The cold and flu season is fast approaching, with the peak months being December, February, and March.

“Usual flu Symptoms include body aches, chills, fever, and headache and vomiting, whereas cold symptoms are usually depicted as a stuffy or runny nose,” school nurse Natalie Kuhn said. “However, we haven’t seen any confirmed flu cases this year as of yet.”

During this season, it can be hard to differentiate between having a cold and having the flu.

The major difference is that cold cases are usually milder than the flu. Colds don’t generally lead to serious health problems, but the flu can lead to more serious cases like pneumonia and bacterial infections, which could lead to hospitalization.

In these more serious cases, many children experience symptoms such a bluish tinge to the lips or face, severe muscle pain, and in some cases, seizures. Adults experience difficulty breathing, dizziness, and weakness. 

There are also certain different types of the flu. Flu B can only be found in animals, whilst Flu A can affect both animals and people and could result in a possible pandemic if it’s spread around.

“We treat the flu the same as we treat any viral infection and recommend precautions to minimize the spread,” nurse Cheryl Sims said. “We require the student to stay home until they are without a fever for at least 24 hours.”

A concern that the nurses have kids are going to be hysterical, or will deliberately go to the nurse even if they know it’s not something serious in order to get out of school early.

“If we do not feel the student meets the requirements to be dismissed we try and encourage them to return to class after a short period of rest,” Sims said. “Many students request that their parent be called for dismissal despite not meeting the requirements for it. The parents are the ones who ultimately have to make the decision based on the assessment we gave them.”

The best way to avoid getting sick is by receiving a flu shot, which is available at local pharmacies.The Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone six months or older get the flu vaccine every fall.