How to protect your child from flu?

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Proper health care should be a priority for your family and children. Get educated on influenza prevention and treatment now.

As mums, we want our children to grow up healthy. We give them nutritious food and try to keep them away from sickness. But we can’t always protect them from bacteria and germs – especially during flu season. That’s why it’s a good thing I came across this video by Dr. Nitin Shah and Florence Rosini. What a great discovery this was to ensure my child’s health.

This video introduced me to proper health care. We all know about the flu, or influenza, but I found out that flu can be a very serious disease. It is not just a normal fever accompanied by cough and colds. And we definitely shouldn’t take it lightly.

What do we mums need to know about the flu?

Seasonal influenza or “Flu” is an acute viral infection caused by influenza viruses, spreading easily from person to person and circulating year-round worldwide.

Flu in humans is caused by 4 different influenza viruses, specifically two influenza A viruses and two influenza B viruses. These past years, the awareness of flu has largely been limited to type A-H1N1, or commonly known as swine flu. While infection from other flu viruses also leads to similar symptoms.

Flu symptoms include fever, sore throat, headache, muscle aches, and cough. What most people do not know about the flu is that it can actually trigger severe complications from pre-existing illness. In fact, statistics say that every year, millions of people get the flu and hundreds of thousands get hospitalized. Plus tens of thousands die due to flu-related causes annually.

Who is at risk of influenza?

How to protect your child from flu?

After watching the video, I took some time to search for more information about the flu online. I found out that most people recover from fever and the other symptoms within a week without requiring medical attention. But for some people, the flu poses a big risk to their health.

The highest risk of complications occurs among pregnant women, children aged six to 59 months and the elderly. Moreover, individuals with specific chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, HIV/AIDS, asthma, and heart or lung diseases are more vulnerable to complications.

The annual global influenza attack rates are estimated at 5-10 percent in adults, and 20–30 percent in children, according to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) approximation.

Worldwide, annual influenza epidemics result in three to five million cases of severe illness, and 250,000 to 500,000 deaths.

How can I prevent my children from catching the flu?

Most people, including adults and parents, think that vaccination is optional because they do not know that flu can be deadly. Because of this, flu vaccine is often neglected or ignored.

However, I am grateful for the information I got from the video as I now recognize the importance of vaccinating against all 4 types of viruses causing influenza. In fact, as I researched, I came to know that vaccination is one of the most effective ways to prevent influenza.

How do parents take preventative measures?

How to protect your child from flu?

As parents, our prime responsibility is to take our children to the doctor and have them vaccinated. I learned this valuable information from the video. They emphasized this point very much so that mums like us get the message.

Parents, should discuss immunization with their doctor, and ensure the immunization card is up-to-date so their child is protected.  Also, parents should ensure their kids get a proper diet and nutrition, as well as keep their immediate environment clean.

Why should my kids get vaccinated against influenza every year?

The efficacy of the influenza vaccine has been clinically proven. Many countries around the world recommend vaccination during the flu season.

Since flu viruses evolve quickly, last year’s vaccine may not protect you or your child this year. Hence, annual vaccination is a must! Most importantly, we parents take flu seriously only when we hear about H1N1 or swine flu. It’s important to note that H1N1 is only one type of the 4 viruses causing influenza and hence, it is important that your child is protected against all 4 types.

What is herd immunity? What can we do to prevent flu outbreaks?

Yet it is not enough that one person gets vaccinated.  I’ve learned that we should protect the entire community to avoid the disease from infecting others. This is the concept of herd immunity.

What this means is that when most (ideally all) people in the community are immune to a contagious disease, then other members too are protected from vulnerability and infection because there’s little opportunity for the disease to spread.

Simple yet effective videos like this remind me that we must prioritize the health of the people we love, especially our children who are vulnerable to disease. That’s why it’s crucial we vaccinate them while they are young.

To get to know more about influenza prevention and treatment, check out this video.

Written by

Florence Rosini