(Provided photo)

With fall here, and winter soon on the way, many parents comment how time simply flew by.

Speaking of flu – ’tis the sneezin’! So, what better time to remind parents about flu shots for their children and what the flu “is and is s-not.”

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Some important flu facts for your family

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¯ There are more than 200 viruses that cause the common cold. Yet the cold due to the influenza virus is a pretty bad one.

¯ It is characterized by higher fevers, severe dry cough, muscle aches, headaches, and fatigue that wipes you out for weeks.

¯ Each year 20,000 children under five are hospitalized because of flu complications. Many of these are under the age of two, with children with chronic health problems like asthma and diabetes being at even higher risk.

¯ Influenza usually occurs in late fall and winter.

¯ The strain or type of influenza virus changes each year, requiring a yearly flu shot for protection.

¯ This upcoming flu season, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all healthy persons six months and older get the flu vaccine.

¯ The vaccine comes in two forms: An injectable vaccine made up of killed parts of influenza viruses to mount a response to, and a nasal form made up of live but very mild or attenuated forms of the virus.

¯ The side effects of the flu vaccine in children remain extremely mild and may consist of a headache, low grade fever, and tenderness at the site of the injection. These side effects are much less than getting the flu itself and can be easily treated with acetaminophen.

Hopefully sharp tips like these will be nothing to sneeze at this flu season! Make sure that you and your children get your flu shots as soon as you can from your health care professional to prevent your child and you from getting the flu this year.

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Lewis First, MD, is Chief of Pediatrics at the Golisano Children’s Hospital at UVM Health and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine. You can also catch “First with Kids” weekly on WOKO 98.9FM and MyNBC 5.