A Westminster, CO Pediatrician's Tip: Protect Your Child Against Flu

As you prepare to cross items off your holiday shopping list, you also need to prepare your child against the winter flu season. Influenza, the name of the virus that causes flu, is one of the greatest villains of the medical world. It usually wreaks the greatest havoc between the months of October and May, infecting millions of American children and causing them to suffer a combination of cough, colds, fever, body aches, and weariness.


About.com offers the following tips for the flu season:

Especially with the bad flu season we faced last year, parents should take steps to help avoid the flu and to keep their family from getting sick. In addition to getting a flu vaccine, this can include frequent hand washing, avoiding close contact with people who are sick with the flu, disinfecting contaminated surfaces, including toys and kitchen counter-tops.

Flu vaccine recommendations for the 2013-14 flu season didn't change from last year. Experts still recommend the vaccination of all people who are at least six months old.

Also remember that children who are less than nine years of age, still need two doses of the flu vaccine if this will be the first time that they are getting vaccinated. Your kids might also need two doses if they are less than nine years of age and haven't had at least two doses of seasonal flu vaccine since July 1, 2010.

If your child hasn’t been vaccinated yet, take him to a Westminster, CO pediatrician who can give him the vaccination he needs.

Perhaps you’ve heard people tell you that “If your child has never had the flu, then he won’t get it.” This is a complete myth. The only reason that your child hasn’t had the flu is because he just got lucky. Eventually, that luck will run out. If someone with a flu sneezes around him and the little villainous germs enter his system, then you might end up wishing you had taken the time to protect him against the virus.

Every caring pediatrician in Westminster wants to help your child avoid this annual scourge. Call a trusted practice like Indian Crest Pediatrics today to schedule your child for his annual flu vaccine and keep him healthy this winter.


(Article Excerpt and Image from Flu Update - Cold and Flu Season Update, December 8, 2013)