Children’s Flu Medicine Prescription

How Can You Soothe And Treat Your Child’s Cold

Use this quick pictorial Q& A guide to see how to soothe your sick child at home. Learn how to safely give over-the-counter medicines if needed to ease a fever, runny nose, sore throat, or other common cold symptoms. If your child is under one month of age, consult with their doctor before giving them any medication.

When To Call The Doctor For Baby’s Cold

If your baby is under 3 months old and/or it’s her first cold, definitely consult your pediatrician. Also call right away if your baby is 0 to 2 months old and has a fever of more than 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit. If her fever goes away and then returns later at 100.4 degrees F or higher, that warrants a call to the pediatrician too, as this could be a sign shes developed a secondary infection.

As fevers climb to 101.5 degrees F and over in children 3 months to 3 years old, you should also contact the pediatrician. And in cases where a babys fever spikes after exposure to hot temperatures, such as overdressing or time spent in a hot car or in the sun, call your doctor right away.

You can treat fevers in babies 2 months and older with acetaminophen and those over 6 months with ibuprofen. Just be sure to check with your practitioner before doing so and to get the proper dosing.

You should also get in touch with the pediatrician if:

• Your child’s temperature goes up suddenly or a fever continues for more than two days.
• Baby’s dry cough is causing choking or difficulty breathing, is significantly interfering with her sleep, or lasts more than two weeks.
• Her nasal mucus is thick and greenish-yellow and lasts more than a day.
• Your baby is extremely sleepy, cranky, out of sorts and has no interest in eating.

What Is The Prognosis Of Flu In Children

It often takes a few weeks to return to normal activity after the flu. The cough may last for weeks. Effective antiviral drugs have been shown to shorten the duration of illness by one to two days when therapy is started within 48 hours of symptom onset and are recommended for those at higher than average risk of complications .

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What Is The Flu In Children

Influenza is a very contagious viral infection that affects the air passages of the lungs. It causes a high fever, body aches, a cough, and other symptoms. It is one of the most severe and common viral illnesses of the winter season. Most children are ill with the flu for less than a week. But some children have a more serious illness and may need to be treated in the hospital. The flu may also lead to lung infection or death.

How Do Health Care Professionals Diagnose Flu In Children

If the child’s illness is occurring during flu season, the doctor may judge the child to have flu simply from observing classic symptoms such as substantial fever , listlessness, and breathing problems in the upper respiratory tract and generalized muscle soreness.

• The doctor may take swabs of mucus from the nose or throat and send them for laboratory analysis. Several rapid diagnostic kits are now available with a fairly high degree of accuracy. The results may be available while still in the office. Sometimes flu will be missed with the rapid tests.
• Sometimes a chest X-ray film may be taken to make sure the child does not have pneumonia.

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What Should I Do If I Think I Am Sick With Flu

If you get sick with flu, antiviral drugs are a treatment option. Check with your doctor promptly if you are at higher risk of serious flu complications and you develop flu symptoms. Flu signs and symptoms can include feeling feverish or having a fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills, and fatigue. Your doctor may prescribe antiviral drugs to treat your flu illness.

Children’s Cough Cold & Flu

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Children Cold And Flu

The Walgreens Online Flu Center provides important flu information to help you protect your little ones throughout the flu season. Flu symptoms, such as high fevers and fatigue, often occur suddenly and without warning. With that in mind, stay informed on the different types of flu and flu vaccines and keep your medicine cabinet stocked with the kids flu medications and kids cough remedies available at Walgreens.com. For total protection against the flu virus, schedule flu shots today for your children at Walgreens.com.

*The total item count is approximate. The count will be inaccurate when sponsored products are displayed, when multiple sizes or colors of a product are grouped on a single product card, and when the in-stock filter is applied.

Finding The Right Dose

Over-the-counter treatments can be a great remedy for the common cold, but exercise caution when using them. Administer OTC medication only according to the directions. Make sure you base the dosage on your child’s weight and age. And don’t forget to read the “Warnings” sections for potential side effects and drug interactions.

Also be mindful of these common abbreviations often found on labels:

• Tbsp and Tsp ,
• oz. ,

Those are all very different measurements.

Also, use the measuring device that is packaged with the medication for most accurate dosing.

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Safe Cough Remedies For Kids

“Understandably, parents will try anything to help their child feel better and sleep through the night,” says Dr. Brown. “I too have spent my share of nights with a sick kid sleeping on my shoulder.” But with no proven benefit and definite established risk, ditch the meds and try these natural and effective remedies instead.

