AAP: These tips can keep kids comfortable amid cold & flu season
During the current cold and flu season, children have a higher risk of getting sick. The AAP has release tips and reminders for parents to help keep children comfortable and healthy.
AAP: These tips can keep kids comfortable amid cold & flu season | Image Credit: © Rido - © Rido - stock.adobe.com.
In a January 17, 2025 report of respiratory virus activity levels, the CDC noted that acute respiratory illness causing people to seek health care remains high in the United States.1
Influenza test positivity increased 18.8% on a national level, and emergency department (ED) visits are high according to the federal agency for diagnosed influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Additionally, compared to the fall, ED visits for COVID-19 are elevated compared to the fall season.
With the cold and flu season upon us, children face higher risks of getting sick, with respiratory viruses commonly playing the role of culprit. Symptoms of respiratory illnesses can often make children feel miserable, according to a recent update from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).2
In a January 22, 2025 alert, the AAP released several tips for both parents and clinicians to use in an effort to make sick children a little more comfortable during the cold and flu season.1
"Cold and flu viruses thrive in cold, dry air which is why we become so vulnerable to them as the weather shifts,” Lanre Omojokun Falusi, MD, MEd, FAAP, said in a press release. “Colds and flu are common in childhood, partly because your child's immune system is still developing. In most cases, time is the best treatment.”
Most colds are caused by rhinoviruses, which can result in sneezing, sniffling, cough, stuffy, runny nose, headache, body aches, sleepiness, sore throat, watery eyes, chills and a low-grade fever of around 99.5°F to 100.3°F.
"I think this respiratory season is really starting to get much more severe," said Contemporary Pediatrics Editor-in-Chief Tina Tan, MD, FAAP, FIDSA, FPIDS, professor of pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and a pediatric infectious diseases attending at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago in Illinois.
"We're having flu outbreaks, and we're still seeing a lot of RSV [including] in older kids that are being hospitalized, we're seeing human metapneumovirusvirus, and we're still seeing some COVID-19. This respiratory season is really just getting much more severe right now, which is not unexpected given the fact the we are in the midst of winter."
The AAP, in light of the current winter cold and flu season, has reinforced some practical reminders and tips for both parents and clinicians.1
Click through the slideshow below to view each tip, and feel free to use these tips as handout or reminder when discussion the cold and flu season with your patients and their parents.
The following tips are courtesy of the AAP.1
“The best way to protect children from severe illness is by making sure they get vaccinated every flu season,” added Falusi said. “Taking steps to avoid getting sick is typically easier than managing the illness and its symptoms later on.”
References:
1. American Academy of Pediatrics: 8 Tips for Keeping Children Comfortable During Cold, Flu Season. AAP. Press release. January 22, 2025. Accessed January 22, 2025.
2. Respiratory virus activity levels. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Updated January 17, 2025. Accessed January 22, 2025. https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/data/activity-levels.html
