Flu season is usually something that worries families, but this year’s been causing alarm among parents and physicians. While cough, fever, and sore throat are common manifestations of influenza, doctors are noticing scary neurological presentation in kids outside of the usual course of the flu. Some have noted hallucinations, confusion, and unexpected fear, which are terrifying to children and parents alike.
Why High Fevers Can Trigger Hallucinations in Kids
One of the most famous examples is Dr. Kathryn MacKinlay, a pediatrician and emergency physician, whose seven-year-old daughter Marissa caught Influenza A and experienced auditory and visual hallucinations at the time. Marissa woke up with terror, believing that she heard screaming people and saw people sitting on a bench, neither of which were present. In a child, such an actual and disorienting experience can be hugely traumatic. Dr. MacKinlay didn’t bat an eye, however, having witnessed the same thing occur to several of her other young flu victims at her hospital. The symptoms are characteristic of an illness known as delirium, a reversible disturbance in brain function caused most commonly by hyperpyrexia.
Delirium in patients with the flu of any age may manifest itself as a sensation of hearing very loud noises, hallucinations of distorted shapes, or the sensation of someone planning to injure them. While terrifying, this normally is not prolonged for longer than several minutes consecutively. Doctors recommend to parents that they must be aware of the phenomenon but also must be assured that, in most cases, the episodes subside quickly without assistance from specialized medical treatment. Why Fevers Cause Hallucinations and Delirium
The brain reacts to changes in temperature, and fever is one of the rapid defenses of the body against viral disease like influenza. When body temperature rises, it can interfere with normal brain function. In some children, this produces hallucinations, confusion, or restlessness. Doctors call this fever delirium.
Fever, Flu, and Comfort: Practical Tips for Parents
Dr. MacKinlay also explained that her daughter’s assaults were transient, occurring for one to two minutes but repeating a few times daily. At times in between, her daughter was otherwise alert and lucid, so it reassured her that hospitalization was unnecessary. The optimal treatment in these cases is hydration and comfort. Fluids and resting her can be a dramatic difference in the child’s recovery rate.
Fever reduction also enters the picture. Parents can get upset when their feverish child has a spike in temperature, but fever itself is not harmful it’s merely an indication that the body is fighting the infection. Fever reduction using home medications like ibuprofen or acetaminophen can soothe your child and could decrease the risk of delirium. Doctors prefer to recommend using these medicines alternately every few hours to maintain lower and more stable temperature levels.
In the process, parents ought not to forget that fever is not the only watch-out to keep an eye out for. Persistent high fever, rash that has no known cause, or neurologic alterations other than periodic delirium could point to more serious complications requiring medical evaluation.
When the Flu is Dangerous: Warning Signs to Watch Out For
While the majority of flu cases in children can be managed at home, there are instances where prompt medical attention is necessary.
Dr. MacKinlay discussed certain red flag symptoms parents are never to neglect. They include trouble breathing, blue or pale lips, or terrible wheezing that does not improve with normal therapy. Babies less than three months old with fever are also to be evaluated immediately by the doctor because their immune systems are particularly vulnerable. Another possible life-threatening warning sign is when a fever lasts more than five days in any child. Fever with the presence of a rash that is blister-like or bruise-like and persists despite pressure applied is another emergency sign that needs to be taken care of. These signs can signify bacterial infections or other complications of influenza that occasionally present after it.
Current flu seasons have made it extremely evident the risk of secondary infection. There were, for example, various fatalities amongst adolescents and kids in British Columbia because of flu complications, including bacterial infection. Although these cases are rare, they remind us that flu can prove fatal even among healthy kids.
In the U.S., these have been infrequent national surveillance reports of influenza-associated encephalopathy (IAE), a very rare but serious complication of brain inflammation. In a few of these, it is even rarer disease known as acute necrotizing encephalopathy (ANE), which can cause seizures, coma, and even death. While uncommon, these are the reasons why parents need to be aware of neurological symptoms rather than the usual transient fever-induced delirium.
Treatments, Antivirals, and the Tamiflu Controversy
In treatment, most children can overcome the flu with rest, fluids, and symptom control. Antiviral medication like Tamiflu (oseltamivir) can be used in a few cases to make a child ill for a shorter amount of time and reduce the risk of complication. Tamiflu blocks the spread of the flu virus, and if it is taken during the first two days of sickness, it will cut the recovery time by a day or two.
While it does have its supporters, however, Tamiflu is not without detractors. Side effects such as nausea and vomiting and less frequently psychiatric side effects such as hallucination or bizarre behavior have occurred in some children. These side effects have raised controversy over whether they are drug caused or whether the side effects are a result of the flu virus, a known cause of hallucination.
These reports detail such uncertainty. Parents have reported children having dreadful hallucinations or being disconnected from the world following Tamiflu administration, but in most cases, no one is certain if the drug or the illness was responsible. Studies are continuing, and health authorities like the FDA have included warnings of potential neuropsychiatric events in Tamiflu’s labeling so that families will be aware.
This places a lot of parents in a quandary: weighing the potential benefit of faster recovery against the minimal but upsetting likelihood of rare side effects. Most experts advise that this decision be made after a visit to a pediatrician, depending on the age of the child, history of disease, and severity of sickness. Antivirals are for others, particularly those more likely to develop complications, a worthwhile component of care.
Prevention and Precaution: Healthy Children This Flu Season
As concerning as this year’s flu season has been, prevention remains the most effective strategy for protecting children. Annual flu vaccines are strongly recommended for everyone over six months of age. While not foolproof, the vaccine significantly lowers the risk of severe illness, hospitalization, and complications. Even if a vaccinated child contracts the flu, symptoms are often milder and recovery quicker compared to unvaccinated children.
Vaccination and Simple Steps to Reduce Flu Risk
Vaccination also has benefits to the community in the way of reduced overall transmission. This is most essential to protect against prevention for babies, older adults, and those with pre-existing medical conditions who are at a greater risk for dangerous flu complications. Public health officials continue to point out the value of vaccination as a means to lower the burden of severe flu seasons.
Besides vaccination, there are very few easy preventive measures that can make all the difference: getting people to wash their hands frequently, getting kids to sneeze and cough with their mouths covered, and keeping kids home from school when they have symptoms to keep the virus from spreading. Sipping lots of fluids, sleeping, and healthy eating also inoculate the body against infection.
This flu season served as a reminder to doctors and parents that the flu is something more than just another childhood virus.
Its impact can spill over into the rest of the body, sometimes all the way into the brain to produce the frightening neurological symptoms. Although most episodes of delirium are transient and harmless, such as occasional complications as encephalopathy serve as a reminder to be careful. Parents should not be afraid to visit a doctor when warning signs have emerged and openly speak with medical staff about those treatments that are within their reach. Ultimately, education, the instinct when to intervene, and prevention are the best shields for families when working through tough flu seasons. Parents, armed and alert, can then achieve the best balance between reassurance and caution and give their children the protection and care they need in these difficult months.
