Cold & Flu Tips for Parents; HealthAmerica Offers Tips for Keeping Your Family Healthy this Season.

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Every child gets sick from time to time. When your child isn't feeling well, you'll want to know how to recognize the symptoms, how to help, and when to call the doctor. HealthAmerica gives parents quick and easy tips to keep the winter sniffles and coughs from taking over their families this season.

Think Prevention!

To keep germs in their place, practice these habits with your family:

--Wash your hands thoroughly and often.

--Avoid sharing drinking and eating utensils with others (especially if someone isn't feeling well).

--Avoid picking up used tissues, but if you must, wash your hands immediately.

--Avoid crowds during a flu epidemic.

--Cover your cough: Grab a tissue and cover your mouth when coughing or sneezing - this helps prevent germs from becoming airborne.

Cheat Sheet for Parents - Symptoms and Indications:

Unfortunately, it is highly unlikely that someone in the family will not feel a little under the weather at some point this season. Use this quick guide from HealthAmerica to spot the symptoms of the common cold vs. the flu:

Flu              Cold
                                  ---              ----
Was your child's onset
 of illness . . .                 sudden?          slow?
Does your child have . . .        high fever?      no (or mild) fever?
Is your child's exhaustion
 level . . .                      severe?          mild?
Is your child's cough . . .       dry?             severe or hacking?
Is your child's throat . . .      fine?            sore?
Is your child's head . . .        achy?            headache-free?
Is your child's appetite . . .    decreased?       normal?
Are your child's muscles . . .    achy?            fine?
Does your child have . . .        chills?          no chills?

If most of your answers fall into the first category, chances are your child has the flu. If most of your answers belong in the second category, it's most likely a cold.

What's The Best Medicine For the Common Cold?

"Time cures all - that may not be always true, but in the case of the common cold, it's pretty close," says Dr. Joshua Bennett, vice president of quality. "During the duration of the cold, children should avoid vigorous activity and should get plenty of rest."

When treating the symptoms of a cold, HealthAmerica recommends these helpful treatments:

--Use salt water drops in the nostrils to relieve nasal congestion.

--Use a cool-mist humidifier to increase air moisture.

--Put petroleum jelly on the skin under the nose to soothe rawness.

--Offer an older child hard candy or cough drops to suck on to relieve sore throat pain.

--Consume plenty of extra fluids - juice, water, and carbonated beverages.

What To Do If You Get The Flu?

--Offer your child plenty of fluids.

--If your child is tired of drinking plain water, try ice pops, icy drinks mixed in a blender, and soft fruits (like melons or grapes) to keep him/her hydrated.

--Encourage bed rest with a supply of magazines, books, quiet music, and perhaps a favorite movie.

--Provide acetaminophen for your child's aches and pains.

--Dress your child in layers. When your child feels warm, you can peel a layer or two, and when he/she feels chilly, layers can be added easily.

--A phone call from a close relative or far-away friend can help lift your child's spirits.

--Another way to care for your child is to take care of yourself and the other people in your family!

--If you haven't done so, ask your doctor whether you (and other family members) would benefit from a flu shot.

--Also, wash your hands thoroughly and often, especially after picking up used tissues.

When to Call Your Child's Doctor:

Call your doctor whenever your child has a "cold" that lasts for more than 10 days, or for symptoms of "allergies" that don't clear with the usual allergy medication. Use the cheat sheet of symptoms (above) and don't be too quick to brush off your child's illness as just another cold. The important thing to remember is that flu symptoms can vary from child to child (and they can change as the illness progresses), so if you suspect the flu, call your child's doctor.

For more information or other articles relating to cold and flu, visit www.healthamericakidshealth.com

Related Articles:

Visit our website for a jargon-free article to help parents sort out the news about the common flu and avian flu: http://www.kidshealth.org/PageManager.jsp?dn=healthamerica&article_set =46116&lic=206&cat_id=128 (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.)

Other topics:

Chilling Out With Colds
Tips for Treating the Flu
What to Do if You Get the Flu
Who Needs a Flu Shot?

About HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance

HealthAmerica Pennsylvania, Inc., has a 30-year record of providing health care benefits. HealthAmerica, HealthAssurance Pennsylvania, Inc., and affiliate companies cover over 720,000 members in Pennsylvania and Ohio through PPO, POS, HMO, Medicaid, and Medicare Advantage plans. In addition, HealthAmerica offers a product for individuals and families who are not eligible for employer-sponsored health care benefits, Medicare, or Medicaid, called HealthAmericaOne.

HealthAmerica earned an "Excellent" Accreditation for its HMO plan and HealthAssurance earned an "Excellent" Accreditation for the HealthAssurance POS by the National Committee for Quality Assurance, an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to measuring the quality of America's health care. With corporate offices in Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance provide managed health care products and services to over 12,000 employers in Pennsylvania and Ohio. HealthAmerica and its affiliates employ over 1,500 people in Pennsylvania. For more information, visit HealthAmerica's website at www.healthamerica.cvty.com.

HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance are subsidiaries of Coventry Health Care, Inc. a national managed health care company based in Bethesda, Maryland operating health plans, insurance companies, network rental / managed care services companies, and workers' compensation services companies. Coventry provides a full range of risk and fee-based managed care products and services, including HMO, PPO, POS, Medicare Advantage, Medicare Prescription Drug Plans, Medicaid, Workers' Compensation and Network Rental to a broad cross section of employer and government-funded groups, government agencies, and other insurance carriers and administrators in all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. More information is available on the Internet at www.cvty.com and www.firsthealth.com.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements, made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, relating to future events or future financial performance. Actual performance may be significantly impacted by certain risks and uncertainties, including those described in Coventry Health Care, Inc.'s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004, as filed with the SEC.