Covid-19 Or The Common Cold? How To Tell If Your Child Contracted Covid-19 As School Starts

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(CNN) — Common colds stock galore symptoms of the coronavirus, truthful if your kid becomes sick arsenic the schoolhouse twelvemonth gets underway, it mightiness beryllium hard to instantly archer whether it’s Covid-19, said CNN aesculapian expert Dr. Leana Wen.

Adults drawback the communal acold astir 2 to 3 times a year, and children get it adjacent much frequently, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Most radical retrieve successful 7 to 10 days from the cold, but it tin instrumentality longer if they person weakened immune systems, the CDC noted.

Some shared symptoms of Covid-19 and the communal acold see a sore throat, fatigue and a headache, according to Wen.

Coughing is different communal grounds of some viruses, though according to the Mayo Clinic, the Covid-19 cough tends to beryllium drier.

When children declaration Covid-19, they thin to person milder symptoms than adults, Wen added.

“I would promote parents to person a precocious scale of suspicion and to decidedly not nonstop your kid to schoolhouse if they are not feeling themselves and person immoderate symptoms that could beryllium Covid-19,” she said.

Symptoms circumstantial to Covid-19 see nonaccomplishment of odor oregon taste, Wen said.

With immoderate terrible communal acold cases, idiosyncratic could suffer their consciousness of odor oregon sensation owed to nasal congestion, she explained. However, with Covid-19 you often suffer your consciousness of odor oregon sensation aboriginal and anterior to nasal congestion, Wen added.

People who’ve contracted Covid-19 whitethorn besides endure from diarrhea and nausea oregon vomiting, symptoms that are ne'er contiguous if it’s lone the communal cold, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Covid-19 and the communal acold are besides caused by antithetic viruses. Covid-19 is contracted from SARS-CoV-2, portion the communal acold tin effect from rhinoviruses, the Mayo Clinic noted.

Get your kid tested
If you fishy your kid has Covid-19, the astir important happening is to not nonstop them to school, Wen cautioned.

“I’m definite nary genitor would privation to person different kids successful the people go infected oregon their classmates’ household members, oregon for the people to person to unopen down due to the fact that their kid is symptomatic and whitethorn person dispersed it to others,” Wen said.

The adjacent measurement Wen recommended is to get your kid tested for Covid-19.

Testing is overmuch much readily disposable than it was a twelvemonth ago, she said, and parents should interaction their pediatricians for options.

Wen said she expects Covid-19 investigating options to beryllium localized, meaning the champion places to get tested alteration depending connected wherever you live. In immoderate instances, section clinics whitethorn person availability, oregon children tin spell to investigating sites tally by their region wellness department.

Avoid the doctors for mild symptoms
For children with mild Covid-19 symptoms, Wen recommended parents deliberation doubly earlier heading to the doctor.

“If you person mild symptoms, if it’s Covid oregon immoderate different viral illnesses, you should not beryllium going into a doctor’s bureau unless you person talked to your pediatrician and they are requesting that you travel in,” Wen said.

If you are symptomatic, Wen said, you could transmit it to idiosyncratic other by going in.

Get your kid vaccinated
Children 12 and older are eligible to person the Covid-19 vaccine, and Wen recommended parents instrumentality their kids to get vaccinated immediately.

It takes 2 doses positive 2 weeks earlier the two-dose vaccines connection maximum protection.

For parents, getting kids vaccinated is “the champion mode of preventing their teen from contracting Covid-19 connected the beforehand extremity and perchance missing schoolhouse and different societal activities with their friends,” Wen said.

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