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Influenza: symptoms in children

Influenza: symptoms in children.

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Infections boom for seasonal flu and respiratory syncytial virus which is recording record peaks among smaller ones.

Fever phobia weighs heavily, and pushes the parent to run to the emergency room when the thermometer rises a lot. But there are cases in which it is important to do so and cases in which it would be ideal to consult your pediatrician. Because inevitably, in these intense days in which there are so many children with symptoms, long queues form in the emergency room.

Elena Bozzola, secretary and national councilor of the Italian Society of Pediatrics (Sip)

The flu symptoms are high fever, above 38 degrees, even reaching 39-40 and it scares the parents a lot. There is also an annoying cough, which can last from a few days to two or more weeks. We should be alarmed when the child under 3 months of life has a fever with difficulty breathing and a fluttering of the nasal fins. 

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It’s all accompanied by tachycardia, when the heart beats faster to pump more oxygen, along with fast breathing, “neck dimple” and poor appetite. Feeding is also to be kept under control, the child must eat regularly. If the little one has a fever of 40, it is better to take him to the emergency room. Even there, however, waiting, it could catch other viruses. 

The first rule is to get vaccinated, an ideal prevention. Avoid visits from relatives and acquaintances who have flu symptoms, dangerous for a newborn. Another tip is to disinfect the surfaces well. A further precaution is not to take babies to shopping malls or to older children’s birthday parties, therefore in crowded places. Last useful rule: avoid secondhand smoke: those who smoked half an hour before and then take the arm of the child with smoke residue on him. 

  • Children’s flu, the symptoms to check: moving nostrils, tachycardia and “neck dimple”. The pediatrician’s guide (ilmessaggero.it)
 

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