Winter is the season of influenza. Many babies suffer from influenza, which not only affects their schooling, but sometimes causes serious complications such as pneumonia or myocarditis, so how can you protect your baby when influenza strikes? What is influenza? Influenza is the abbreviation of influenza, which is a disease caused by influenza virus infection. Influenza season is from November to March every year. In China, especially in the northern region, winter and spring are the most popular seasons for influenza. It is most common in school-age and pre-school children. What are the symptoms of influenza? 1. Sudden onset of high fever; 2. Alternating chills and high fever; 3. Extreme fatigue or exhaustion; 4. Muscle aches and pains; (Difference from the common cold) 5. Nasal congestion, runny nose; 6. Dry cough. The most direct way to prevent influenza is to get the flu vaccine 1. Influenza vaccine is one of the main measures to prevent and control influenza, which can effectively reduce the chances of influenza, alleviate the symptoms of influenza, and can prevent the occurrence of serious complications of influenza such as pneumonia, myocarditis, encephalitis; influenza vaccine mainly has 3 kinds of whole virus inactivated vaccine, cracked vaccine and subunit vaccine, which are not much different in immunogenicity and side effects. 2.When should I start to vaccinate my baby against influenza? Because most of the influenza viruses will have some mutations every year, so in the season of high incidence of influenza every year need to give the baby vaccination, once the year there is a new influenza vaccine is recommended to be vaccinated as soon as possible, so that you can produce antibodies as early as possible and effective protection of the baby’s health. Considering the high season of influenza, so roughly into the fall (around October) to be vaccinated against influenza. 3. What is the effect of the flu vaccination on my baby? About 2 weeks after vaccination, the human body will produce antibodies, which will destroy the influenza virus when the baby is exposed to it, thus protecting the baby from the influenza virus. After vaccination, there is at least a 50%~80% chance that the baby will not get infected with the flu, and even if the baby gets infected with the flu, the symptoms will be less severe than those of babies who have not been vaccinated against the flu. 4, parents worried about the side effects of the flu vaccine The injection of the vaccine will be localized pain, sometimes red and swollen, other possible side effects are low-grade fever, headache, but these symptoms mostly disappear within 1 to 2 days on their own. 5. Do babies need to be vaccinated against influenza? The virus of influenza is highly virulent, and babies infected with influenza have heavier symptoms than the common cold, which may also cause serious complications. The CDC also recommends that anyone over the age of 6 months be vaccinated against influenza. Compared to adults, babies are more susceptible to influenza and have more severe symptoms than adults, so it is highly recommended that your baby be vaccinated against influenza. 6.Where can I get my baby vaccinated against influenza? General community vaccination clinics and qualified hospitals or clinics. Other ways to prevent influenza Because the influenza virus spreads from person to person, the best way to avoid family members infecting each other is for them to develop good hygiene habits. Frequent hand washing with soap and water can limit the spread of influenza. If water and soap are not available, you can also wash your hands with alcohol-based hand sanitizers, and wash your hands even more frequently when you are already infected with the flu or when you are caring for someone who is sick with the flu. When your baby coughs or sneezes, it’s a good idea to grab a tissue to cover the nose and mouth and then quickly throw the tissue away. Teach your baby to avoid touching his/her eyes, nose and mouth with his/her hands as much as possible because the flu is spread through these means. Avoid letting your baby come into close contact with patients who have the flu. BaoMa Tips: Since the beginning of winter this year, major hospitals whistle blowing department especially pediatric patients burst, many babies have been hit, compared to previous years, many babies who have suffered from influenza and the second time to suffer from influenza, mainly because of this year’s three kinds of influenza viruses at the same time “epidemic”, which is dominated by the influenza B virus, A H3N2 and the new type A H1N1 influenza viruses are also not bad, but also the influenza H1N1 influenza virus. Influenza A H3N2 and new A H1N1 viruses are also not weak. During the high season of influenza, individuals may be infected by different types of influenza viruses, so it is important to strengthen the protection of babies. Parents should focus on observing the baby’s mental state. High fever of 39℃ or above, baby’s poor mental condition, significant loss of appetite, not eating, the above symptoms need to seek prompt medical attention.