Patient education: Flu in children – Discharge instructions (The Basics)

What are discharge instructions? — Discharge instructions are information about how to take care of your child after getting medical care for a health problem.

What is the flu? — The flu is an infection that can cause fever, cough, body aches, and other symptoms. The most common type of flu is the "seasonal" flu. There are different forms of seasonal flu, for example, "type A" and "type B." The medical term for the flu is "influenza."

All forms of the flu are caused by viruses. Antibiotics do not work to treat the flu. Doctors might prescribe an "antiviral" medicine for your child. If so, follow the doctor's instructions. The flu can be dangerous because it can cause a serious lung infection called pneumonia.

How do I care for my child at home? — Ask the doctor or nurse what you should do when you go home. Make sure that you understand exactly what you need to do to care for your child. Ask questions if there is anything you do not understand.

You should also:

●Offer your child lots of fluids to drink. This will help keep them well hydrated. Offer babies regular feedings of breast milk or formula. Older children can have warm fluids like tea or chicken soup. Offer your child foods, but do not force them to eat if they do not want to.

●Offer cold or frozen desserts like ice cream or ice pops to soothe a sore throat. Children over 5 years old can suck on hard candy or a lollipop to soothe sore throat and cough. Children over 6 years old can try gargling with warm salt water. Do not give your child throat sprays or cough medicine.

●Try to thin mucus:

•Give your child lots of liquids.

•Use a cool mist humidifier, if your doctor told you to. If you try this, keep the humidifier clean.

•Use saline nose drops to relieve stuffiness.

●Use a medicine like acetaminophen (sample brand name: Tylenol) or ibuprofen (sample brand names: Advil, Motrin) to help bring down your child's fever. Check the package directions carefully to make sure that you give your child the right dose. Never give aspirin to a child younger than 18 years old.

●Dress your child with lightweight clothes if they have a fever. Cover them with a light sheet or blanket if needed. This will help keep your child from getting too warm.

●Encourage your child to rest as much as they want. But don't force them to sleep or rest. Your child can go back to school or regular activities after they have had a normal temperature for 24 hours.

The flu is easy to spread from person to person. These steps can help reduce the spread of infection:

●Have your child get a flu vaccine each year. Some years, the flu vaccine is more effective than others. But even in years when it is less effective, it still helps prevent some cases of the flu. It can also help keep your child from getting severely ill if they do get the flu.

●Clean items and surfaces your child often touches. Examples include toys, door handles, remotes, and phones. Use a cleaning product that gets rid of viruses.

●Wash your hands often (figure 1) with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after coughing or sneezing. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers also work to kill germs. Also wash your child's hands often.

●When your child is sick, have them cough or sneeze into a tissue or their elbow instead of their hands. Teach them to throw away tissues in the trash and wash their hands after coughing, sneezing, or touching used tissues.

●When around others, you might have your child wear a face mask.

●Keep your child away from people who are sick. If your child is sick, keep them away from crowded places until they are fully better. Tell other people to wash their hands before and after they are around your child.

●Teach your child to avoid touching their eyes, nose, and mouth.

●Do not let your child share cups, food, utensils, towels, bed linens, or other personal items with others.

What follow-up care does my child need? — The doctor or nurse will tell you if you need to make a follow-up appointment. If so, make sure that you know when and where to go.

When should I call the doctor? — Call for emergency help right away (in the US and Canada, call 9-1-1) if:

●Your child has so much trouble breathing they can only say 1 or 2 words at a time, or your infant has trouble crying.

●Your child needs to sit upright at all times to be able to breathe, or cannot lie down.

●Your child is very tired from working to catch their breath.

●Your child's lips or face turn blue.

●Your child has a seizure.

●Your child passed out, seems very sleepy, or is breathing fast and has 1 or more of these signs of severe fluid loss:

•Your child's skin is mottled and cool, and their hands and feet are blue.

•Your child has no urine for 24 hours.

•Your child's soft spot is sunken.

•Your child's eyes are sunken.

Call for advice if:

●Your child has trouble breathing when talking or sitting still.

●Your child seems confused or does not act normally.

●Your child can't keep any fluids down, has not had anything to drink in many hours, and has 1 or more of the following:

•Your child is not as alert as usual, is very sleepy, or much less active.

•Your child is crying all of the time.

•Your infant has not had a wet diaper for over 8 hours.

•Your older child has not needed to urinate for over 12 hours.

•Your child's skin is cool.

●Your child has a fever for more than 3 days or a fever over 103°F (39.4°C).

●Your child has a fever and a rash.

●Your child gets better from the flu, but then gets sick again with a fever or cough.

●Your child is having trouble feeding normally.

●Your child has a dry mouth.

●Your child has few or no tears when they cry.

●Your child's urine is dark in color.

●Your child is less active than normal.

●Your child is so unhappy that they don't want to be held or are very hard to console.

More on this topic

Patient education: Flu (The Basics)
Patient education: Flu vaccine (The Basics)
Patient education: Cough, runny nose, and the common cold (The Basics)
Patient education: Fever in children (The Basics)
Patient education: What you should know about vaccines (The Basics)
Patient education: Sore throat in children (The Basics)
Patient education: Giving your child over-the-counter medicines (The Basics)
Patient education: What you should know about antibiotics (The Basics)
Patient education: Bird flu (avian influenza) (The Basics)

Patient education: Influenza symptoms and treatment (Beyond the Basics)
Patient education: Influenza prevention (Beyond the Basics)
Patient education: Sore throat in children (Beyond the Basics)