Asthmatics and Flu Season

Hello everyone!




There have been several news updates in the past week that show the severity of the flu this season. People are dropping like flies and they are staying down much longer than they have in previous years.

Bloomberg shows in the link below that this is the worst flu season we have had since scientists have started tracking them.
Think Flu Season Is Bad? It Might Get Even Worse

What does that have to do with us? Well, it can affect anyone and everyone. Before I get to the nitty-gritty of my focus topic of the day: asthmatics and flu season, I will remind everyone to:

• Practice good hand hygiene
• Don't go to work if you're sick (ie secreting contagious nastiness from your nose, running a fever, or actively vomiting and/or diarrheal) 
• Keep your sick kiddos home from school
• Immune Boosts! (healthy diet, exercise, maybe some Vitamin C if that makes you feel better) 
• Get your flu vaccine
• Encourage others to do so as well, especially elderly or immunocompromised in your family 

Ok, back to the main focus here: 

• Flu season this year: BAD
• Asthmatics: BAD 
• Together: SUPER BAD 

We have seen quite an influx of asthmatics in the PICU since the beginning of 2018 and many of them have a flu-inducing asthma attack as their admitting diagnosis. 

Some things to keep in mind about your little asthmatic at home:

• Stockpile your nebulizer treatments, make sure you have plenty of extra albuterol at home just in case your child needs some additional help
• Don't hesitate to take them to their primary care doc if you feel like they are starting to become ill, it is better to catch this early. The kids that are in the hospital right now are very, very sick. We can't necessarily keep the germs away, but we can try to catch it before it gets really bad
• If the doc and the extra albuterol aren't enough, do not wait too long to go visit the Emergency Room. You are not being overdramatic, go ahead and take them. Better safe than sorry. 
• Practice good hygiene and feel free to make some judgment calls on sending them to school if you know most of their class is sick or you see your child beginning to exhibit signs of illness. 
• Being an asthmatic raises the potential severity of the flu, keep them safe 

Here are a few research articles to help back up my information: 

The first one is about how asthma exacerbations and respiratory illnesses go hand in hand to create the perfect storm. Impact of Respiratory Viruses on Pediatric Asthma Exacerbations

And the second one goes into detail about why influenza vaccines are so important to the childhood asthma population. Improving influenza vaccination rates in a pediatric asthma management program by utilization of an electronic medical record.

Thank you for listening and please feel free to ask any questions you may have! 

Happy Health and Safe Sniffles!

Korey