Fighting the Flu: Vital parenting information from Eyewitness News

The symptoms of influenza are unmistakable. The fever, the body aches and pains... All compounded when you're a toddler with the virus. Flu season can start when it wants to... October, maybe not until February. Once it hits it can linger for months. Pediatrician Dr. Joe Matusic has seen it in the youngest of children.

Dr. Joe Matusic
I have actually seen a two day old baby with influenza. The mother had the flu, passed through the placenta and to the baby. It can show up with apnea, it can be a cause of SID, so it's very serious with babies.

Doctors say 10 to 15-percent of people come down with the flu every season. And every year the flu is studied to determine how it's going to show up and formulate next years vaccine. Usually the flu begins in Asia, works its way around the world and starts over again.

Dr. Joe Matusic
Usually there's a predictable nature to it. This years strain is probably going to be next years strain, but with little changes. Every so often there's a moderate shift, a mild shift, and we have a strain the vaccine missed.

Every 30 to 40 years there's a major shift with a large outbreak of the flu.

Dr. Joe Matusic
And every 80 to 100 years we have a pandemic. That's why we're worried about the bird flu.

Tamiflu is a treatment given to high risk patients within 48 hours of exposure, who haven't had the flu shot. Doctors don't want to give it to you if you're healthy, for fear of building resistance to Tamiflu. It's the drug which could be used in the event of a pandemic of the bird flu.

Influenza is contagious, for 24 hours before symptoms start and until seven days after they begin... or until the symptoms are much improved, whichever is longest. To keep flu germs at bay, teach your kids how to properly wash their hands. Also remind them to use good respiratory etiquette and cover their mouth and nose when they cough or sneeze.