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Learn More About Ear, Nose & Throat Conditions
Otolaryngologists, also called ear, nose and throat or ENT specialists, treat diseases and injuries affecting the ear, nose and throat, as well as the head and neck.
Whether you're battling a balance disorder, having trouble hearing or simply sick of seasonal allergies, the ENT specialists on the medical staff at Baylor can help you or your family with treatment for many conditions.
Call 1.800.4BAYLOR for a referral to a physician on the medical staff at one of our hospitals.
Get the information you need about the H1N1 virus.
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Exposure (Close Contact) to person with influenza
Questions about influenza
Your child has NO symptoms of influenza (no fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose)
Children with symptoms of influenza following Exposure (Close Contact) should be managed using the Influenza topic
Exposure (Close Contact) Definition:
HOUSEHOLD CLOSE CONTACT: Lives with a person with influenza.
OTHER CLOSE CONTACT (within 3 feet, 1 meter; touching distance) with a person with influenza. Examples of such close contact include kissing or embracing, sharing eating or drinking utensils, close conversation, and any other direct contact with respiratory secretions of a person with influenza. Includes being in the same child care center room or carpool.
NOT CLOSE CONTACT: In same building. Activities such as walking by a person or sitting across a waiting room from a person with influenza for a brief period of time. Being in the same school, church, workplace or building also is not Close Contact.
NOT CLOSE CONTACT: In same community. Lives in a community where there are one or more confirmed cases of influenza is not an Exposure. Living in the same state or country (e.g., Mexico) carries even less risk.
HIGH-RISK Children for Complications From Influenza (AAP)
Children are considered HIGH-RISK for complications if they have any of the following conditions:
Lung disease (such as asthma)
Heart disease (such as a congenital heart disease)
Cancer or weak immune system conditions
Neuromuscular disease (such as muscular dystrophy)
Diabetes, sickle cell disease, kidney disease OR liver disease
Diseases requiring long-term aspirin therapy
Pregnancy
Healthy children under 2 years old are also considered HIGH-RISK (CDC: September 2009)
Note: All other children are referred to as LOW-RISK
Prescription Antiviral Drugs for Influenza
For optimal results, antiviral drugs (such as Tamiflu) should be started within 48 hours of the start of flu symptoms.
The AAP recommends they be used for: 1) any patient with severe symptoms AND 2) for most HIGH-RISK children (see that list) with any flu symptoms.
The AAP doesn't recommend antiviral drugs for LOW-RISK children with mild or moderate influenza illness.
Their benefits are limited: they usually reduce the time your child is sick by 1 to 1.5 days. They reduce the symptoms, but do not eliminate them.
Side effects: Vomiting in 10% of children.
Influenza Exposure (Close Contact) within last 7 days AND fever or respiratory symptoms (cough, sore throat, or runny nose), See INFLUENZA
Influenza EXPOSURE (Close Contact) within last 7 days AND your child is HIGH RISK for complications of flu (age under 2 years OR underlying heart or lung disease OR weak immune system, etc) (see that list)
You have other questions or concerns
Age over 6 months and needs flu shot
Influenza Questions and NO EXPOSURE in the last 7 days
Influenza Prevention Questions
Tamiflu Prescription Questions
Influenza EXPOSURE within the last 7 days , but LOW-RISK child
Influenza Minor Contact (same school or gathering, etc) BUT No True EXPOSURE (Close Contact) AND NO Symptoms
Influenza General Information:
For most healthy people, the symptoms of seasonal influenza are similar to those of the common cold.
However, with flu, the onset if more abrupt and the symptoms are more severe.
Feeling very sick for the first 3 days is common.
The treatment of influenza depends on your child's main symptoms and usually is no different from that used for other viral respiratory infections.
Influenza Symptoms:
The main symptoms are fever, cough, sore throat and runny nose.
Fever is usually present. (Exception: immune-compromised children)
Other common symptoms are muscle pain, headache and fatigue.
Some people also have vomiting and diarrhea, but never as the only symptom.
Influenza Diagnosis and Flu Tests:
If influenza is widespread in your community and your child develops flu symptoms with fever, then he or she probably has influenza.
Your child doesn't need any special tests.
You should call your doctor if your child is HIGH-RISK for complications of flu: 1) under 2 years of age OR 2) has underlying health problems. (e.g., asthma or weak immune system (see the HIGH-RISK list)
For LOW-RISK children, you don't need to call or see your child's doctor, unless your child develops a possible complication of the flu.
Influenza Treatment:
Tamiflu (oseltamivir) is the main antiviral drug used to treat influenza in children.
