What to do if children are infected with the new coronavirus

When influenza meets COVID-19, how should children protect their health during the epidemic? If a child at home has symptoms such as fever and cough, how should parents deal with it? Do families with children need to stock up on more medicines? How can the general population protect their health? ……01 Children are susceptible to the new coronavirus. Judging from the current cases of new coronavirus infection in children at home and abroad, most of the clinical symptoms of childhood infection cases are mild, mainly including fever, cough, fatigue, vomiting and Diarrhea and other symptoms. Zhang Yi, a member of the Beijing Children\’s COVID-19 Consultation Expert Group, has received many COVID-19 positive cases in children. From a clinical point of view, there are obvious differences in the symptoms and course of infection between children and adults. Generally speaking, the disease onset is rapid and pneumonia is rare. It shows the following characteristics: 1. There is almost no incubation period for infected children, and the disease occurs immediately after infection. Adults develop symptoms within 3 days of infection, while children usually develop symptoms within 1 day. What are the symptoms of COVID-19? The best picture book in English, ultra-clear, full-color pdf version [two books] 2. The early symptoms of infection in children are mainly fever, with variable heat types, but most infants and young children have high fever. Different from dry throat and sore throat in the early stage of infection in adults, children, especially infants and young children, may suffer from convulsions due to rapid rise in body temperature after infection. 3. Children infected with COVID-19 mainly attack the upper respiratory tract, and high fever is not equivalent to severe illness. Children\’s immune systems are not fully developed and often have high fever. However, in clinical practice, upper respiratory tract infections are more common and lung invasion is rare, so it is clinically called \”new coronavirus infection\” rather than \”new coronavirus pneumonia\”. 4. Children’s fever subsides accompanied by gastrointestinal symptoms. Symptoms after infection in adults are mainly concentrated in the respiratory tract. In addition to respiratory symptoms, children may also have gastrointestinal symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea. 02 It is the season of high incidence of respiratory diseases. If a child has a fever or cough, does he need to go to the hospital? If a child at home has symptoms such as fever, cough, etc., how should parents deal with it? Wang Quan, an authoritative expert organized by the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council and director of the Emergency Department of Beijing Children\’s Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, gave a professional answer: Wang Quan: Autumn and winter are the seasons with high incidence of respiratory diseases in children. Fever and cough are common symptoms of respiratory diseases in children. There are many pathogens that cause fever and cough symptoms, mainly viruses such as influenza virus, but also include certain bacteria and Mycoplasma pneumoniae. If the child\’s mental state is stable after becoming ill, parents can provide symptomatic treatment and observe the condition. If the fever lasts for more than three days, the fever persists, frequent coughing or vomiting, or even lumps, frequent diarrhea, purulent and bloody stools, decreased urine output, rapid breathing, difficulty breathing, disturbance of consciousness, etc., parents should take their children to see a doctor in time. While in the hospital, parents should protect themselves and their children, wear masks, and perform good hand hygiene. Take off your coat, shoes and hats immediately after returning home and wash your hands carefully. 03 Should families with children prepare more medicines? Wang Quan: Just prepare some antipyretics suitable for children at home. It is not recommended to store too many medicines at home. When giving medicine to your child, you should follow the doctor\’s instructions and read the drug instructions carefully. To ensure safety, parents should not just rely on experience when administering medications. When children are at home, they should maintain a regular schedule and adequateSleep, eat properly, have balanced nutrition, exercise more, and eat more fruits and vegetables. The weather in the north is drier in winter. Parents should give their children more water to strengthen parent-child communication and keep them in a happy mood. 04 When children have febrile convulsions, parents can take the following measures. Director Zhang Yi said that in the past, during this season of the year, the pediatric department would see children with febrile convulsions almost every day. When influenza encounters COVID-19, you need to be even more vigilant. Clinically, it has been seen that many children with COVID-19 develop symptoms of high fever after infection. When a child has a febrile seizure, parents can take the following measures at home↓↓1 Keep the child in a supine position: untie the collar, keep the room ventilated (be careful not to let the cold wind blow directly on the child in winter), try to keep the respiratory tract open, and keep the child in a Relaxed state, there will be no hypoxia; 2. Turn your head to one side: to avoid secretions from accidentally entering the respiratory tract and causing suffocation. During convulsions, foaming at the mouth will occur. Parents should clean up the secretions in time; 3. Physical cooling: Wipe your forehead, neck, palms, soles of feet, etc. with a warm towel. Symptoms can be controlled as the body temperature drops; 4. Seek medical attention in time: After doing simple treatment at home, be sure to call 120 or send yourself to the hospital for further treatment. 05 Strengthening personal protection and maintaining personal hygiene cannot be ignored. During the period when the COVID-19 pandemic is combined with the high incidence of influenza, children, especially infants and young children, must reduce their access to high-risk areas and crowded and closed areas to reduce exposure risks. In terms of diet, Zhang Yi reminded parents to prepare light meals for their children. The principle is: high protein, low fat. Nutritious, eat small meals often. Zhang Yi suggested that in addition to the baby drinking milk, children should try not to eat too much food after 19:30, which will increase the burden on the child\’s gastrointestinal tract. In addition, children should develop good personal hygiene habits and wash their hands before meals and after using the toilet, which can also effectively prevent children from the risk of infection.