← The Pediatrician Next Door - Simple Advice on Parenting and Family Health
The Pediatrician Next Door - Simple Advice on Parenting and Family Health
Why is the Flu so Dangerous? Can you Really Die from Influenza?!
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Experian. Here's what I've been hearing a lot lately and that is what is so bad about the flu. Isn't it just basically a bad cold? Okay, yes, there are people with colds and then there are people with the flu. I can usually tell before I even finish introducing myself. When I walk into a clinic room, I'm like, hi, I'm Dr. Oh, you have the flu. They are almost always lying down, jacket on, sometimes hood over their head, shoes on. They look wrecked, exhausted In a way that feels like their whole body is weighed down. Parents say things like, he's never like this. She hasn't moved all day. Or my favorite accurate description, it's like he got hit by a truck. And that's the flu. And I'm going to tell you all its dirty secrets. I'm Dr. Wendy Hunter, and I'm the pediatrician next door. I'm that doctor friend you call for practical advice about your kid's health. I mix the science of medicine with the reality of parenting. We use the word flu casually all the time. You know, people say, I had the stomach flu. Everyone at work has the flu. But medically speaking, influenza is a very specific illness caused by the influenza virus. It's not a cold virus. It's not a stomach virus. It's influenza. And it behaves differently. In some cases, it can be dangerous in ways that most people don't realize. So why do doctors take it so seriously? That question takes us into history. Influenza has been shaping human health for centuries, long before we had vaccines, antiviral medications, or even a basic understanding of viruses. The most famous example of this is the 1918 influenza pandemic. Often called the Spanish flu, It infected about a third of the world's population and killed up to 50 million people worldwide. That's more than the number of people who died in World War I. And what was weird was it didn't kill the old people or the very sick. It disproportionately killed young, healthy adults, people in their 20s and 30s. Why? It wasn't just the virus itself. It was people's response to it, their body's response. That pattern when a virus triggers the immune system to overreact shows up again and again in influenza history. It's one of the reasons flu pandemics are so unpredictable. And it's one of the reasons influenza is not something we ignore or shrug off. To understand this, we have to talk about the virus itself. On the surface of the influenza virus are two important proteins. Hemagglutinin and neuraminidase. You've probably heard them referred to as H and n, like H1N1 or H3N2. Think of these proteins like your house keys. They help the virus attach to your cells, break into the cell, and then spread. The tricky part is that these keys don't stay the same. Influenza is a shape shifter. Small changes happen all the time, which is something we call antigenic drift. You don't need to know that. That's why the flu you catch one year doesn't protect you. Well, the next year, bigger, more dramatic changes. We call that antigenic shift. Yeah, it's different. That happens less often. But when it does, it can lead to pandemics because the human immune system doesn't recognize the virus. This constant changing is part of why influenza has been a persistent threat throughout human history. It's also why we can't just solve the flu once and be done with it. Most people who get the flu do recover. It's miserable, as you probably know, but you'll get through it. Sometimes, however, the flu does kill people, and not in the way that you imagine. It doesn't just attack the lungs and cause pneumonia. The end. The virus can throw your entire immune system into pure chaos. And that's what we call viral sepsis. Sepsis is a word that scares doctors, and for good reason. Most people think of sepsis as a complication of having a bacterial infection, like a severe blood infection from having a urinary tract infection, for example. But viruses, including influenza, they can cause sepsis, too. How does that work? Well, your immune system, it's there to protect you. When a virus enters your body, immune cells release chemicals, mostly cytokines, and those signal for help. They raise your temperature, they cause inflammation, and they tell white blood cells where they need to go to help. This response is necessary, and it's how you fight an infection. But sometimes, especially with influenza, that response doesn't stay controlled. Instead of a simple defense, the immune system sort of panics. It releases massive amounts of inflammatory chemicals all at once. That causes your blood vessels to leak, so blood pressure can drop, and your organs might not get enough oxygen. The heart, lungs, kidneys, and brain can struggle, not because the virus is destroying them directly, but because the body's own defense system is in overdrive. And that's viral sepsis. And it can happen very fast. That is why someone can look okay early in the illness and then very suddenly go way downhill. It's why young, healthy people can end up critically ill. It's why doctors don't dismiss influenza, even if it's in a healthy young patient. When sepsis sets in, your body isn't just fighting the virus anymore. It's fighting itself now. And there's no way to predict with certainty who's going to develop this kind of response. Yes, babies, older adults, pregnant people, and those with underlying medical conditions, they are at higher risk. But every year, we do see influenza in. People who were previously healthy get very, very sick. People who exercise, people who say they never get sick. Okay, I Hope I didn't scare you. I just mean to explain why doctors take influenza so seriously, even now in 2026, even with all of our technology and smarts. Another reason influenza can be serious and is different than the common cold is that it weakens the body's defenses in other ways. The virus damages the lining of the respiratory tract, making it easier for bacteria to invade. And that's how bacterial pneumonia so often follows influenza. The virus basically opens the door and. And bacteria walk right