Information Avenue Archives

Influenza - Vaccinating Your Child

As we near the end of the year, there are many exciting things to look forward to - trick or treating on Halloween, Thanksgiving feasts, and Holiday celebrations. Unfortunately, it’s also a time when children and adults fall ill; it’s the beginning of the dreaded flu season. For parents raising children with special health care needs, flu season can be a very stressful and worrisome time of year.

The flu, also known as influenza, is a highly contagious respiratory infection that can cause fever, chills, headache, dry cough, runny or stuffy nose, sore throat, and muscle aches. Unlike the common cold, it can also cause extreme fatigue, which can last from several days to more than a week. In children, gastrointestinal symptoms may be seen as well, including nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

Influenza is spread very easily from person to person primarily when a person coughs or sneezes. Once the person has been infected with the virus, symptoms will generally appear in 2 to 4 days. The person is considered contagious from 24 hours before symptoms appear to 3 to 4 days after the symptoms have appeared. Most people who get the flu recover in 1 to 2 weeks, however, some will develop serious or life-threatening complications and may require hospitalization.

There are three types of influenza viruses, designated as A, B, and C. Influenza type A and B are responsible for the respiratory illnesses that occur every winter and are often associated with hospitalizations. Type C, on the other hand, has mild or no symptoms at all and does not have the severe public impact of types A and B. Therefore, efforts to control the impact of influenza are aimed at types A and B with the use of vaccinations.

Flu season is typically between December and April, so vaccinations are given from October through mid-November. Once an individual has received the vaccination, it will take one to two weeks before he or she is protected. A new vaccination is required every year because influenza viruses are continually changing, usually as a result of mutations of viral genes. Each year the vaccine is updated to include the most current influenza virus strains.

It has been suggested that children, ages 6 months and older, should receive a flu shot if they have one or more of the following risk factors:

• asthma or other chronic pulmonary diseases (chronic bronchitis, cystic fibrosis, etc.);
• heart disease;
• sickle cell anemia;
• they’ve been receiving immunosuppresive drugs;
• HIV infection;
• diabetes or other metabolic conditions;
• chronic renal disease;
• they’ve been receiving long-term aspirin therapy (if they catch the flu, it could result in Reye’s syndrome); or
• if they are in close contact with others who are considered high risk for developing serious complications as a result of influenza infection (siblings or family members may be given an immunization to protect a child who is unable to receive a vaccination).

Your child should not receive the flu vaccination, however, if he or she has a severe or life-threatening allergy to eggs or chicken because the vaccines are produced in chicken embryos.

The influenza vaccine has very minimal side effects. Less than one-third have soreness at the vaccination site and about 5 to 10% have headache or low grade fever for about a day after the vaccination. These side effects are most likely to occur in children who have never been exposed to the influenza virus in the past. Some individuals have claimed that the flu shot has given them the flu. However, the influenza vaccine that is produced in the United States has never been capable of causing the flu, as it is made solely from dead influenza viruses.

If you are considering the influenza vaccine for your child, please discuss your concerns with your child’s physician. Also, if you are not comfortable with having your child vaccinated, remember that vaccinating yourself and your child’s care-givers can help prevent and protect your child from getting the influenza viruses.

For more information on flu shots, please visit the following web sites:

• Center for Disease Control and Prevention http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/flu/fluvirus.htm
• Health Care Financing Administration http://www.medicare.gov/fightflu/fightflu.html

 

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