One of the best ways to avoid getting the flu is to wash your hands after coughing, sneezing, using the restroom, etc.

The foe sneaks up upon you silently, so that you don’t even realize that it’s there.  Then, all of a sudden, KA-BOOM!!  Before you know what attacked you, influenza (in-floo-en-zah) has made you ill, ill, ill!

Influenza is called the flu too.  It’s an infection that causes fever, chills, cough, body aches, headaches, and occasionally earaches or sinus infections.  That’s a lot of symptoms!

The influenza virus causes the flu.  A virus is a microorganism (here’s a little help. Say: my-croh-or-gah-nih-zum), which means it’s sooo tiny that you won’t be able to see it without a strong microscope.

The virus spreads in little drops that spurt out of an infected person’s mouth and nose when he/she sneezes, coughs, laughs, or even talks.  If someone else breathes in these little drops, or gets them on his/her hands, and then touches their mouth or nose, (yuck!) the virus can get into his/her body and then, he/she can get the flu too!  Oh, no!  It’s no wonder your parents tell you to cover your mouth and nose when you sneeze or cough!  By the way, their advice about washing your hands on a regular basis sounds pretty good to me.  Or, you could use alcohol based anti-microbial hand gel.  It gets rid of 99% of the germs on your hands.  Plus, it keeps you healthier longer than not washing your hands would.

If you do get the flu, your doctor will most likely know that you have it because of the symptoms that you have, especially if there is a flu epidemic.  The doctor might take a nose or throat swab to test for the flu, but usually it’s not required.  To get better, the best treatments you can do are:

1. have a rest in bed or on the couch

2. drink lots of fluids, like water or juice, sometimes 7up or Sprite is ok.  Warm, salty fluids, like soup, work well for sore throats.

3. your parents might want to give you medications such as acetaminophen (uh-see-tuh-mih-noh-fen) or ibuprofen (eye-byoo-pro-fen) for your fever, aches, and soreness, but only if they’re sure you need it.  A couple types of ibuprofen are Advil and Motrin.  A type of acetaminophen is Tylenol.  Don’t take aspirin because it can cause an uncommon but severe illness in children called Reye syndrome (rye sin-drome).

If you get the flu, you’ll probably want to stay at home and away from school for a couple of days.  You might not feel too good for up to a week, and it could be a couple weeks before you feel 100% better.

Sometimes it’s really hard to steer clear of getting coughed or sneezed on, particularly in the winter, when it’s cold season.  Washing your hands regularly with warm water and soap can help keep you from getting sick – or scattering germs to other people if you are sick.  Also, you can eat right, get plenty of rest, don’t spend too much time with people who are sick, don’t share drinking glasses and silverware with other people, and drink lots of fluids.  There’s also a flu shot or vaccine that can help stop you from getting the flu.  Docs say that people who are older than 60 and children who are 6 to 23 months old should get the shot.  These people are more likely to have problems if they get the flu.  They might develop pneumonia (nu-mo-nyah), a bad lung illness.  You want to try to stay away from pneumonia.  People of any age with other health problems – including heart disease, breathing problems such as asthma or kidney problems – need a flu shot too.  Call 911 in case severe or sudden breathing problems should occur.  Ask your mom, dad, or doctor if you should get a flu shot.

If you do need the shot, you’ll have to get one every year.  That’s because the influenza virus changes every year, so, last year’s vaccine might not protect you from this year’s influenza.  Doctors say that the best time to get the flu shot is in October or November.  Getting a vaccine near the beginning of cold season will protect you during the whole cold season, the time of the year when a large amount of people get sick.  If you don’t get the flu shot right away, don’t worry; you can still get the shot at any time during the flu season.  It usually lasts from November to March.  But sometimes you don’t need to get the flu shot.  It’s up to your parents and/or doctor to decide.

Loads of people talk about the stomach flu when they’re sick to their stomach, but the stomach flu really isn’t the flu at all.  It’s an illness called gastroenteritis (gas-tro-en-ter-eye-tus).  Viruses such as bacteria, or parasites can cause it.

People who get gastroenteritis might have stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.  Nausea is the sick feeling you get before you barf, and diarrhea is when you have runny or watery poop, also called bowel movements.  If you have the stomach flu, you’ll probably feel pretty sick for a day or two but then you’ll get better.

There is not a vaccine or cure for gastroenteritis, but if you have it, the best thing to do is rest until you’re feeling better.  If you’re vomiting, don’t eat solid food.  Instead, sip flat ginger ale, 7up, or sprite, or water.  Or you could chew on bits of ice.  Once you stop barfing, drink more clear fluids like white grape juice and chicken broth – even Popsicles and jell-o, or gelatin count!  When you start feeling better you can try plain foods like toast, pretzels or crackers, bananas and plain noodles.  As your stomach returns to its regular state, you can slowly go back to eating what you usually do.

Like the flu, gastroenteritis is contagious, which means that it can spread from person to person.  That’s why it’s important to wash your hands before you eat and after you use the toilet!  

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  1) She came down with a flue.  Return.
2) It keeps EVERYONE away.  Return.

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