Flu season is once again around the corner, but this time with a new trick up its sleeve.
For those of us who are not aware, the influenza virus and its many strains are well-known to be very fast at mutating.
This often means that any previous immunity built up, be it through vaccination or direct contact with the virus, will be rendered completely useless come the next flu season.
As you can imagine, this is the reason why you need to have annual flu vaccination shots.
Mutations in viruses, however, aren’t limited to just an increased list of complications. It can also mean a complete shakeup in how the virus presents itself in the first place.
Traditionally, the flu – regardless of its strain type – has pretty typical symptoms that are very well known by the general public.
Usually, it is all of the following, or some combination thereof – runny noses, stuffy noses, body aches, fatigue, coughs, sore throat, and fever.
This year, however, there is a new symptom to add to the list – hives.
Brodi Willard, a registered nurse and a mother from Nebraska, has taken to the popular social media platform Facebook to warn fellow parents.
As it turns out, her son had been diagnosed with influenza B.
Considering 37 children have already died to the virus and over 6 percents of patients in hospitals and emergency clinics are showing flu-like symptoms, the flu naturally was very worrying for the seasoned healthcare professional and parent.
However, she did not realize her son had the flu until she and her husband took the boy to their pediatrician.
As it turned out, the boy had only hives as his sole symptom – he otherwise displayed none of the usual flu symptoms when he came home from school that day.
Willard, alarmed that the hives only increased with each scratch and would not go away despite a change of clothes and a bath, decided to take her son to see a pediatrician.
It was only then she learned that two other children that visited the doctor that day showed the exact same symptom, and were tested positive for influenza B.
As it turns out, her son was to join that list as well. This left his mother in shock – as a registered nurse, she was highly familiar with the usual symptoms of the flu.
Because her son exhibited no other sign of the virus, however, she had not noticed he was sick at all.
She has since then attempted to warn other parents to be aware of this new symptom. Not only did her post went viral, it also prompted many other parents to share how their children developed the same flu symptom as well.
It is important to note that hives are not necessarily a direct symptom of the flu – often, it is an immune response to the body fighting viruses in general, and normally aren’t dangerous in and of themselves.
However, considering just how dangerous influenza and its complications can be, it is best to check with your doctor should your child break out in hives this flu season.
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