Does Your Child Have a Cold or COVID-19? Here’s How To Tell The Difference.
As the Delta variant cases continue to surge, more and more children are becoming sick. If you find your child feeling ill or showing symptoms you you might be wondering, “Does My Child Have a Cold or COVID-19?”. Well, we can help you tell the difference.
Does Your Child Have a Cold or COVID-19? Here’s How To Tell The Difference.
When your child is sick, it is hard to know what exactly they are sick with. Take a common cold and COVID-19 for example, many of the symptoms overlap each other making it hard to diagnose without proper testing.
Does my child have COVID-19?
It is important to know that COVID-19 is a respiratory illness that spreads when an infected individual talks, coughs, sneezes, or breaths. It can also be transmitted through airborne droplets. If a person is exposed to an infected individual and contracts COVID-19, symptoms generally appear within 2 to 14 days of exposure to the virus.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Common COVID-19 symptoms in children include:
- Fever
- Cough
- Breathing difficulties
- Muscle aches
- Runny nose/congestion
- Sore throat
- Headache
- Fatigue
- Loss of taste or smell
- Gastrointestinal issues (like nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea)
Does my child have a cold?
When it comes to a cold, children get sick when a virus enters their body through the mouth, nose, or eyes. Symptoms typically appear within a few days.
Common Cold symptoms in children include:
- Stuffy nose or congestion
- Runny nose
- Cough
- Sore throat
- Sneezing
- Low-grade fever
- Muscle aches
- Minor headache
Again, many of these symptoms overlap each other and unless your child is ill enough to visit a doctor, you may never really know what they are sick with.
However, if you feel your child may have symptoms to COVID-19 even if you don’t think exposure was possible, please make an appointment with their Pediatrician or take them to be seen as soon as possible.
Parents of children who have been reported to test positive for COVID-19 and have been hospitalized have expressed how quickly their children went from mild symptoms to being extremely ill so don’t take that risk.
The CDC actually states that the best way to differentiate between COVID-19 and the flu (as well as other illnesses like colds) is to get tested.
And as always, please remember that if you believe your child is sick, please keep them home so they don’t further spread illness to anyone else.