Treatment is recommended for any patient with severe symptoms AND for most HIGH-RISK patients (see that List) with any flu symptoms. (AAP) It usually is reserved for hospitalized children with severe symptoms OR who have underlying health problems.
Treatment is generally not recommended for LOW-RISK children with mild to moderate influenza illness (per AAP).
Most patients recover without taking Tamiflu.
Influenza Contagiousness and Return to School:
Spread is rapid because the incubation period is only about 2 days (range 1-4 days) for seasonal flu and the virus is very contagious.
Keep your child home and out of child care or school for at least 24 hours after the fever is gone (CDC: August 2009).
The influenza virus is spread by airborne droplets from sneezing and coughing.
It also can be transmitted by hands contaminated with secretions.
Call Your Doctor If:
How to Protect Yourself From Getting Sick:
Wash hands often with soap and water.
Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.
Avoid touching the eyes, nose or mouth. Germs on the hands can spread this way.
Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
Try to avoid unnecessary visits to the ER and urgent care centers because those are the places where you are more likely to be exposed to influenza, if you don't have it.
How To Protect Others - Stay Home When Sick:
Cover the nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing.
Wash hands often with soap and water, especially after coughing or sneezing.
Limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.
Stay home from school or work for at least 24 hours after the fever is gone (CDC, August 2009).
Flu Shot:
Getting a flu shot is the best way to protect you and your child from flu.
Yearly influenza vaccines are strongly recommended for all children over 6 months of age. (AAP)
When the vaccine is a good match to the circulating flu virus, it is highly effective at completely preventing the disease.
Even when the vaccine doesn't match the circulating flu virus, it usually reduces the severity of the symptoms.
Anti-Viral Medication:
Tamiflu can be used for prevention following close contact with a person who has influenza.
It is only recommended for HIGH-RISK patients (CDC).(see that list)
Treating Influenza - Tamiflu:
Tamiflu is a prescription anti-viral medicine that is helpful in treating the influenza virus.
The benefits are limited. Tamiflu usually reduce the time your child is sick by 1 to 1.5 days. It helps reduce the symptoms, but does not eliminate them.
For optimal results, antiviral drugs (such as Tamiflu) should be started within 48 hours of the onset of flu symptoms.
Indications: Severe symptoms OR underlying health problems (HIGH-RISK group)
For HIGH-RISK children, call your child's doctor at the start of flu symptoms.
Most patients have mild to moderate symptoms and Tamiflu treatment is not necessary.
Tamiflu also has side effects: Vomiting in 10% of children.
Preventing Influenza - Tamiflu:
The drug Tamiflu may help prevent influenza.
Indications: Recent close contact with person with confirmed influenza AND the exposed person is in HIGH-RISK group (age under 2 years, underlying heart or lung disease, weak immune system, etc) (CDC)
It is effective only while your child is taking it and ceases once your child stops taking it.
Your child should only take Tamiflu if your child's physician recommends it.
HIGH-RISK Adult: If a High-Risk adult (e.g., adult with a chronic disease, pregnant, over 65 years old, etc) has been exposed to influenza in the home, call that person's doctor within 24 hours. (Reason: May need anti-viral medicine)
Personal Stockpiling of Tamiflu - Not Recommended:
Definition: Some people request a prescription for Tamiflu for all family members just in case they come down with flu symptoms. They currently are well and have not been exposed to influenza.
Doctors are opposed to this practice, as is the CDC, the AAP and your State's Public Health Department.
The supply of Tamiflu is limited and needs to be kept available for patients who have severe symptoms OR have underlying health problems.
Reassurance:
Although your child was exposed to influenza, your child does not have any symptoms.
Symptoms usually develop within 1-4 days of exposure to another person with seasonal flu (7 days is an outer limit with the H1N1 strain of flu).
Even if your child did develop symptoms of influenza, at this time, anti-viral treatment (Tamiflu) is not indicated for LOW-RISK children.
Patients recover from influenza with supportive symptom care.
To catch influenza, your child would need to have close contact with an infected person.
Close contact includes kissing or embracing, sharing eating or drinking utensils, close conversation, interactions within 3 feet (1 meter), being in the same child care group or car pool, etc.
Because your child did not have close contact, it is highly unlikely that he will develop influenza.
Healthy children recover from influenza with supportive symptom care.
Last Modified Date: 2012-02-21T14:23:23.16-07:00 Created Date: 2012-02-21T14:23:23.16-07:00 Published Date: 2012-02-21T14:23:23.043-07:00 Copyright Date: 2013 Copyright Statement: © 2000-2013 Krames StayWell, 780 Township Line Road, Yardley, PA 19067. All rights reserved. This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical care. Always follow your healthcare professional's instructions.
