Alani Murrieta, a 20-year-old mother, died only two days after she began feeling ill from the flu, according to the Washington Post. Her young children and other family members had become sick during a long Thanksgiving holiday. While the other family members got better, Murrieta became progressively worse.

She went to a nearby urgent care center where she was prescribed Tamiflu. By the next day, she was coughing uncontrollably and, at one point, she coughed up blood. She was admitted to Banner Estrella Medical Center, where she was diagnosed with pneumonia. Two days after she became ill, Murrieta died.

Her family told CBS News that Murrieta did not get a flu shot, but doctors couldn’t say for sure whether it would have made a difference.

Murrieta was the eighth flu death in the United States this season, according to a Fox News report. Five deaths were reported in North Carolina, two in Oklahoma and then the latest in Arizona. CBS News, citing data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reports that 7,000 cases of influenza have been confirmed in the U.S., more than double the number this time last year.

“What we do know is the flu vaccine is still the best form of protection we have to fight off getting sick,” said Justin Smith, M.D., a pediatrician at Cook Children’s in Trophy Club. “Even if you do get the flu, people who are vaccinated generally get a milder and less dangerous form of the illness.”

The flu has arrived in Fort Worth. Last week, 33 kids tested positive for the flu at Cook Children’s and 28 of those cases were Flu A, the more severe and dominant strain.

Some experts are predicting a potentially severe influenza season based on what has been seen in other parts of the world. This year, Australia saw record-high amounts of flu cases. The flu vaccine, which is the same one used in the U.S., was only 10 percent effective in preventing Flu A.

“The concern is when people hear that news, they wonder if they should even bother getting the flu vaccine for themselves and for their children,” Dr. Smith said. “We saw some of those comments posted on Cook Children’s Facebook page. The answer is without question, ‘Yes!’ Parents, should take every precaution to protect their children during this time of year and that begins with the flu vaccine.”

Another concern often voiced by parents is the risk of contracting the flu from the vaccine itself.

Mary Suzanne Whitworth, M.D., medical director of Infectious Disease, stresses a person cannot get the flu from the flu shot. They may feel achy for a day or two but that is very different from being in bed with a high fever for a week from a true influenza infection.

“We do know that thousands of deaths nationally are prevented every year by vaccination against the flu,” Mary Suzanne Whitworth, M.D., medical director of Infectious Disease said earlier this week. “It is important to note that although the vaccine has known side effects that are similar to all vaccines given, side effects are mild and uncommon. Serious side effects are very rare.”

Along with getting the flu shot, parents should take the following steps to protect their kids from the illness:

1. Teach your kids to cover their coughs. Remember to cough into the crook of your elbow and not into your hands. And throw away the tissues.
2. Wash your hands. Other than a vaccine, this is the most important thing you can do to protect yourself and your kids from the flu. Teach kids to use soap and wash their hands for at least 20 second or long enough to sing “Happy Birthday.
3.  Kids with the flu are usually sick 3-5 days and then start to improve. If you or your child’s symptoms are worse than you expect or last longer, please call your doctor to discuss.

Oh, there she is, over there checking out Facebook.

Are you nervous every time her kid climbs up the ladder he might fall down and injure himself?

She’s still playing Candy Crush. Ok, let me rescue her kid from the top of the slide.

There’s new evidence to suggest that there may be some truth to your concern.

A recent study from Yale Economics professor Craig Paulson showed that, from 2005-2012, unintentional injuries in children aged 0-5 increased. He was able to correlate the increase in injuries with the expansion of 3G cellular networks across the country. Many of these injuries occurred during times of parental supervision (not day care or with other caregivers). There was no similar increase in injuries of children aged 6-10.

This trend is the opposite of the overwhelming decrease in unintentional childhood injuries since the 1970s.

While there could be other explanations of this trend, clearly distracted parenting is becoming more of a problem in today’s world.

Here are some things to think about:

1. You will underestimate how long you will be looking at your screen. Even if you look away for one task, that task will take longer than you think and you are likely to get sidetracked by something else.
2. Injuries in children often take mere seconds to develop. There may be no build up from independent play to dangerous predicament in the time it takes to read and respond to a text.

In any situation, you should be aware of how much time you are spending with your smartphone.

Get to know Justin Smith, M.D.

Justin Smith, M.D., is a pediatrician in Trophy Club  and the Medical Advisor for Digital Health for Cook Children's in Fort Worth, Texas. Dr. Smith is an experienced keynote speaker for a variety of topics including pediatric/parenting topics, healthcare social media and physician leadership. If you are interested in having Dr. Smith present to your conference or meeting, please contact him at thedocsmitty@cookchildrens.org.

He has an active community on both Facebook and Twitter as @TheDocSmitty and writes weekly for Cook Children's checkupnewsroom.com. He believes that strategic use of social media and technology by pediatricians to connect with families can deepen their relationship and provide a new level of convenience for both of their busy lifestyles. Dr. Smith’s innovative pediatric clinic, a pediatric clinic “designed by you,” open now. Click to learn more. To make an appointment, call 817-347-8100.

Back to school time has brought with it an unexpected and unwelcome virus to much of the United States. Center for Disease Control (CDC) officials are warning health care providers in affected states to be on the lookout for a respiratory illness that starts with symptoms similar to the common cold, but rapidly progresses to wheezing and difficulty breathing. The virus is suspected to be enterovirus D68. Once thought to be rare, we have seen increasing frequency of infection and outbreak in recent years.

The recent outbreak has been noted in several states, 10 of which have requested help from the CDC: Colorado, North Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Kentucky. It is of particular concern because of the number of children whose illness progresses to wheezing and difficulty breathing. Early estimates are that about 15 percent of children who contract the virus may require hospitalization and many have required care in the intensive care unit. As with other respiratory viruses, any child with asthma or other chronic illnesses are more susceptible. The virus has been reported to cause wheezing even in children who do not have asthma.

Enterovirus D68 is spread through contact with others (often via coughing and sneezing), so avoiding people who are sick and washing hands frequently are important steps to prevention. It is important for parents to be aware of the illness and seek medical care should their children develop wheezing.

There are currently no published reports of activity in Texas, but if you have recently traveled to any of the affected states, it is important to be aware and let your pediatrician know if your child develops respiratory symptoms. As always, we will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates when new information is available.