Flu Advisory for Parents
Vaccination
SickKids recommends that all children over the age of six months be vaccinated against H1N1 and the seasonal flu.
To find out about vaccinations, please contact your family doctor or your local public health unit. If you are in Toronto, you can call 311 or visit www.toronto.ca/health.
Please note that SickKids is not vaccinating children through its Emergency Department.
The symptoms of the flu are:
- fever
- cough
- sore throat
- runny or stuffy nose
- body aches
- headache
- chills
- fatigue
- sometimes diarrhea and vomiting
If your child has symptoms of the flu, please contact your family doctor.
However, if your child is a patient at SickKids who is immunocompromised or has a chronic medical condition and has symptoms of the flu, we recommend that you contact your primary care team at the Hospital. They will help you determine if your child needs to be seen at the hospital or if you can start to treat your child at home.
If your child has the following symptoms, you should go to the hospital right away:
- fast breathing or trouble breathing
- bluish skin color
- not drinking enough fluids
- 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 worse cough
- fever with a rash
Visiting SickKids
If your child has an appointment at a clinic, please call the clinic before you arrive. Your child may be asked to wear a mask while in the Hospital or you may be asked to re-schedule your appointment. When you arrive at your clinic, you will be asked to wait behind the red line, put a mask on your child and use hand sanitizer, before proceeding.
If you are a parent who is unwell, please try to arrange for a person who is free from symptoms to accompany your child to an appointment. Also, please limit the number of people accompanying your child.
If you are coming to the Emergency Department, please notify the triage nurse immediately upon arrival. Please limit the number of people accompanying your child.
If you or your child are visitors, please stay home and contact your family doctor.
When at SickKids, please remember to always use alcohol hand rub before entering and when leaving the Hospital or a patient’s room.
More information
For more information on H1N1, read the special “H1N1: A Guide for Parents”, produced by AboutKidsHealth.
Additional information may also be found by visiting the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care website.