Does your child have the flu? Read more about signs and symptoms.
Influenza (or flu) is a highly contagious viral respiratory tract infection. An estimated 5 to 20 percent of people in the U.S. get influenza each year. Influenza is characterized by the abrupt onset of fever, muscle aches, sore throat, and a nonproductive cough.
Influenza can make people of any age ill. Although most people are ill with influenza for only a few days, some have a much more serious illness and may need to be hospitalized. Influenza can also lead to pneumonia and death.
Influenza viruses are divided into three types, designated as A, B, and C.
Influenza types A and B are responsible for epidemics of respiratory illness that occur almost every winter and are often associated with increased rates for hospitalization and death. Efforts to control the impact of influenza are focused on types A and B.
Influenza type C usually causes either a very mild respiratory illness or no symptoms at all. It does not cause epidemics and does not have the severe public health impact that influenza types A and B do.
Influenza viruses continually mutate or change, which enables the virus to evade the immune system of its host. This makes people susceptible to influenza infection throughout their lives. The process works as follows:
A person infected with influenza virus develops antibody against that virus.
The virus mutates or changes.
The "older" antibody no longer recognizes the "newer" virus.
Reinfection occurs.
The older antibody can, however, provide partial protection against reinfection. Currently, three different influenza viruses circulate worldwide: two type A viruses and one type B virus. Immunizations given each year to protect against the flu contain the influenza virus strain from each type that is expected to cause the flu within that year.
Although each flu season is different, approximately 5 to 20 percent of the population will get the flu each year. Of those who get the flu, between 3,000 and 49,000 will die from it or from complications, with more than 90 percent of deaths occurring in people over 65.
The influenza virus is generally passed from person to person by airborne transmission, such as sneezing or coughing. But, the virus can also live for a short time on objects, such as doorknobs, pens, pencils, keyboards, telephone receivers, and eating or drinking utensils. Therefore, it may also be spread by touching something that has been handled by someone infected with the virus and then touching your own mouth, nose, or eyes.
The following are the most common symptoms of the flu. However, each individual may experience symptoms differently. Influenza is called a respiratory disease, but the whole body seems to suffer when a person is infected. People usually become acutely ill with several, or all, of the following symptoms:
High fever
Headache
Runny or stuffy nose
Sneezing at times
Cough, often becoming severe
Severe aches and pains
Fatigue for several weeks
Sometimes a sore throat
Extreme exhaustion
Fever and body aches usually last for three to five days, but cough and fatigue may last for two weeks or more. Although nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may accompany the flu, these gastrointestinal symptoms are rarely prominent. "Stomach flu" is an incorrect term sometimes used to describe gastrointestinal illnesses caused by other microorganisms.
The symptoms of the flu may resemble other medical conditions. Always consult your doctor for a diagnosis.
Specific treatment for influenza will be determined by your doctor based on:
Your age, overall health, and medical history
Extent and type of influenza, and severity of symptoms
Your tolerance for specific medications, procedures, or therapies
Expectations for the course of the disease
Your opinion or preference
The goal of treatment for influenza is to help prevent or decrease the severity of symptoms. Treatment may include:
Medications to relieve aches and fever. Aspirin should not be given to children with fever without first consulting a doctor. The drug of choice for children is acetaminophen (Tylenol).
Medications for congestion and nasal discharge
Bed rest and increased intake of fluids
Antiviral medications. When started within the first two days of treatment, they can reduce the duration of the disease but cannot cure it. Four medications have been approved and include amantadine, rimantadine, zanamivir, and oseltamivir. Some side effects may result from taking these medications, such as nervousness, lightheadedness, or nausea. Individuals with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are cautioned about using zanamivir. Viral resistance to these drugs may vary. Some drugs may be ineffective if current viral strains have developed resistance. All of these medications must be prescribed by a doctor.
Consult your doctor for more information.
A new influenza vaccine is introduced each September. Everyone who is at least 6 months old should get a flu vaccine this season It is usually recommended for specific groups of people (see below), as well as for people who want to avoid having the flu. In addition, antiviral medications are approved for use in preventing the flu. All of these medications are available by prescription, and a doctor should be consulted before any medication is used for preventing the flu.
