Pediatrician Urges Parents to Prepare ‘Flu-Box’ With These Must-Have Medical Supplies This Winter

It begins with the first blast of winter breeze. At first, it feels like a heavy headache or a cloggy sensation in the nose or throat. In a day or two, the chest feels thumping, the voice becomes raspy, the throat sore, and suddenly you notice droplets of mucous trickling down the nose every few seconds. Once someone is gripped by cold and flu, the sick germs don’t leave until they’ve completed their course. The sickness is propounded multiple times when the victim of these germs is a child. Mom and pediatric emergency physician, Dr. Meghan Martin (@beachgem10), suggested parents keep a flu kit handy in case their children catch a cold.

“It’s almost cold and flu season, and I guarantee you your kids will get sick at the least convenient time,” Martin told her followers, “so let’s get your flu box ready.” Scientists have proven that just a little drop in temperature is enough to trigger a bad cold. In a study published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, researchers revealed that “reducing the temperature inside the nose by as little as 9 degrees Fahrenheit (5 degrees Celsius) kills nearly 50% of the billions of helpful bacteria-fighting cells and viruses in the nostrils, leading to cold and flu.”

First and foremost, the doctor advised parents to keep “acetaminophen and ibuprofen” in the box to take care of discomfort caused by fevers. She added that one can buy acetaminophen suppositories if the child has hand, foot, and mouth disease or they are refusing to take medication. These can be taken in either liquid or chewable form. Secondly, she advised against spending too much money on expensive thermometers. Instead, a Konquest digital thermometer would do. The mom of four also recommended Zyrtec for allergic reactions or hives, as well as Benadryl for treating its side effects like drowsiness, dry mouth and constipation as she revealed in another TikTok video. But, Martin warned to avoid excessive usage of Benadryl.

Besides these medicines, she urged the viewers to use a pulse oximeter as it is “good on medium- and normal-sized hands, not as great on tiny hands, but gives you an idea of the heart rate and how their oxygenation is looking.” Another tip from Martin, who works at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, Florida, is to keep "Halls kids cough and sore throat pops" and "Pedialyte electrolyte powder" packets in the flu kit. “Kids need to replace sugar and electrolytes when they’re sick and not eating regular food, and this is a balanced way to do that,” she explained. In the above-mentioned study, researchers mentioned that a cold can cut the immune system’s ability to fight off respiratory infections by half. So, maintaining an electrolytic balance in the body is vital.

For older kids, she suggested saline nasal mist and for younger kids, a micro-mist saline inhaler. For babies, she advised nasal saline drops to thin the mucus and a bulb syringe to pull the snot out. “Don’t use tap water as a nasal rinse,” Martin warned, “because it can contain bacteria that cause infections.” Plus, keeping in mind the sickness, Martin suggested keeping a set of disposable vomit hags too. Talking about the ones she endorsed, she said they could be dumped right into the trash bin.

Of the millions of people who viewed Martin’s video, many jumped into the comments section to thank her and share their flu stories. “As an older boomer, I'm flabbergasted as to how we lived without all this stuff,” commented @stubbornred5798 with a laughter emoji. @marietmp, who’s not yet a mom said after watching the video, she was going to make herself an “adult flu box.”

You can follow Dr. Meghan Martin (@beachgem10) for more medical hacks!