So your little one came home from school with a nasty cough. Or maybe woke up with a fever. You’re not sure if your tyke has the flu, but with all the stories on the news the past several years, you’d rather be safe than sorry.
What Are the Symptoms of Flu?
So how do you know if the symptoms your child is displaying are the flu or something less serious? Here are a few of the most common ways flu presents itself:
- Abrupt symptom onset
- Fever
- Chills
- Chest congestion and cough
- Headaches
- Aches, often severe
- Fatigue or weakness
- In children, stomach and digestive upset
If you see the above symptoms, in any combination, it’s a good time to get tested. The truth is, there are a variety of symptoms that may be flu, and they tend to vary from person to person. Diagnosing flu by symptoms alone is so difficult that even trained medical professionals sometimes get it wrong. The only way to be certain is to be tested. Fortunately, rapid infectious disease testing is a simple, painless procedure that can be done in just about any doctor’s office or even from the comfort of home.
Get Treatment at Home
When they’re not sure it’s the flu, many parents don’t want to risk possible exposure in a germy waiting room. A trip to the local ER also means a huge disruption in the family’s schedule. And it might mean also bringing along siblings who will be exposed as well.
The good news is that you can get ER-level care delivered to your home and skip the waiting room experience altogether. Simply put, DispatchHealth travels so the flu doesn’t.
If your child is showing signs of flu-like symptoms, you can call DispatchHealth’s flu hotline (1-888-908-0553) to discuss their symptoms over the phone and request care. In less than two hours two qualified medical professionals, also known as the season’s “
Traveling Flu Crew” will arrive at your doorstep with all of the equipment and tools to treat complex cases. Each medical team consists of either a physician assistant or nurse practitioner, along with a DispatchHealth medical technician (DHMT) and also an on-call physician. To provide a seamless care experience, immediately after the visit and with patient consent, providers share a detailed report to each patient’s living community, home health agency and/or primary care physician.
And since DispatchHealth teams can also help with everything from urinary tract infections (UTIs) to sprained ankles, they’re a great option for busy families during flu season or any other time of the year.
They even accept most insurance, so you’ll get quality care from the comfort of home without breaking the bank. So the next time your little ones are sick, be sure to call in the team from DispatchHealth!