A nasal-spray flu vaccine, called FluMist, is currently approved to prevent flu due to influenza A and B viruses in healthy children and adolescents ages 2 to 17, and healthy adults ages 18 to 49. As with other live virus vaccines, FluMist should not be given for any reason to pregnant women and people with immune suppression, including those with immune deficiency diseases, such as AIDS or cancer, and people who are being treated with medications that cause immunosuppression. FluMist also should not be given to the following groups of people:
Children younger than 2 years
Any person with asthma
Children younger than 5 years who have recurrent wheezing
Following these precautions may also be helpful:
When possible, avoid or limit contact with infected people.
Frequent handwashing may reduce, but not eliminate, the risk of infection.
A person who is coughing or sneezing should cover his or her nose and mouth with a handkerchief to limit spread of the virus.
Vaccine effectiveness varies from year to year, depending on the degree of similarity between the influenza virus strains included in the vaccine and the strain or strains that circulate during the influenza season. The 2012–2013 flu vaccine will protect you against three different flu strains, including the 2009 H1N1 virus. Vaccine strains must be chosen 9 to 10 months before the influenza season, and sometimes mutations occur in the circulating strains of viruses between the time vaccine strains are chosen and the next influenza season. These mutations sometimes reduce the ability of the vaccine-induced antibody to inhibit the newly mutated virus, thereby reducing vaccine effectiveness.
Vaccine effectiveness also varies from one person to another, depending on factors such as age and overall health.
The most serious side effect that can occur after influenza vaccination is an allergic reaction in people who have a severe allergy to eggs. For this reason, people who have an allergy to eggs should not receive the influenza vaccine.
The National Center for Infectious Diseases, a division of the CDC, says that influenza vaccine causes no side effects in most people who are not allergic to eggs. Less than one-third of people who receive the vaccine experience some soreness at the vaccination site, and about 5 to 10 percent experience mild side effects, such as headache or low-grade fever for about a day after receiving the vaccination.
Because these mild side effects mimic some influenza symptoms, some people believe the influenza vaccine causes them to get influenza. However, according to the CDC, "influenza vaccine produced in the United States has never been capable of causing influenza because the only type of influenza vaccine that has been licensed in the United States to the present time is made from killed influenza viruses, which cannot cause infection."
The flu causes complications that may develop into a more serious disease or become dangerous to some groups, such as elderly people and those with chronic medical conditions. For these reasons, the CDC recommends that the following groups immunize themselves each year. Always consult your doctor for more information regarding who should receive the flu vaccine:
People 50 and older. Vaccine effectiveness may be lower for older adults, but it can significantly reduce their chances of serious illness or death from influenza.
Children and adolescents 6 months to 19 years old
Residents of nursing homes and any other chronic care facilities that house people of any age who have chronic medical conditions
Adults and children who have chronic disorders of the pulmonary or cardiovascular systems, including children with asthma
Adults and children who have the following medical conditions:
Chronic metabolic diseases, such as diabetes
Renal dysfunction
Immunosuppression
Hemoglobinopathies, such as sickle cell disease
Children and teenagers ages 6 months to 19 years receiving long-term aspirin therapy
Women who will be pregnant during flu season
Health care providers
Employees of nursing homes and chronic care facilities who have contact with patients or residents
Providers of home care to people at high risk
Household members, including children, of people high-risk groups
People of any age who wish to decrease their chances of influenza infection, except for people who are allergic to eggs
The CDC recommends getting the flu shot every year, as soon as it becomes available in your community. Flu season can begin as early as October and most commonly peaks in the U.S. in January or February, but flu seasons are unpredictable. The flu shot takes one to two weeks to become effective.
Although there are many new medications designed to treat flu symptoms and even shorten the duration of the illness, the flu vaccine still offers the best protection against the flu.
Every year, the flu shot "cocktail" changes to combat the current strains of influenza affecting the population. The World Health Organization monitors flu outbreaks worldwide and recommends appropriate vaccine compositions to be used for the next year. However, sometimes, a strain may appear that was not included in the flu vaccine. People who have had the flu shot tend to have milder symptoms if they contract the flu.
Because the flu is a highly contagious infection usually spread by droplets produced by an infected person who is coughing or sneezing, travelers are very susceptible to contracting the flu.
The CDC recommends that travelers have the flu vaccine at least two weeks in advance of planned travel to allow time to develop protective immunity. There are other anti-viral drugs available to help prevent viral infections and complications. Consult your doctor for more information.
Last Modified Date: 2012-09-19T00:00:00-06:00 Created Date: 2007-03-30T00:00:00-06:00 Published Date: 2012-09-19T13:59:25.273-06:00 Copyright Date: 2013 Copyright Statement: © 2000-2013 Krames StayWell, 780 Township Line Road, Yardley, PA 19067. All rights reserved. This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical care. Always follow your healthcare professional's instructions.
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