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Flu Information
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Differences Between Cold, Seasonal Flu &
H1N1 Symptoms
Frequently Asked Questions About H1N1
What To Do If You Have Flu-Like Symptoms
Taking Care of a Sick Person in Your Home
Flu Season and Your Baby: What Parents Should Know
Flu Information from Clarian Health
H1N1 CDC Web site
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The following information can help you provide safer care at home for sick
persons during flu season.
How Flu Spreads
The main way flu viruses are thought to spread is from person to person in
respiratory droplets of coughs and sneezes. This can happen when droplets from
a cough or sneeze of an infected person are propelled through the air and
deposited on the mouths or noses of those nearby. Flu viruses may also spread
when a person touches respiratory droplets on another person or an object and
then touches their own mouth or nose (or someone else's mouth or nose) before
washing their hands.
Home Care for Those With Flu
People with 2009 H1N1 flu who are cared for at home should:
- Check with their health care provider about any special care they might
need if they are pregnant or have a health condition such as diabetes, heart
disease, asthma or emphysema.
- Check with their health care provider about whether they should take
antiviral medications.
- Stay away from others as much as possible to help prevent spreading the
disease. Stay home from work or school while ill.
- Stay home for at least 24 hours after fever is gone, except to seek medical
care or for other necessities. (Fever should be gone without the use of a
fever-reducing medicine.)
- Get plenty of rest.
- Drink clear fluids (such as water, broth, sports drinks, electrolyte
beverages for infants) to keep from becoming dehydrated.
- Cover coughs and sneezes. Clean hands often with soap and warm water or an
alcohol-based hand rub - especially after using tissues and after coughing or
sneezing into hands.
- Wear a facemask - if available and tolerable - when sharing common spaces
with other household members to help prevent spreading the virus to others.
This is especially important if other household members are at high risk for
complications from the flu.
- Be watchful for emergency warning signs (see reverse side) that might
indicate you need to seek medical attention.
Steps to Help Prevent Spread of Flu in the Home
When caring for a family member who is sick with flu, the most important
ways to protect yourself and others who are not sick are to:
- Keep the sick person away from other people as much as possible, especially
those who are at high risk for complications from the flu.
- Remind the sick person to cover their coughs, and clean their hands
frequently with soap and warm water or an alcohol-based hand rub, particularly
after coughing and/or sneezing.
- Instruct everyone in the home to clean their hands often. Children may need
reminders or help keeping their hands clean.
- Ask your health care provider if family members in contact with the sick
person - particularly those who may be pregnant or have chronic health
conditions - should take antiviral medications such as oseltamivir (Tamiflu®)
or zanamivir (Relenza®) to prevent the flu.
- If you are in a high-risk group for complications from the flu, try to
avoid close contact (within 6 feet) with family members who are sick with the
flu. If close contact with a sick individual is unavoidable, consider wearing a
facemask or respirator, if available and tolerable. Infants should not be cared
for by sick family members.
Placement of the Sick Person
- Keep the sick person in a room separate from the common areas of the house.
(For example, a spare bedroom with its own bathroom, if that's possible.) Keep
the sickroom door closed.
- Unless necessary for medical care or other necessities, people who are sick
with an influenza-like illness should stay home and stay away from others as
much as possible for at least 24 hours after fever is gone. (Fever should be
gone without the use of a fever-reducing medicine). Children, especially
younger children, might potentially be contagious for longer periods.
- If persons with the flu need to leave the home (for medical care, for
example), they should wear a facemask, if available and tolerable, and cover
their nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing.
- Have the sick person wear a facemask - if available and tolerable - if they
need to be in a common area of the house near other persons.
- If possible, sick persons should use a separate bathroom. This bathroom
should be cleaned daily with household disinfectant.
For Caregivers
- Avoid being face-to-face with the sick person.
- When holding small children who are sick, place their chin on your shoulder
so that they will not cough in your face.
- Clean your hands with soap and warm water or use an alcohol-based hand rub
after you touch the sick person or handle used tissues or laundry.
- Talk to your health care provider about taking antiviral medication to
prevent you from getting the flu.
- If you are at high risk of flu-associated complications, you should not be
the designated caretaker (if possible). If close contact with a sick individual
is unavoidable, consider wearing a facemask or respirator, if available and
tolerable.
- Monitor yourself and household members for flu symptoms and contact a
telephone hotline or health care provider if symptoms occur.
Emergency Warning Signs
If you are taking care of someone with the flu, watch for these warning
signs and seek medical help immediately if they occur.
In children:
- Fast breathing or trouble breathing
- Bluish or gray skin color
- Not drinking enough fluids
- Severe or persistent vomiting
- Not waking up or not interacting
- Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held
- Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and more severe
cough
In adults:
- Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
- Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
- Sudden dizziness
- Confusion
- Severe or persistent vomiting
- Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and more severe
cough
This information is provided by Clarian Health and was adapted from the
CDC's "Interim Guidance for Novel H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu): Taking Care of a
Sick Person in Your Home." For more information on the H1N1 virus, please
visit the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention's Web site.
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