Treatment

If your child with a neurologic condition develops fever or flu symptoms, call your doctor or take them to the doctor right away. CDC recommends that doctors promptly treat children with neurologic conditions who have flu or suspected flu with flu antiviral drugs.

Vaccination is the best protection against flu

The best way to prevent flu and its potentially serious complications is for everyone 6 months and older to get a flu vaccine every year. It is especially important for children with neurologic conditions to get vaccinated since they are at a higher risk of experiencing complications if they become ill from flu.

Some children will need more than one dose of a flu vaccine to be protected. Your child’s doctor can determine the number of doses your child needs to be protected against flu. Children younger than 6 months are too young to get a flu vaccine.

In children, annual flu vaccination has been shown to:

• Reduce flu illnesses, doctor’s visits for flu, and missed school days.
• Reduce the risk of flu-related hospitalization and death.

A 2017 study was the first of its kind to show that flu vaccination can significantly reduce a child’s risk of dying from influenza. The study found that flu vaccination reduced the risk of flu-related death by half (51 percent) among children with underlying higher-risk medical conditions. Additionally, it is important for close contacts of children with neurologic conditions, including parents, siblings, household members, and caregivers—such as babysitters, doctors, nurses, and teachers—to get a flu vaccine to keep from getting sick with flu and possibly spreading it to these children or other people at higher risk of serious flu complications.

Types of flu vaccines for children with neurologic conditions

Injectable influenza vaccines (or flu shots) are approved for use in children aged 6 months and older, including healthy children and children with chronic health problems. There is a precaution against the use of nasal spray flu vaccine (LAIV) in people with certain underlying medical conditions, including children with neurologic disorders. Your doctor or other health care provider can answer any questions you might have about flu vaccine.

Other preventive actions for children with neurologic conditions

In addition to getting a flu vaccine, children with neurologic conditions should take the same everyday preventive actions that CDC recommends for everyone, including avoiding people who are sick, washing hands often, and covering coughs and sneezes. This also can include taking steps for cleaner air and hygiene practices like cleaning frequently touched surfaces.

Specific Health Actions for Children with Neurologic Conditions

• Health: Make sure that your child’s chronic health condition is under the best medical control possible.
• Plan: Have a plan for how to take care of your child in case they become sick with flu.

When to seek emergency medical care

If your child has a neurological condition and experiences any of the following emergency warning signs of flu, seek medical attention right away!

• Fast breathing or trouble breathing
• Bluish lips or face
• Ribs pulling in with each breath
• Chest pain
• Severe muscle pain (child refuses to walk)
• Dehydration (no urine for 8 hours, dry mouth, no tears when crying)
• Not alert or interacting when awake
• Seizures
• Fever above 104 degrees Fahrenheit that is not controlled by fever-reducing medicine
• In children younger than 12 weeks, any fever
• Fever or cough that improve but then return or worsen
• Worsening of chronic medical conditions