Covid in children? Here’s how to know

Adults and the elderly are rushing to the hospitals to get themselves jabbed but children are the ones who are yet to be fully looked after. The second wave of the pandemic has adversely impacted the younger generation. It is likely that if there comes the third wave, children will be vulnerable. Thus, it becomes necessary to watch out for Covid-19 symptoms in children and to manage the condition.

According to the Health Ministry, the majority of children will either be asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic.

Asymptomatic is the condition when a person will be having the Covid-19 virus but the body will show no signs of it. This can last up to 14 days. It becomes even severe because the person is unaware of the presence of the virus and thus, becomes a major spreader of the same. Likewise, presymptomatic people experience cough, fever or breathing difficulty while not showing any symptoms in the beginning despite being Covid positive.

The Health Ministry stated that the common symptoms among children are fever, cough, breathlessness or shortness of breath, fatigue, sore throat, myalgia (muscle pains, aches, pain in ligaments), diarrhoea, loss of smell and loss of taste. Some children may also show symptoms of gastrointestinal issues.

Also, it has been noted that a new syndrome known as ‘system inflammatory syndrome’ has been observed in children. Such cases arise with continuous fever.

How to manage children with asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic Covid-19?

Asymptomatic children can be treated at home. Such children are identified during the screening when their parents or other family members are tested Covid positive. They are given treatment at home and require constant monitoring for the development of symptoms.

In the meantime, children with moderate infection may have sore throat, cough or little breathing issues which can be managed by home isolation and symptomatic treatment.

How to treat severe cases of Covid-19 in children? 

SpO2 level less than 90% and grunting, severe retraction of chest, lethargy, somnolence and seizure are some of the symptoms of severe Covid-19. Children who suffer from these should be immediately hospitalised and some may even require HDU/ICU care.

It is mandatory to conduct complete blood counts, chest X-rays, liver and renal function tests. Corticosteroids (0.15 my per dose) twice a day or antiviral drugs such as Remdesivir should be utilised in a restricted manner after three days of the beginning of the symptoms and after ensuring that the chest, renal and liver functions are normal.

Vaccines for children

With the vaccination drive in progress in India, the clinical trial of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin to vaccinate kids between 2-12 years of age is welcomed across the world. Vaccines for children will soon be available in the market. The clinical trial will include 525 healthy volunteers below 18 years of age.

In the US, Zydus Cadila’s ZyCoV-D has been tested on children above 12 years and the government has already authorised the use of Pfizer’s vaccine on kids.