the H1N1 epidemic in Mexico City in the spring, the researchers found that those who had a seasonal flu shot had significantly milder cases of H1N1 than those who had not.
Still, because this was a small study, and because the protection offered was only partial, experts are still stressing the need for folks to get both the seasonal flu vaccine and a vaccine against H1N1.
Dosing Info On Tamiflu
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009
If someone in your family has a serious case of the flu – especially this season – there is a chance your doctor will prescribe Tamiflu (oseltamivir) to help dampen influenza symptoms and keep the illness mild.
Before you leave the pharmacy, check to make sure the dosing dispenser you are given matches the dose on the drug’s packaging. If your prescription is in milliliters (mL), make sure that is how the dispenser is marked.
The FDA last week issued a public health alert to doctors and pharmacists, pointing out that while doctors generally write prescriptions in milliliters or teaspoons, the dosing dispensers packaged with Tamiflu are marked only in milligrams. This could lead to dosing errors when parents try to follow directions but have the wrong dispenser.
Giving too little could mean the drug is ineffective, while overdosing could lead to serious side-effects.
Parents Underestimate H1N1 Risk
Friday, September 25th, 2009
Even as the newly approved H1N1 vaccine makes its way toward a pediatrician’s office near you, one new survey shows more than half the nation’s parents plan not to take advantage of it. And the director of the poll – the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health, released yesterday – believes it could be because parents don’t understand the risks.
While seasonal flu is still the more serious of the two illnesses, with rates of complications and deaths higher in the elderly, the CDC reports that rates of illness and hospitalization due to H1N1 are higher in kids. Yet nearly half the 1,678 parents across the U.S. participating in the poll believe H1N1 and seasonal flu pose about the same risk for children.
“Health care professionals and public health officials need to help parents and the community at-large understand that children are one of the groups at greatest risk for getting H1N1, and for getting very sick from the disease as well,” said Matthew Davis, M.D., in a statement released with the poll.
In fact, few parents seem to be planning on getting their children any sort of flu shot. Just 40% of those surveyed by C.S. Mott say they will get their kids vaccinated against H1N1, and only 54% say they will get their children a seasonal flu shot. Around 46% of those foregoing the H1N1 vaccine say they aren’t worried about their children getting H1N1, while 20% don’t believe it is a serious illness. And about half say they are worried about side effects of the vaccine.
H1N1 Vaccine Gets FDA Approval
Wednesday, September 16th, 2009The FDA announced yesterday that it has approved four vaccines, produced by four different manufacturers, against H1N1 flu, and that distribution is expected to begin within the next four weeks. Here are a few important things to know:
1. The firms manufacturing these vaccines have used the same processes they have been using for many years to produce vaccines against seasonal flu.
2. Despite initial theories that people would need two doses of H1N1 vaccines to be protected, preliminary studies show that most adults are protected eight to 10 days after receiving just one dose.
3. Just like with the seasonal flu vaccine, there will be formulations available that do not include the controversial mercury-containing preservative thimerosal – but you’ll have to request those in advance. And both inhaled and injectable versions will be out there.
4. Side-effects seem to be similar to those with seasonal flu vaccines, including soreness at the injection site, mild fever, body aches, fatigue, and runny nose or nasal congestion.
5. H1N1 vaccine won’t protect you against seasonal flu, but seasonal flu vaccine is already available.
The Flu and You: What if You Get Sick?
Thursday, September 10th, 2009
Washing hands is a major way to prevent flu.
Research released today by some of the world’s leading disease modeling experts estimates that up to 32% of the population of many cities and counties could be infected with H1N1 this season – and that there could be up to 2.2 billion cases worldwide. Those same researchers, from the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (VIDI) at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, suggest that children will be responsible for many of those infections.
Stay Home
If you or someone in your family gets sick, and you suspect flu, job one is to stay home. No work, no school. Because the less you are out in public, the less likely you are to infect others. “If you do get mild symptoms, the last thing you want to do is run out and spread it to everybody,” says Jim Sears, M.D., a pediatrician with the renowned Sears family and co-host of “The Doctors” television show. “If you are feeling ill, even if it’s just a cold, do your co-workers and your classmates a favor by just staying home for a little while.”
“A little while,” according to infectious disease specialist Pia Pannaraj, M.D., of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, is until any fever has been gone – without the aid of Tylenol or any other medication – for at least 24 hours.
Watch For Fever
Fever, by the way, is one of the symptoms to watch for. Influenza tends to bring on fever earlier in the illness, and fever tends to climb higher, according to Maureen Lichtveld, M.D., a former CDC researcher who now heads up the Flu Emergency Task Force at Tulane University. Fever should prompt a call to your doctor, who can tell a lot over the phone by hearing about your symptoms, and whether or not you have spent time somewhere H1N1 is prevalent. “Don’t go in, but give a call,” Lichtveld says. You could save yourself an office visit (and exposure to other sick people).
Even if you or your child end up in the doctor’s office, it’s not likely you’ll get an H1N1 test – or want one. It’s pretty unpleasant, involving running a flexible swab through the nose all the way to the back of the throat. And it can take several days to get results. “When the outbreak first came out, we were testing everybody,” says Pannaraj. But now doctors won’t likely test unless the patient has an underlying health condition, or is ill enough to need hospitalization.
Take It Easy
Unless your symptoms are severe, you’re also not likely to get a dose of TamiFlu, the antiretroviral used to treat influenza. It has been effective in treating H1N1, but doctors are worried about creating resistant strains and so want to limit use to the most severe cases. There have already been a few cases of TamiFlu-resistant H1N1. “Parents come in and say, ‘My child might have been exposed, and I can’t really afford for them to get sick right now. We’re going on vacation, or I cant miss work, so can’t I just give them TamiFlu for 10 days?’” says Dennis Woo, M.D., former chair of the department of pediatrics at UCLA Medical Center. “It becomes an issue of convenience rather than necessity.”
Instead, most of us will be relying on what doctors call “supportive care” at home. It means rest, lots of liquids, and treating fever with over-the-counter medications. Pannaraj says that as long as the patient is breathing comfortably, hydrated, and acting normally, things are fine. If any of that changes, or if someone who seemed to be recovering from the flu suddenly gets sick again, talk to the doctor. That could be a sign of secondary infection.
Stay Informed
The VIDI researchers, whose work was published in today’s online edition of Science Express, recommend a vaccination program that first targets 70% of U.S. children as the best way to stem the H1N1 outbreak – which they believe will peak mid-October. But as H1N1 vaccine isn’t yet available to the general public, other preventive measures will have to suffice for now.
One more thing Lichtveld urges parents to do: Stay informed. Following developments and expert advice through credible sources like the CDC and HHS (you can reach them directly online) rather than news media hype can help keep fear at bay, and equip you to keep your family well. “Fear is the most stifling condition you can be in,” she says. “We have a lot more power than we think we have, as individual community members and as savvy parents.”
Staying calm and informed, taking reasonable precautions, and knowing what to do if you get sick are the keys to weathering this year’s flu season. And keep in mind these parting words from Woo: “It’s very possible that this will turn out not to be as serious as people think.”
