Flu (Influenza)
Flu (or influenza) is a viral infection that tends to be more common in the colder months of the year. Most people catch flu in the winter as it spreads easily through people sneezing and coughing.
Please see Red-Amber-Green tables for advice on when and where to seek care for your child.
Flu is very different to having a cold. Some people say they have flu when they mean they have a cold or another viral infection. Both can have similar symptoms, and it can be hard to tell the difference.
Flu symptoms tend to come on quickly, but a cold can take a few days. With flu, for example, you can wake up feeling ok, but by the end of the day you can feel unwell and not able to do your usual things. Flu can make you feel unwell for up to two weeks.
Symptoms in children include fever, cough, sneezing, runny nose, headache, muscle aches, tiredness, and sore throat.
All children aged 2-13 years are encouraged to have the flu vaccine each winter. If you are pregnant it's also really important to consider getting the flu vaccine. This not only reduces the risk of getting unwell with the flu but also reduces the risk of them transmitting it to family members. After the elderly (aged over 75 years), children under the age of 5 years have the greatest risk of being admitted to hospital with flu.
When should you worry?
If your child has any of the following:
- Is under 3 months of age with a temperature of 38°C / 100.4°F or above (unless fever in the 48 hours following vaccinations and no other red or amber features)
- Becomes pale, mottled and/or feels abnormally cold to touch
- Is going blue around the lips
- Severe breathing difficulty - too breathless to talk or eat/drink or breathing that stops or pauses
- Has a fit/ seizure
- Becomes extremely agitated (crying inconsolably despite distraction)
- Develops a rash that does not disappear with pressure (the ‘Glass Test’)
- Difficult to wake up/ sleepy or confused
You need urgent help.
Go to the nearest Hospital Emergency (A&E) Department or phone 999.
If your child has any of the following:
- Is 3-6 months of age with a temperature of 39°C / 102.2°F or above (but fever is common in babies up to 2 days after they receive vaccinations)
- Continues to have a fever of 38.0°C / 100.4°F or more for more than 5 days
- Breathing a bit faster than normal or working a bit harder to breathe
- Swelling of a limb or joint
- Complaining of severe pain that is not improving with painkillers
- Dry skin, lips, tongue or looking pale
- Seems dehydrated (sunken eyes, drowsy or not had a wee or wet nappy for 12 hours)
- Sleepy or not responding normally
- Crying and unsettled
- Poor feeding (babies) or not drinking (children)
- Getting worse or you are worried about them
- Is becoming drowsy (excessively sleepy) or irritable (unable to settle them with toys, TV, food or picking up) – especially if they remain drowsy or irritable despite their fever coming down
- Has extreme shivering or complains of muscle pain
- Is getting worse or if you are worried
You need to contact a doctor or nurse today.
Please ring your GP surgery or call NHS 111 - dial 111.
If none of the above features are present
If your child has any other symptoms associated with their fever, you may want to look at the information on sore throat, cough, earache, diarrhoea and vomiting or tummy ache.
Additional advice is also available to young families for coping with crying of well babies.
Self care
Continue providing your child’s care at home. If you are still concerned about your child, call NHS 111 – dial 111.
Advice and Guidance
Self care and Prevention
Self care: Looking after your child with flu like symptoms
- Rest and sleep
- Keep warm
- Encourage drinking plenty of fluids (water/juice/milk etc) to avoid dehydration (child's pee should be light yellow or clear)
- Give paracetamol or ibuprofen to your child if they're distressed or uncomfortable/ in pain – check the packaging or leaflet to make sure the medicine is suitable for your child, or speak to a pharmacist or GP if you're not sure
- Do not take paracetamol and flu remedies that contain paracetamol at the same time as it is easy to take more than the recommended dose
What are the complications of the flu in children?
The flu can lead to a lung infection called pneumonia. In some cases, the flu can lead to death. Children who have other health conditions that affect breathing, such as asthma, are at greater risk for flu complications. This is why it is so important to have your vaccination.
How to avoid spreading flu
Flu easily spread to other people. You're more likely to give it to others in the first 5 days.
Flu is spread by germs from coughs and sneezes, which can live on hands and surfaces for 24 hours.
To reduce the risk of spreading flu:
- Wash your hands often with warm water and soap
- Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze (if you do not have a tissue, cough or sneeze into the bend of your elbow, not into your hand)
- Bin used tissues as quickly as possible
Try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people if you have a high temperature or you do not feel well enough to do your normal activities.
Make sure you look at having the flu vaccine. This can help keep everyone in your family safe during the winter months.
Video Showcase
Related Conditions
Further Information
