Most people who get sick with influenza can be care for at home. When someone is ill with influenza, they may experience symptoms such as: fever, cough, sore throat, sore muscles, joint pain, fatigue and sometimes diarrhea and vomiting.

If you have influenza, stay at home to prevent spreading the illness to others. Plan ahead for child care arrangements in case your child becomes ill and will not be going to school or daycare.

• Protect Yourself and Others
• Rest
• Avoid Close Contact with the Sick Person
• Treat the Symptoms
• Give Lots of Fluids & Nutritious Food & Ensure a Smoke-free Environment
• Stay Alert for Complications

Protect Yourself and Others

Clean your hands frequently! Teach children how and when to clean their hands. Use either soap (liquid is preferred) and warm water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer:

• before eating or drinking;
• before and after food preparation;
• before and after touching your eyes, nose or mouth;
• before and after using shared items like computers and common surfaces like doorknobs and handles;
• after coughing or sneezing;
• after wiping your nose or even someone else's nose;
• after touching items that the sick person has touched (such as dishes, towels and clothes).

Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. They are safe for children to use under adult supervision.

Rest

• Rest and get lots of sleep - this will allow the body to use its energy to fight the infection.
• The sick person should stay home until their fever has been gone for 24 hours and they are feeling better and able to go back to their normal activities. The person may still have a cough for several days to weeks, but can return to school or work even if they are coughing as long as they are otherwise better. Health care workers should ensure they are feeling better for at least 24 hours and their cough is only mild.

Avoid Close Contact with the Sick Person

• Anyone sick with the flu may be contagious for about seven days after symptoms start.
• If possible, only one family member should care for the sick person.
• If possible, try and stay at least 2 metres from the sick person if they are coughing.
• Of course, keep a close eye on sick children.
• When holding a sick child who is sick, place their chin on your shoulder so that they do not cough in your face.
• Avoid the sick person having contact with the rest of the family by using a separate bedroom and bathroom if possible.
• Each sick person should have his/her own personal items (towel, face cloth, cups, utensils, toothbrush, etc.) and they should be kept separate from the belongings of others in the house.
• Wash your hands after touching the items belonging to the sick person and avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
• Frequently clean items (such as the phone, TV remote, keyboard, doorknobs, counter tops) and surfaces that the sick person has touched using normal household disinfectant. Keep in mind the influenza virus can survive on some surfaces for up to 48 hours.
• Avoid having visitors in the home.

Treat the Symptoms

• Fever often comes with chills or aches and pains. Certain medications (such as acetaminophen - for example Tylenol®, or ibuprofen - for example Advil®) may help to reduce these symptoms.
• Do not give acetylsalicylic acid or ASA - for example Aspirin®, to children or teenagers under age 16 to treat a fever. It has been linked to Reye's Syndrome, a potentially fatal disease associated with aspirin consumption by children with viral diseases.
• To reduce muscle pain, apply heat carefully for short periods of time using a hot water bottle or heating pad.
• Gargle with warm water or warm salt water if you have a sore throat. Mix 1/2 tsp (2 ml) salt with 1 cup (250 ml) warm water. Take a sip and gargle for 10 seconds. Then spit out the water. Repeat four or five times per day.
• Use saline nose drops or spray to help soothe or clear a stuffy nose. Do not share drops or sprays with others and throw out the bottle when it is no longer needed.
• Use a humidifier to put water in the air to help breathing

Give Lots of Fluids & Nutritious Food & Ensure a Smoke-free Environment

Stay hydrated. Dehydration occurs when the body loses too much water and it's not replaced quickly enough. Extra fluids are needed to replace those lost because of fever and sweating. It can be serious. Begin taking soothing drinks at the first signs of the flu and follow these tips:

• Try to drink a glass of water or liquids (not coffee, pop or beverages with caffeine or alcohol) every hour while you are awake.
• If drinking liquids makes nausea worse, take one sip at a time until able to drink again.
• The sick person may not have an appetite, but simple foods may be welcomes. In addition to plenty of liquids, eat light, easily-digested foods, such as soup or broth.
• Give water or juice to children often.
• Breastfeed babies often.
• If your urine is dark, you need to drink more fluids.

Always keep some extra non-perishable foods, like juice, canned soup and fruits and vegetables, stored at home in case you are unable to get to a store.

Cigarette smoking is particularly hard on the lungs of a person with an infection. The sick person should avoid smoking. Second-hand smoke is harmful also, so people should not smoke around the sick person.

Stay Alert for Complications

• When treated at home with proper care, most people will begin to feel better after a few days. Take the sick person's temperature daily to track any fever.
• Make sure you have a list of phone numbers for family, friends, neighbours, your health care provider and Telehealth (1.866.797.0000) available by your phone.

• Chest pain
• Shortness of breath
• Rapid or difficulty breathing, or wheezing
• Bluish or grey skin color
• Bloody or coloured mucus/spit
• Sudden dizziness or confusion
• Severe or persistent vomiting
• Seizures
• High fever that does not go away or comes back after 4-5 days
• Low blood pressure
• Dehydration (people may be dizzy when they stand up, they are not urinating, ill infants may not have tears when they cry)


• Additional symptoms to watch for in children include:
  • Any fever in a baby less than 3 months of age
  • Not drinking enough fluids or not eating
  • Not waking or interacting
  • Irritable or not wanting to play or be held

Contact

For more information about influenza or how to protect yourself, call the Huron County Health Unit at 519.482.3416 or toll free at 1.877.837.6143.