in. Influenza can also strain the heart. We see higher rates of heart attacks and heart inflammation during flu season, even in people that don't have heart disease. A high fever, dehydration, inflammation, and stress on your cardiovascular system play a role in this. Influenza is a wily creature and it changes constantly. It spreads very efficiently and it hits hard. And in some cases, it pushes the immune system into the danger zone. And that's why influenza has shaped history. It's why public health tracks it obsessively every winter. And it's why we doctors get nervous when flu cases start rising fast and we practically beg people to get their flu vaccine. So here's the question I want to leave you with before we move into the second half of this. If the flu can do all of this, if it can overwhelm the immune system, if it can damage organs and sometimes turn deadly, what can you do about it when someone gets sick? I'll tell you after this break. I always tell parents to read the label before drinking anything packaged. Yeah, that advice is not just for food. Drinks count too, and a lot of them are surprisingly high in added sugar. That's why Cure is one I feel good recommending Cure's hydration packs are clean and simple plant based electrolytes, no added sugar, and only 25 calories. They come in refreshing flavors like watermelon, berry, pomegranate, and lemonade that don't taste artificial. What makes Cure different is the science. It uses the same electrolyte ratio proven to hydrate as effectively as an IV drip, which means your body can absorb and use what you're drinking. For Kids Cure Kids mixes are made with the help of pediatricians, no artificial ingredients, no added sugars, and can kid approved flavors. Whether it's after sports, long school days, or winter play. Kids lose electrolytes too. Even when it's cold outside. Staying hydrated isn't just about water. You also need electrolytes. That's why I recommend Cure. It's clean, tastes great, and my patients love it. You can grab Cure on Amazon or find a store near you@curehydration.com Dr. Wendy that's-r w e n D Y Real ingredients, real hydration, ready for the whole family.
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Terms apply Eczema is unpredictable, but you can flare less with epglis, a once monthly treatment for moderate to severe eczema. After an initial four month or longer dosing phase, about four in 10 people taking Eblis achieved itch relief and clear or almost clear skin at 16 weeks. And most of those people maintain skin that's still more clear at one year with monthly dosing.
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Emplis Lebricizumab LBKZ, a 250mg per 2ml injection, is a prescription medicine used to treat adults and children 12 years of age and older who are at least 88 pounds or 40 kilograms with moderate to severe eczema, also called atopic dermatitis, that is not well controlled with prescription therapies used on the skin or topicals, or who cannot use topical therapies. EBGLIS can be used with or without topical corticosteroids. Don't use if you're allergic to ebglis. Allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. Eye problems can occur. Tell your doctor if you have new or worsening eye problems. You should not receive a live vaccine when treated with ebglis. Before starting ebglis, tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection.
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Ask your doctor about ebgliss and visitgliss.lily.com or call 1-800-lilyrx or 1-800-545-5979. Alright, are you ready for more? Now that you know why influenza can make people so sick and why we don't just brush it off, let's talk about the question that parents really want answered when their kid is already miserable, what can and should you do about it? We have a few tools that can shorten the illness a little. It can reduce the risk of complications and help the body survive the ride While it gets better on its own. Let's start with antivirals. You've probably heard of Tamiflu or oseltamivir or one of its cousins. These are antiviral medications that are designed to interfere with the influenza virus ability to make copies of itself. These medications don't kill the virus outright. They don't provide instant relief. But if you start them early, ideally in the first 48 hours of symptoms, they can shorten the illness by about a day, maybe more, and reduce the risk of severe disease, especially, again, in those high risk patients. That sounds pretty good, right? The big but I know you love it when I say that is that friends tell me it tastes like hot garbage. And in my experience, most kids just vomit the medicine right back up, sometimes immediately and sometimes after. They give a real heroic effort, trying to swallow it, using juice, chocolate, syrup, bribery, bargaining, and prayer. And sometimes they manage a dose or two before their stomach says no. I had a kid like this this weekend. She took two days of Tamiflu and she was starting to feel better, and it was so much work to get her to drink that hot garbage, so mom stopped giving it to her. And she was then shocked when her daughter's fever came back and all the bad symptoms returned three days later. Right back to square one. And so she brought her child to urgent care because she was so freaked out. But that's just the flu. That doesn't mean antivirals are useless for certain kids. Like young infants, children with asthma or heart disease, kids who have a compromised immune system, or. Or kids who are getting really sick really fast. These antivirals can be important. But for most otherwise healthy kids, the benefit is probably not worth taking the medication because those side effects are legit. This is why decisions about antiviral medications are individualized. If you've ever wondered why your pediatrician didn't automatically prescribe Tamiflu, this is the reason. Now, let's talk about the thing that matters far more than any antiviral. It's hydration. If I could pick one intervention that truly changes things for kids with the flu, it wouldn't be a prescription. It would be fluids. Influenza causes a high fever, rapid breathing, poor appetite, and sometimes vomiting and diarrhea. And all of that leads to dehydration