How to Relieve Parental Health Worries Post-Pandemic
You hear your child coughing as you walk downstairs to breakfast, and mental calculations begin: was it a one-time cough or a legitimate symptom? Should I take her temperature? Should she go to school or stay at home, just in case? Meanwhile, your child doesn’t look like she’s in a medical emergency at all; she just wants her waffles. Maybe you’re overreacting to the latest symptoms of the virus, or maybe you’re not responding enough—that’s the internal debate every parent has these days.
For nearly three years, we have been on high alert for signs of COVID-19, and many parents have found it difficult to contain their panic in this season of multiple viruses. We spoke with Kelly Fradin , director of pediatrics at the Atria Institute and author of Expanded Parenting: Tips for Helping Children Through Diagnoses, Differences and Mental Health Issues, for some tips on recalibrating our responses to virus symptoms in children in the age of COVID .
“After two respiratory seasons of social distancing and wearing masks, parents have lost the habit of keeping their children safe from constantly circulating viruses and bacteria,” Fradin said. “In addition, we are accustomed to viewing every runny nose as a potential harbinger of impending COVID, which could be a danger to teachers or caregivers of our family or our children.”
In addition to our radar being more sensitive to detecting (and responding to) the symptoms of the virus, Fradin said, many children are playing catch-up with health and development services, which fell by the wayside in the early years of the pandemic. Some children may have long-term COVID or pandemic-related mental health issues.
“Everything suggests that there are many legitimate and tangible reasons why parents may now be more concerned about the health of their children, although for the most part the health threats our children face are no more common than before the pandemic,” said she.
“Everyone is sick.”
I don’t know how many times I’ve heard this (or said this) this winter. In my own family, we’ve been battling strep, influenza A, influenza B, and coronavirus since December, as well as any occasional head cold that they don’t test for. It’s like a season of endless sickness, but maybe that’s not necessarily something to panic about.
Pediatrician Krupa Playfort shared a reality check for worried parents on her website: “Believe it or not, it’s normal to have 6-8 respiratory infections (colds, coughs), 1-2 stomach bugs and a few other scattered viral infections in your first year of school.” infections such as [hand disease, foot-and-mouth disease] or roseola,” Krupa wrote.
All of these viruses accumulate when you watch them infiltrate a family of primary school children and adults. It’s no wonder that it seems that illnesses never end.
“We had a very early flu season and there was a lot of RSV, metapneumovirus, adenovirus and streptococcus circulating in New York. Children and adults continue to get sick with COVID, but the frequency of hospitalizations has decreased,” Fradin said. “It’s a bit difficult to tell if there has been an increase in cases of these infections compared to the pre-pandemic winter because we have also changed our behavior to take viruses more seriously and test more frequently.”
Rules of thumb for responding to virus symptoms
- Should your child stay at home and not go to school? Keep your child at home if he has a fever or symptoms that interfere with his ability to learn, such as nasal congestion or cough, according to Fradin. Also keep children at home if they show signs of conjunctivitis, vomiting, or diarrhea. Keeping a child from going to school is, of course, helping him recover from an illness, but it is also an important way to prevent the spread of the disease in society.
- Should I test my child for COVID? If they have COVID symptoms such as fever, cough, loss of taste or smell, nasal congestion, sore throat, indigestion or headache, get tested for COVID, Fradin said. If they have been in contact with someone with COVID but have no symptoms, wait five days and get tested.
- Should I call the pediatrician or nurse? “Generally speaking, I always want parents to call or go to the emergency room if they’re concerned about their child’s breathing or dehydration,” Freiden said. “For fever, I suggest going to the pediatrician for evaluation between the third and fifth day, depending on the duration and severity of the symptoms. For infants under 2 months of age, they should call immediately with a fever.”
- Should I seek emergency help? “The use of emergency care depends on the services available at the medical home,” Freiden said, referring to the child’s regular pediatrician. “When possible, using the same pediatrician for all care can help organize your family’s care and spot trends early. If your pediatrician is not available, consider who is attending your local emergency room and feel free to confirm that they are qualified and experienced in caring for children.”
Health Anxiety Management
During our particularly viral season, I adopted the mantra: “I choose to heal.” I am not a doctor, but I am a parent with serious concerns about the health of my two young children. When I panic over a cough or a fever, I remember that the purpose of our internal alert system is to keep our families safe. What keeps us safe is following the rules of thumb listed above, treating the symptoms, and seeing a specialist when I’m not sure.
“I’ve given many parents the mantra, ‘I monitor symptoms to keep others safe,'” Fradin said. “Parents have taken responsibility for contact tracing. Since a runny nose in children can be up to 4-6 weeks after the virus, it is often difficult to tell if these are residual symptoms or something new. I encourage parents to use testing as a tool when they are unsure to help them be kinder to those around their child.”