(dailyRx)

Until the emergence of the H1N1 virus, flu season was generally considered to run from October to February or March, with the illness often peaking in the second month of the year. The swine flu changed all that.

Now, parents must consider that their children could contract a flu virus at almost any time of year, if the cases of H1N1 reported during the spring and summer as well as the early autumn months are any indication. As such, parents must now be vigilant and on guard duty every day to safeguard not just their children's health but their own as well.

So what's a parent to do? Being armed with information is always a great defense, but there's a lot of information today about both the H1N1 influenza virus and the seasonal flu. Two vaccinations, two sets of symptoms--or is it just one? And how's a person to know which flu her or his kid has? If the young one does have flu-like symptoms, is getting the kiddo to a doctor the right thing to do, or is a trip to the E.R. in order?

Here are some answers and information to clear up any misinformation and give parents a little peace of mind.

1. What vaccinations does my child need?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that all children ages 6 months to 19 receive both the seasonal flu vaccination and the H1N1 vaccination. While supplies of the swine flu shot have been limited in many areas, the CDC is working with the manufacturers to produce and distribute it.

Note that children younger than age 9 need two doses of the H1N1 vaccine, which should be given about three or four weeks apart. The second dose should be the same form as the first: If your child received a first dose of the H1N1 nasal spray vaccine, then her second dose also should be the nasal spray form.

As for the seasonal flu vaccine, children ages 6 months to 9 years only need two doses if they are getting the flu vaccine for the first time this year. If you made sure your child was vaccinated for the flu for the 2008/2009 flu season, then most likely he only needs one dose of the seasonal flu vaccine for the 2009/2010 season. Talk with your doctor about your child's specific health needs. Unlike the second dose of the H1N1 vaccine, the second dose of the seasonal flu vaccine should be given 28 or more days after the first dose.

2. Does my child really need both vaccines?
Yes, your child needs both vaccines. The seasonal flu vaccine for 2009/2010 does not offer protection against H1N1, nor does the H1N1 vaccine offer protection against seasonal flu.

If you're dreading subjecting your child to multiple injections, here are some tips from the Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA to help her--and you--cope:

  • Bring soap bubbles and blow bubbles during the injections. For wee ones, the bubbles can be a distraction, while for slightly older kids, you can tell them you're "blowing away the hurt." If you're the parent of an infant, try placing the plastic bubble want in front of his mouth. As Baby cries out in pain or terror--or both--he'll make bubbles, which just might distract him enough so he stops crying.
  • Teach your older child to breathe out slowly during the jab as if she were blowing up a big balloon.
  • Encourage your child to imagine he's somewhere really fun, such as the park or the beach. Have him tell you all the details of where he is to further distract him from the injection.
  • Crack jokes, tell your child a story or bring along an iPod for your child to listen to.Ask your doctor for a prescription for a numbing cream or patch and apply it to the area(s) to be injected. Make sure you get the prescription and apply it before going to the vaccination clinic or doctor's office so the medicine has time to work.
  • Give your child a dose of pain reliever, such as Tylenol, about an hour before the injection, with your doctor's approval. Once you're home, put an ice bag on the injection site to reduce local swelling and pain.


Above all, don't lie to your kid and tell her the shots won't hurt. Having a needle jabbed into your arm hurts, but as the previous bulleted items illustrate, there are means to minimize the pain.

3. Why can't I just expose my child to someone with the flu so he'll get immunity that way?
The virus culprits of the seasonal flu and swine flu are not like the virus culprit of the chickenpox, so "swine flu parties" are an incredibly bad idea. Since the first reported case of H1N1 in the U.S. in April 2009, children have emerged as one of the hardest-hit patient groups--and researchers have yet to determine why some healthy children who contract the virus have a relatively easy time with it while other relatively healthy children who develop swine flu have very severe cases.

"[H1N1] is still a potentially harmful virus, and we're trying to contain the illness as much as possible," says Walter White, D.O., who runs the University of Alabama at Birmingham's Student Health Service. "We really don't know, in advance, who is going to be the unfortunate person who has a bad or fatal outcome from this flu infection." Dr. White also notes that swine flu parties "[go] against everything medicine and public health are trying to do to encourage social distancing for the infected, and it could hamper efforts to control the disease."

So if one of your child's classmates comes down with the flu, don't rush your kid over to be exposed to the virus.

4. My child's had a reaction to a vaccine in the past. Should I still get her vaccinated?
According to new medical guidelines published in the October issue of Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, the journal of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, local injection site reactions, such as swelling, tenderness or pain, as well as constitutional symptoms, especially fever, are common after vaccinations, but they don't mean a person should never be vaccinated again.

If your child had an allergic reaction to a previous vaccination, realize that these reactions are more often than not caused by some component of the vaccine or its administration and not the immunizing agent itself. Gelatin, egg protein, yeast, latex (used in some vial stoppers and syringe plungers), as well as the vaccine preservatives neomycin and thimerosal are all vaccine components that could potentially trigger an allergic reaction. If your child has a history of allergic reactions, then you should consult an allergist, who can identify the specific substance(s) that trigger the reactions and then determine the most appropriate treatment.

5. What can I do to ward off the flu viruses so my child doesn't get sick in the first place?
In addition to making sure your child eats nutritious food and gets plenty of rest and exercise to maintain his overall health, here are some common sense hygiene tips from the CDC you should teach your child and practice yourself: