The Swine Flu (H1N1) has come to town.  Flu activity is widespread in our area.  However, this is not a reason to panic. The swine flu has symptoms much like the regular flu that comes through each year.  Infected people usually have high fevers (102 to 104), coughing and acheyness. Some people have vomiting but most have symptoms of a bad cold and cough.  Here’s the bad news...this is a totally new flu virus to which we have no natural immunity. Because of this, the CDC says it is likely 20-40% of the population will catch it.  These numbers are likely to be higher among children because they are particularly good at spreading their germs. The good news is that so far, this new flu is not really any worse than the regular flu. The children we’ve seen have not been horribly sick, we haven’t had anyone hospitalized. Usually it runs its course in a week or so, and children get better. We are treating the swine flu the same way we treat the regular flu —controlling higher fevers (with Tylenol/Motrin), fluids, rest and trying to contain the infection. Children can go back to school (or you can go back to work) when the fever has been gone for 24 hours (without any fever medicines).

Some children may benefit from antiviral medicine such as Tamiflu but most will not benefit and do not need it.  Tamiflu must be started in the first 24-48 hours of illness for it to work. It generally shortens the course of the flu by about one day. It has no effect on whether you are contagious or not.The CDC guidelines instruct who should and should not take this medication. They are concerned that widespread use and misuse will lead to the virus becoming resistant to the medicine (and therefore more dangerous), as well as not having enough for the people who really need it.  Your child may need Tamiflu if he gets the flu and is very seriously ill, very young or if he has other problems such as asthma, diabetes, or other chronic illnesses.

Many people have been very concerned that this virus is dangerous and is expected to kill large numbers of people. As stated before, so far it has not been a dangerous illness to normal healthy people. As of last week, the swine flu has killed 520 people in this country. Every year the regular flu kills about 36,000 people in this country. Like the regular flu, most of the people killed by the flu had other problems that put them at risk. We need to be cautious and watch the situation in case things change, but so far, this flu seems much like the regular flu.

The best way to keep from catching the flu are to use common sense and good hygiene — washing your hands frequently, not sharing drinks and food, avoiding sick people, etc.  If you think you have the flu, try to keep from spreading it by staying home, coughing into your elbow instead of your hand, not sharing food and drinks and washing your hands.

For more information about seasonal and swine flu visit www.flu.gov – a website constructed by the federal government to keep the public up to date.