Important Information from the Nurse

Parents,
Please be sure your children are getting plenty of rest.  If your child has a persistent cough, please keep him/her home.  Coughing is one or the primary causes of spreading sickness to others.  Do not send your child back to school until he/she is fever free for 24 hours without taking tylenol or ibuprofen.

The following information was sent from our local medical clinic regarding flu symptoms and guidelines for prescribing antiviral medication (tamiflu).

Antiviral Prescribing Guidance

The CDC has detailed guidance on-line for issues related to antiviral prescribing: (http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/recommendations.htm).

This guidance is summarized here:

·         Treatment with oseltamirvir or zanamivir is recommended for all persons with suspected or confirmed influenza requiring hospitalization.

·         Treatment with oseltamivir or zanamivir generally is recommended for persons with suspected or confirmed influenza who are at higher risk for complications (children younger than 5 years old, adults 65 years and older, pregnant women, persons with certain chronic medical or immunosuppressive conditions, and persons younger that 19 years of age who are receiving long-term aspirin therapy).

·         Persons who are not at higher risk for complications or do not have severe influenza requiring hospitalization generally do not require antiviral medications for treatment or prophylaxis.  However, any suspected influenza patient presenting with warning symptoms (e.g. dyspnea) or signs (e.g., tachypnea, unexplained oxygen desaturation) for lower respiratory tract illness should promptly receive empiric antiviral therapy.

·         Clinical judgment is an important factor in antiviral treatment decisions for all patients presenting for medical care who have illnesses consistent with influenza.

Symptoms	H1N1 Flu	Influenza	Cold (Viral URI
Fever	Usually present but not always, > 100°	Usually present and high (102-104); typically lasts 3-4 days	Uncommon, if present, typically low grade (<100.5)
Chills	Yes	Common	Rare
Headache	Yes	Very Common	Uncommon
Aches and pains, muscle aches, chest discomfort	Yes, often severe	Very Common Often severe	Uncommon
Fatigue and weakness	Fatigue, may be severe	Mild	Mild
Extreme Exhaustion	Not Stated	Extremely rare	Extremely Rare
Stuffy/Runny Nose	Yes	Common	Very Common
Sneezing	Yes	Sometimes	Common
Sore throat	Yes	Common	common
Cough	Yes	Non-productive, Moderate, Typically lasting 3-7 days	Hacky, Moderate, often productive; usually responds to cough medications; Typically lasting 3-7 days
Gastrointestinal symptoms	Diarrhea, vomiting  possible	Rare	Rare
Onset	Rapid onset, 3-5 hours, hits hard with fever, aches pain	Rapid onset, 3-5 hours, hits hard with fever, aches pain	Symptoms tend to develop over a few days
Infectious Period	H1N1 virus may be able to infect others from 1 day before getting sick to 5-7 days after.  This can be longer in children and people with weakened immune systems	Seasonal influenza may be able to infect others from 1 day before symptom onset and 3-7 days after	Variable, typically 4-7 days after onset of symptoms, can be longer.

Comparison Charts for H1N1 Flu vs. Seasonal Flu vs. Cold

This Page was last update: Friday, October 16, 2009 at 9:31:58 AM
This page was originally posted: 10/16/09; 9:27:13 AM.
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