Influenza, known as “flu” in short, is a very common ailment that children suffer from now and then. As a parent it, thus, becomes important for you to know how to deal with this ailment and protect your children.

Influenza affects both the young as well as older children. The basic symptoms of influenza are cough, body aches, fatigue, lung congestion and fever. Fever, however, is more prevalent among children who are less than five years old.

Parents should watch out for certain signs that will help them to know whether their kid is suffering from influenza or not. Few of these symptoms include breathing difficulty, lethargy, high fever and others. Under such instances it is recommended that the parent consults a doctor. The temperature helps one to assess how sick one’s child is. If the fever is uncontrollable and the child is also seen to have breathing difficulties, then it is necessary that one pays a visit to the physician for proper medication.

If your child is suffering from influenza, then he or she should be given immediate attention. This is particularly important for children who are two years and below. Children belonging to this age group are more at risk. So, extra care needs to be taken. The parents of children suffering from ailments like asthma, kidney diseases, diabetes and ailments associated with red blood cells need to be extra cautious too.

Mothers who are breastfeeding their children and are affected by influenza, need to always wash their hands before attending her infant.

In order to avoid this disease, one can follow some simple rules. Prevention is better than cure. It is suggested that you teach your child to always wash his or her hand properly with soap. Washing hands is necessary when sneezing or blowing their nose as well as after playing. They must also wash their hands before and after eating their food, whether at home or at school.

Apart from these, the children should be kept at home till they are completely cured. It is important to give your child a good amount of fluids everyday so as to prevent him from getting dehydrated. Anti-viral medicines are also available. One can administer that to the child, only after consulting the local physician. This has to be given within a time span of 48 hours from the time the first symptoms of the ailments become visible.

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