In the cooler months, when kids enjoy more indoor activities, viruses also tend to thrive. The inevitable result is the transmission of respiratory illnesses ranging from mild to severe. Most healthy school-age children have little risk from colds, influenza, and Covid-19, particularly when available immunizations are up-to-date.
Recognizing what’s making your child sick helps you to match your care to their illness. When you’re not sure, or when symptoms seem unusually severe, Dr 2 Kids, Smita Tandon MD is standing by to help ensure your child remains on their feet and ready to go.
The winter months are also called cold and flu season, though that’s been expanded in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Fortunately, while these infections can slow your child down, there usually aren’t serious consequences, though viruses can be passed on to vulnerable family members.
Viral upper respiratory infections cause a range of symptoms that affect the airways, sinuses, and throat. These start when a virus enters your body, either by airborne transmission or transfer through touch to the eyes, mouth, or nose.
Your child’s immune system plays a role in preventing an active infection if it can handle the pathogens getting into your child’s system. Sometimes, though, the virus load is too heavy and sickness results.
Each of these respiratory infections display symptoms when the illness is active. Many of these are common, but each illness has its own combination that can help you identify the illness affecting your child. Let’s take a look at symptoms and groupings and how each infection presents itself.
These are the big three respiratory infection symptoms, and they’re shared by cold, flu, and Covid. There’s no way to identify which virus your child has with these symptoms.
If the big three are accompanied by increased sneezing, then your child probably has a cold. Sneezing isn’t a symptom of flu or Covid.
If your child has a fever with a cold, it will be mild. Colds don’t usually have a fever element. Fevers are common with the flu and Covid.
Presence of these pain symptoms points toward flu and Covid-19. Except for headaches related to sinus congestion, these don’t occur with cold symptoms.
Any parent who experiences a child going full throttle with the runny nose of a cold knows that there can be little energy loss when kids have colds. Flu and Covid are more likely to wear your child down.
While congestion can make breathing through the nose difficult with all of these infections, only the flu and Covid can cause shortness of breath or breathing problems that affect the lungs.
These are less common symptoms of the flu and Covid. They’re not caused by the cold virus at all, however.
Things may not smell or taste the same for your child when they’re congested, but a loss of these senses is only common with Covid-19, though not everyone with Covid suffers from this symptom.
Call or click to schedule a visit for your child with Dr 2 Kids, Smita Tandon MD, when you have concerns about respiratory illness. Remember, we accept telehealth appointments, so you can request a consultation without the risk of spreading their illness. We’re standing by to help.
