While most people understand the importance of annual flu shot more than 65 years of age, many parents overlook the need for influenza vaccine for their children.
This is unfortunate, because most experts believe that flu epidemics begin and spread to adults from younger children.
If the child is in a high-risk groups mentioned below, or if you have someone in contact with high-risk group, you might want to consider him a flu vaccine every year. Remember that the flu vaccine is now officially recommended that all children from 6 months to 18 years of age.
Flu Facts
Influenza is a viral disease and typical symptoms of influenza are fever, cough, chills, sore throat, headache and muscle aches, which usually begin about 1-4 days after exposure to a flu. The symptoms are usually mild or moderate in most people, but it could be more severe in very young children or elderly, causing thousands of deaths each year (mostly elderly).
You can get the flu if:
• you are around someone with the flu coughs or sneezes and the germs enter your body through the mouth or nose
• touching something, like a doorknob or a sink faucet that has been touched and contaminated by someone the flu and then touching their mouth or nose
Unlike many other viruses that are actually treated for the flu, but they must be started early in the disease process and usually within 48 hours after onset of symptoms. These treatments include drugs zanamivir (Relenza) and oseltamivir (Tamiflu), although there was resistance to these drugs, so they do not work so well.
The facts flu vaccine
The vaccine against influenza is an inactivated or killed, and is usually changed every year to keep pace with the most common strains of influenza viruses circulating and most likely to cause infection.
Flu vaccine is available for children older than six months. It produces a good response, the first year that they get it, children under nine years of age need two doses of vaccine administered at least one month apart. Children over nine years and younger children who have already had a flu shot is only a single year.
Vaccine reactions effects or secondary influenza are usually mild and may include pain, redness or swelling at the injection site of vaccination, fever, and / or pain and only 1.2 days usually last. Children under 3 years should receive one dose of inactivated flu vaccine 0.25 ml. Children over 3 years and aAll children between the ages of 6 months and 18 years old need a flu vaccine each year, and is especially important for high-risk groups, including:
• Children 6 years 59 months, two
• Pregnant women and women pregnant during flu season (generally October to March)
• Adults 50 and over
• Adults and children with most chronic diseases, including asthma, diabetes, neurological and neuromuscular disorders (cerebral palsy, seizures, muscular dystrophy, etc.), and immune system problems
• children and young people who use aspirin because the risk of Reye's syndrome
• Residents of care facilities long-term
• household contacts and out of home caregivers of children younger than 6 months, or in other high-risk groups above
• Health care workers who provide direct patient care
Remember that the "family contact" some places, many more children in a high-risk group who should get a vaccine against influenza. For example, if you have 3 years and 10 years, they should both get a vaccine against influenza. Or, if a child in your family has asthma, should everyone in your house get a vaccine against influenza. Children with asthma are at a high risk group, and everyone is a household contact.
Remember that even if the child is at risk, can still get the flu shot if you just want to reduce your risk of contracting the flu this year.
And with the recent recommendations vaccine against influenza, experts advise against the flu vaccine for everyone, including healthy adults aged between 18 and 49, so almost everyone over 6 months must obtain a vaccine against influenza each years.
Other vaccination recommendations
• Healthy people, who have 2-49 years of age and not pregnant - such as health care workers (except those who care for severely immunocompromised patients in special care units and people being treated for children under 6 months) - can be vaccinated FluMist, the nasal spray flu vaccine.
• People should not receive influenza vaccine if they are severe allergic to chicken eggs, have had a severe reaction to influenza vaccination in the past, have developed Guillain-Barre syndrome within 6 weeks to get the flu vaccine, if less than 6 months, or if you have moderate or severe illness with a fever.
One thing to remember is that although thimerosal was removed from all childhood vaccines routinely recommended, making multi-dose vial of vaccine against the flu still contain thimerosal. This is not necessarily a reason not to vaccinate your child, even if, especially if a high-risk group. A vaccine against influenza without thimerosal are available for the 2010-2011 flu season, but your pediatrician can not because of cost and supply. According to the CDC, "the benefit of influenza vaccine with reduced thimerosal content or standard outweighs the theoretical risk, if any, thimerosal. "