faster than you'd expect. And dehydration doesn't just make kids feel worse, it makes everything harder. Your fever can stay higher, your heart rate stays higher, headaches can get worse, dizziness increases anyway, it really slows down recovery. So instead of focusing on food or getting your child to eat normally, your real goal is simple. Keep the fluids going in. Try small amounts frequently. And popsicles totally count. Broth counts, diluted juice counts, oral rehydration solutions, all are good, even ice chips. If your child hasn't eaten all day but they're peeing, you're a winner. If their lips are dry and their mouth is sticky and they haven't urinated in a few hours, that's a problem. This is one of the biggest reasons kids end up in the hospital with influenza. Not because the virus itself got worse, but because they got dehydrated. Now what makes parents freak out the most, it's not this. It's cough. This is where things get really frustrating. Parents come into clinic all the time and tell me they coughed all night. And my first question is always the did it wake them up? Because coughing sounds horrific to listen to. But some kids just cough in their sleep and are totally unbothered by it. They wake up feeling rested and the parent feels like they themselves were up all night. So the first thing I always ask is I ask your child directly, did you sleep okay? And if the answer is yeah, then we're probably doing better than you think it is. Go ahead, try it. Ask your kid now. Why are kids coughing with the flu? Sometimes it's from irritation in the airways and sometimes it's inflammation deep in the lungs. But very often, especially as the illness evolves, it's from post nasal drip. That's mucus sliding down the back of the throat and triggering the cough reflex. I literally see it all the time. Open wide. There it is. Mucus on the back wall of the throat. Sorry, I hope that wasn't too gross. When that's the cause, the best treatment is also the least glamorous. It's nasal saline, saline spray, saline drops, full nasal irrigation. I think kids as young as six can do a really proper nasal rinse if they're coached through it. I mean, I had a two year old step right up to the sink in my clinic and, and let me squirt saline from a 30ml syringe straight up her nose and let it run out the other side. There are over the counter kits, squeeze bottles, neti pots. Yeah, I know it seems dramatic, but kids might resist it at first, but it works and most of them don't mind it as much as you think they will. So there is also really strong research showing that salt water saline doesn't simply rinse the mucus away. It, it improves the way the cells function that line the respiratory tract. So for older kids and teens, try nasal saline irrigation. It's the best way to prevent getting a sinus infection after being sick. For younger kids, they don't really get sinus infections because they don't have sinuses. They're still tiny and underdeveloped, but saline can make them more comfortable. Also, steam showers before bed. Those are great. Humidifiers can help. Whiskey? I'm just saying, none of these things are miracles, but each one takes the edge off a little. That's the theme here. Try everything, and each thing helps a teeny, tiny bit. For kids over age, too, a teaspoon of honey can be very soothing for the cough. Warm tea with honey works, too. There are lozenges and cough lollipops. You can use them strategically, especially before bedtime, knowing that you're not going to stop the cough completely. You're just going to make it less miserable. Cough medicines, despite how tempting they are, generally don't do much. Inhalers are another thing that parents ask about constantly. A rescue inhaler, like albuterol, only helps if the cough is due to spasms deep in the lungs. What we can hear is wheezing when we use our stethoscope. You really can't hear, though, when the child is wheezing with your ears at home, you really need a stethoscope. You if there's no wheezing, an inhaler is not going to help that much, and it can make kids pretty jittery and uncomfortable. Steroid inhalers can also help in some cases, but they don't reliably fix those lingering coughs that come from post viral inflammation. That cough? It can last for weeks, even when everything else is better. And as frustrating as it is, it's usually just the body getting better and slowly healing. What doesn't help? Antibiotics. Honestly, antibiotics kill bacteria, they don't treat viruses, and they don't calm down inflammation. And they don't prevent pneumonia if it hasn't set itself up yet. Giving antibiotics just in case actually increases the risk of problems later because it wipes out the good bacteria that help keep the bad ones in check. If a bacterial infection does develop later, it's more likely to be resistant if you've been on antibiotics. So if your child has influenza and a lingering cough, antibiotics are not going to shorten it. They'll just add side effects. The hardest part of treating the flu is accepting that time is part of the treatment. Influenza lasts longer than most colds. In my experience at least eight days. That's really common, sometimes longer. That's a lot of missed school, missed work and disrupted sleep, and it's exhausting. The goal is to support the body while it does what it's designed to do, and that's heal. So when you're in the thick of it, overwhelmed and tired and wondering if you're missing something, I want you to remember this. You're not doing it wrong because your child is still coughing and you're not withholding some secret medication that would instantly fix everything. Influenza is a tough virus. Treating it is mostly about patients, unfortunately. So try to stay healthy and go ahead. Share this episode with someone who needs to hear this. For more from the Pediatrician next Door, find me on the web@ pediatriciannextdoorpodcast.com if you've got a question about the weird things kids do, send an email to hello@ pediatriciannextdoorpodcast.com for a chance to hear your voice on the show. I'm Dr. Wendy Hunter and I'm the Pediatrician next Door. This show is produced by Red Rock Music. Make sure to subscribe and leave a review wherever it is you're listening. I'll be back next time with more.