Flu in children: how it appears and when a doctor is needed

Flu is an acute infection caused by influenza viruses. Unlike the catch-all “cold” label, it is a specific disease: it spreads in seasonal waves, runs more severely than an ordinary cold in some children, and can produce complications. At the same time, flu cannot be told apart from another respiratory infection by symptoms alone in an individual child.

How the onset usually looks

Flu is characterised by a fairly abrupt onset with marked general malaise: fever, headache, aching body, weakness, and often a poor appetite in children. The runny nose and cough may be modest in the first days and intensify later. In small children the picture is more often non-specific: listlessness, refusing food, sometimes vomiting or loose stools.

This is not a formal disclaimer: a significant share of the illnesses that look like flu during the season are caused not by influenza viruses at all but by other respiratory pathogens. So the label “flu” in conversation or in the news is most often a description of the picture of the illness, not an established diagnosis.

Who copes with flu worse

Most children recover without complications, but the risk of a severe course is higher in some groups:

• children in the first years of life, especially babies;
• children with chronic lung disease, including asthma;
• children with heart disease, neurological conditions, diabetes;
• children with a weakened immune system.

If a child belongs to one of these groups, the threshold for seeing a doctor should be lower: it is sensible to contact the paediatrician at the start of the illness rather than after a period of waiting.

How long it lasts

Usually the hardest days are the first few, then the condition gradually improves, while weakness and a cough can persist longer. What should raise concern is not so much the dragging-on itself as a “second wave”: the fever fell, the child felt better, and then the wellbeing worsened again. This is the typical scenario of a complication and a reason for an examination.

Complications worth knowing about

Most often this means involvement of the respiratory system — from a middle-ear inflammation to pneumonia. That is exactly why the breathing signs sit above the height of the fever in the warning list: rapid breathing, effort in breathing, the chest drawing in and blueness are assessed by a doctor without delay.

Diagnosis: when it changes something

Investigations that confirm flu exist. They gain meaning when the result affects the doctor's decision: in a child from a risk group, in a severe course, in hospital. In an ordinary home situation with a previously healthy child, a confirmed virus name usually does not change the monitoring plan.

General principles of help

• Enough to drink in small, frequent portions — with a high fever, fluid losses grow.
• Rest and sleep; there is no need to “lift” the child back to their usual routine earlier than they can manage themselves.
• Watching the breathing, drinking, urination and general condition.
• Any medicines — as prescribed by a doctor.

Prevention

Seasonal flu vaccination is the main way to reduce the risk of falling ill and of a severe course; it is discussed especially for children in the risk groups. The vaccine composition is updated for each season, so which vaccine is currently available to your child and whether it suits their age is settled in a consultation, not from an article.

Simple measures help too: hand hygiene, the habit of not bringing a sick child into a group setting, airing rooms.

This page is for general information only and is not a substitute for a consultation with a doctor. A child's diagnosis and treatment are determined by a doctor during an examination.