Dr. Pradeep B V

General Precautions in Swine Flu during Pregnancy

Frequent handwashing is the single most important safety precaution that is suggested.

Flu spreads when virus from an infected person's secretions like sneezing etc spreads in the environment.Occassionaly touching an infected area and then touching your nose/ eyes or mouth may allow the live virus to enter your system. Most of the time this virus gets killed by our body's defences but at times it may survive and cause flu.

Catch it, Bin it and kill it is the magic mantra:

Catch your infected secretions in a tissue/ handkerchief and promptly kill it by putting it in the dustbin and washing your hands with soap.

Hand sanitizers with at least 60% alcohol content are supposed to kill the virus in 60 seconds.

Keep the hard surfaces/infants toys; clean. Household cleansers should be used liberally as they can reduce the transmission rate.

Finally it is advised that in pregnancy one should avoid contact with sick people.

Use of vaccines

Till date two types of vaccines against swine flu are available.

1) Nasal spray vaccine: This cannot be taken in pregnancy.

2) Injectable vaccine: This is safe in pregnancy and it is strongly recommended that if seasonal swine flu is present then all pregnant women should take the vaccine. Please ask your doctor for more details.

WHO recommends that all pregnant women should be offered the vaccine. This will decrease their chances of contracting the disease and also protect their newborn from swine flu in the neonatal period

This vaccine does not have any serious side effects but may cause mild flu like symptoms upto 48hrs in some people but this is not flu as the vaccine does not have live virus. There may be some redness, soreness,or swelling at the injection site which disappears on its own.

Use of Drugs:

These are used only for close contacts of confirmed positive cases, like people living in the same house as the patient.

The drug (Tamiflu) is safe in pregnancy. Ask your doctor whether you should be taking it in case you are pregnant and any of your family members have been diagnosed with swine flu.

What should I do if I think I have swine flu and I'm pregnant?

You must go to your doctor immediately ;who would check you up and may want to take throat/ nose swabs for confirmation of swine flu. If she thinks you indeed have swine flu, she may start the medicines without waiting for the lab confirmation.

If swine flu is confirmed then you have to take further treatement from dedicated swine flu centers in your area.

In the mean time, stop going to your workplace and avoid unneccesary exposure to people to contain the spread of flu.

If you have a mild disease then you need to take treatment from home. You must avoid exertion and take plenty of fluids by mouth during this time.

If your symptoms are severe then you may require hospital admission to monitor you and your baby.

Can I breastfeed my baby if I have swine flu?

Yes. In fact it has been found that breastfed babies have a stronger immunity against swine flu.

If you have an active flu or you are very sick, you may express breast milk in a bottle and a healthy person can feed the baby.

You need not stop breastfeeding your baby even if you are on treatment for swine flu.