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Key Points About The Flu In Children

• Influenza is a very contagious viral infection of the respiratory system.

• It causes a high fever, body aches, a cough, and other symptoms.

• Most children are ill with the flu for less than a week. But some children have a more serious illness and may need to be treated in the hospital. The flu may also lead to lung infection or death.

• The flu may be treated with acetaminophen, cough medicine, and antiviral medicine. Your child will also need lots of rest and drinking plenty of fluids.

• The best way to prevent flu is to have the yearly flu vaccine. Because the viruses change, researchers create a new flu vaccine each year to help protect against strains of the virus that are currently active. The vaccine is advised for all children 6 months and older.

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Tips For Giving Your Child Cold And Flu Medicine

For any medication you give your child for a cold or flu, there are some important tips to keep in mind. Most importantly, always use the dropper, syringe, medicine cup, or dosing spoon that comes with the medicine. Ask your doctor if one is not provided. You should never use any household spoons to measure.

If you need help administering medicine to a young child that uses pacifiers, Dr. Fish recommends making a slit in the bottom of a pacifier well to load the medicine. For older children, he suggests mixing medicine with something sweet-tasting like juice or chocolate syrup.

Along these lines, you should never refer to medicine as “candy,” since children may be tempted to reach for it when you are not around, putting them at risk for poisoning.

The amount of medicine you provide is based on your child’s weight, so always be sure to check the dosage chart. Most importantly, you should always contact your health provider if you have any questions about medication.

Will The Flu Shot Help Fight The Covid

Immunization against influenza will not provide immunity against other viral infections such as COVID-19 virus. However, influenza and COVID-19 infections share many of the same symptoms . Immunization against influenza virus will lessen the likelihood of severe influenza illness and thus provide necessary life support items for COVID-19 patients or those with other illnesses .

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Antiviral Drugs Approved For Use In Children

If your childs provider prescribes oseltamivir capsules for your child and your child cannot swallow capsules, the prescribed capsules may be opened, mixed with a thick sweetened liquid, and given that way.

There are four flu antiviral drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in the United States which are recommended by CDC for use in children this flu season:

• Oseltamivir is approved for treatment of flu in children 2 weeks old or older. Oral oseltamivir comes in the form of pills and liquid. Although not part of the FDA-approved indications, use of oral oseltamivir for treatment of flu in infants younger than 14 days old.
• Zanamivir is approved for treatment of flu in children 7 years and older. It is not recommended for use in children with underlying respiratory disease, including those with asthma and other chronic lung diseases. Inhaled zanamivir is given via a special inhaler .
• Peramivir is given intravenously and recommended for use in children 2 years and older.
• Baloxavir is a pill that is given as a single dose by mouth and is approved for early outpatient treatment of children with flu who are aged 12 years and older.

How Can I Treat My Child’s Cold Symptoms

Maybe it starts with the sniffles. Maybe it starts with a cough and mild aches and pains. Maybe it’s a long day with an upset stomach. Whatever the cause, curing your child’s cold signs and symptoms is going to take some know-how. This is a great place to start.

Using this visual guide, discover how to relieve your sick children at home and restore them to good health. Discover which medical treatments are effective remedies for the common cold. Also, learn how to safely give over-the-counter medication if needed, to ease a fever, sore throat, runny nose, or other common cold symptoms.

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Flu Medicine For Children

Children can take some types of flu medicine, but other types may be unsafe. Children can take prescription flu medicines based on their age, as listed above for each of the four FDA-approved antiviral medications approved.

The OTC flu medicines that children can use also depend on the childs age and the medication. Always follow the directions on the OTC medication package and talk to a healthcare provider or pharmacist if youre unsure.

Look For Medications With Fewer Ingredients

The drugs in cold and flu medicines fall into one of four buckets: painkillers, decongestants, antihistamines, and cough suppressants. Combo products often have more ingredients than you really need to treat the symptoms you actually have, which puts you at greater risk for side effects, drug interactions, and overdose. For children, it may be better to pick a single-ingredient, OTC medication to lower these chances.

The recommended age for cold and flu meds varies depending on the ingredients, and drug manufacturers often make pediatric versions for kids under the age of 12. These versions will contain a lower dose of the medicine, and recommended dosage is calculated by age and weight.

Heres a rundown of single-ingredient, OTC medications you can find at your local drug store to treat mild cold and flu symptoms, along with the minimum age of use, as stated on the packaging.

