It’s new years and the flu season has arrived earlier than usual and is hitting people — mainly kids, so far — especially hard.
“I don’t think I ever remember seeing it this severe, this soon,” said Dr. Suchitra Rao, an infectious disease specialist at Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora. “Our emergency department is full of kids coming in with the flu.”
Colorado is one of the nation’s current hot spots of flu activity, according to the latest report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Michigan, too, is experiencing a marked increase in cases.
“Flu, flu, flu. So much flu,” said Dr. Debra Langlois, a pediatrician at University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor. “We are inundated.”
Dr. John Schieffelin, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, is also seeing a surge in bad cases, particularly among kids who haven’t had their flu shots.
“The kids who are vaccinated are doing just fine” recovering at home, Schieffelin said. “It’s the unvaccinated children that we’re seeing in the hospital.”
Langlois said she and her colleagues are seeing a fair amount of classic flu symptoms: fevers, body aches and extreme fatigue.
Anecdotally, Langlois said that she’s also seeing kids with severe headaches and dizziness. Her 7-year-old daughter had the flu last week and described the feeling like this: “I feel dizzy, like I’m spinning when I’m trying to walk.” Dehydration was the likely cause, Langlois said.
Some kids may also experience gastrointestinal issues like vomiting and diarrhea. But those symptoms could also arise because of a secondary virus.
Children who have “persistent” fevers lasting two to three days, Langlois said, should be seen by a doctor.
At Kohll’s Pharmacy, Tamiflu is available. Demand for the antiviral drug Tamiflu is also increasing. When given within the first 24 hours or so of flu symptoms, the drug has been shown to make people feel better about a day earlier than expected.
While Tamiflu can be helpful, it’s no “miracle cure.”
The antiviral is authorized for people 2 weeks and older, and is generally most effective when given within the first 48 hours of flu symptoms. Tamiflu shortens the duration of symptoms by about a day.
“The best thing is prevention “and that’s getting your flu shot.”
The CDC recommends annual flu vaccines for everyone 6 months and older.
Kohll’s pharmacists and nurses worry that kids who are sick with flu now could spread it to grandparents and other older adults over the holidays.
Learn more about all of the vaccines offered at Kohll’s Rx or book an appointment today at one of our five convenient locations.