My son has the flu...?

and is drinking ice water and ate some ice cream...My fiance feels this is very dangerous when he is sick because it makes my son's feverish/sick body have to work harder. My fiance is from Latin America and I have heard this "theory" before from other friends in that culture, but never from Americans. Is this just an "old wives" tale"?

Actually, I grew up with this same myth in my Asian culture, too. The elders have always told me, "When you have a cold, don't eat or drink anything cold, or else it will make you even more sick." I just never knew that it's a part of the Latin American culture to hold this same myth. And it is a myth because both the common cold and flu are results of viruses, not from standing out in the cold for too long or forgetting to bring a jacket. However, the cold and flu viruses are NOT the same. In fact, although a flu might have some of the same symptoms as a cold, the difference lies in the body ache and/or vomiting accompanied with or without diarrhea (symptoms which a cold doesn't have). Here are some things you can do----from the medical perspective----to help your son feel better:

1. When kids (or adults) have the flu, since they usually lose appetite, do not force them to eat anything, not even chicken noodle soup or oatmeals. I know this is really hard for us, the parents, to not make them eat something to keep their energy up. It was just heartwrenching for me to see my daughter have the flu several times when she was just a toddler, too, and she still gets them occasionally. But forcing them to eat anything, when they have no appetite, would only cause them to throw up even more.

2. Vitamin C for boosting his immune system. The current global medical technology has not developed ANY medication that can kill ANY virus yet, so for any viral disease or infections, we still need to rely on our body's immune system to fight viral illnesses. Even in lack of appetite for food, try to give him orange juice to boost his immune system to fight it in a faster recovery process. And even if he can hold only a little bit of the juice, at least that little bit will get absorbed into his system.

3. Other fluids: Most of the toddlers I have seen don't like the taste of Pedialyte, so I don't know if your son will like it. Gatorade, with electrolytes to replenish his energy, has a much better appeal to toddlers' taste buds.

4. If he does have a fever, DO NOT bundle him up; instead, strip him down as much as possible. Toddlers usually HATE the taste, but try to give him some infants/children's Motrin to keep the fever down----but make sure you follow the directions on the bottle precisely. MONITOR his temperature in regular time intervals (every hour or 2). If necessary, SOAK him in a tub of cold/ice water. And if his temperature does go to 102----and STAYS consistently there in a minimum of 2 hours despite the Motrin----call or page the doctor for an emergency appointment or, for after hours, get an ER referral ready (as some insurances do require that before hospital admission). If his temperature climbs to 104, take him into the ER IMMEDIATELY----even if you have no insurance, they will take you in on a sliding scale

Well dear...don't worry !!!

Don't belive in all those...flu is nothing but cold right?...well take your son to a good Dr. He'll give treatment ... and few medicines .

Hope he will recover soon!!!

Takecare