Painkillers & Fever Reducers

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Children’s Tylenol Flu Side Effects

• Signs of an allergic reaction, like rash hives itching red, swollen, blistered, or peeling skin with or without fever wheezing tightness in the chest or throat trouble breathing or talking unusual hoarseness or swelling of the mouth, face, lips, tongue, or throat.
• Signs of liver problems like dark urine, feeling tired, not hungry, upset stomach or stomach pain, light-colored stools, throwing up, or yellow skin or eyes.
• Not able to pass urine or change in how much urine is passed.
• A very bad skin reaction may happen. It can cause very bad health problems that may not go away, and sometimes death. Get medical help right away if you have signs like red, swollen, blistered, or peeling skin red or irritated eyes or sores in your mouth, throat, nose, or eyes.

Not So Fast With The Over

If you arent able to get to a doctor right away, or if you want to help relieve some your childs symptoms with over-the-counter medicine, its important to know whats actually safe to give them. The average drugstore carries over 300 cold and flu productsall generally suitable for adults, but perhaps not so much for children.

First, children under the age of 2 should not be given any cold and flu medicines at alltake them to a doctor instead. Thats been the recommendation since a voluntary proactive withdrawal in 2007 took most infant cough-and-cold medications off shelves. Follow-up studies showed that emergency room visits due to life-threatening side effects were cut in half after parents were no longer advised to treat children in that age group.

All cold and flu medications, branded for children or not, will have dosage directions for different age groups on the back of the box. Pay attention to these guidelines, especially when they say do not use for children under a certain age .

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Learn About Tamiflu For Kids And When This Medicine Can Help Children Feel Better

When kids are sick, all you want is to help them feel better. With bacterial infections, you might give them antibiotics, but when it comes to viruses like the flu, you may not have many options.

Besides rest and fluids, one safe way to treat the flu in children over 2 weeks old is with an antiviral medicine called Tamiflu.

Which Children Are At Risk For The Flu

A child is more at risk for the flu if he or she:

• Is around people infected with the flu

• Has not had the flu vaccine

• Does not wash his or her hands after touching infected surfaces

Young children and children with certain underlying health conditions are at increased risk for a hospital stay or severe or complicated influenza infection.

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What Are Some Things I Need To Know Or Do While I Take Children’s Tylenol Flu Caps & Tabs

• Tell all of your health care providers that you take this medicine. This includes your doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and dentists.
• Do not take more than what your doctor told you to take. Taking more than you are told may raise your chance of very bad side effects.
• Do not use longer than you have been told by the doctor.
• Avoid driving and doing other tasks or actions that call for you to be alert until you see how this medicine affects you.
• Avoid drinking alcohol while taking this medicine.
• Talk with your doctor before you use other drugs and natural products that slow your actions.
• Avoid other sources of Children’s Tylenol Flu. Check labels closely. Too much Children’s Tylenol Flu may cause problems.
• Very bad and sometimes deadly liver problems have happened with the use of Children’s Tylenol Flu. Some people needed a liver transplant. Liver problems happened most often in people taking more than 4,000 mg in a day. People were often taking more than one drug with Children’s Tylenol Flu in it. Talk with your doctor.
• This medicine may affect certain lab tests. Tell all of your health care providers and lab workers that you take this medicine .
• Use with care in children. Talk with the doctor.
• Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan on getting pregnant. You will need to talk about the benefits and risks of using this medicine while you are pregnant.
• Tell your doctor if you are breast-feeding. You will need to talk about any risks to your baby.

How Can I Help Prevent The Flu In My Child

The best way to prevent flu is to have the yearly flu vaccine. The flu vaccine is given as a shot . A nasal spray is not recommended for the 2017-2018 flu season. The CDC says this is because the nasal spray did not seem to protect against the flu over the last several flu seasons.

Each year, a new flu vaccine is available before the start of the flu season. Talk with your healthcare provider if you have questions about how vaccines work and how well they prevent flu. The first time a child between the ages of 6 months and 8 years gets a flu vaccine, he or she will need a second flu vaccine one month later.

The vaccine is advised for all children 6 months and older. But for some children, its more critical for them to get a flu shot. The flu shot should be given to any child who has any of these:

• A long-term heart or lung condition

• An endocrine disorder such as diabetes

• A kidney or liver disorder

• Weak immune system from HIV/AIDS or long-term steroids

• A blood disorder such as sickle cell disease

A flu shot should also be given to:

• A child who has a family member with a chronic health condition

• A child or teen taking aspirin as long-term therapy

• A child with parents or caregivers at high risk of complications from the flu

Some side effects of the vaccine can be like mild flu symptoms, but the vaccine does not cause the flu. Possible side effects of the flu vaccine include:

And you can help prevent your child spreading the flu to others if you:

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