Sick child this school year? Planning for the inevitable during a pandemic

Children get sick; it’s part of life. They catch colds, they get fevers, they throw up and get diarrhea. Most of the time, it’s nothing at all. But this year, as we struggle through the COVID-19 pandemic, every sniffle will be complicated. The problem is, the symptoms of COVID-19 can be not just mild, but similar to the symptoms of all the common illnesses kids get all the time. Symptoms can include fever, even a mild one cough (that you don’t have another clear reason for) breathing difficulty sore throat or runny nose (that you don’t have another clear reason for) loss of taste or smell headache (if with other symptoms) muscle or body aches nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea. And even if there is another explanation for that sore throat or cough, it doesn’t mean that your child couldn’t also have COVID-19. People can get two germs at once. Set the bar low for keeping sick children home This is not a year when you can send your child to school or daycare with that cough, or that one vomit, or that low-grade temp, and hope for the best. This is a year when we need to do our best to keep every sick person home, whether they have COVID-19 or something else. This is also not a year to skip the flu shot. We need there to be as little influenza as possible this year for everyone’s safety and well-being. Here’s what you should do if your child gets any of the symptoms above: Keep them home from school or daycare. I understand that this may mean missing work, but there...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Adolescent health Children's Health Cold and Flu Coronavirus and COVID-19 Parenting Source Type: blogs