Common Symptoms of COVID In Children

If you have a sick child at home, pay attention to these Symptoms!

You’ve likely heard in the news about XBB1.5, an omicron variant that has become a dominant strain of the COVID-19 virus in the U.S. According to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, XBB1.5 accounted for 27.6% of overall infections in the first week of January, inching closer to overtaking BQ.1.1 as the most common variant. In the northeastern region of the U.S., XBB1.5 has already become the dominant strain of the virus.

While for the most part this omicron variant is similar to previous ones, there are a few things to know about XBB1.5, especially if you believe that it may have hit your household.

What symptoms of COVID are common in children?

Experts agree that symptoms tend to be the same as those we’ve seen before.

“I have not seen any evidence to suggest the main symptoms of XBB variant are different from previous variants,” Common symptoms in children can include:

  • Fever
  • Fatigue
  • Achiness
  • Sore throat
  • Cough
  • Nasal congestion or runny nose
  • Headache
  • Lost sense of smell or taste
  • Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
  • GI symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea

It’s hard to find out about loss of taste and smell in young kids, Children tend to be less interested in eating while they are sick, and ask for “more flavorful or spicy foods after they recover, that suggests their taste may not have fully recovered yet.”

Doctors described the majority of COVID infections they see now as mild ― with kids having less serious symptoms than adults, such as shortness of breath. She added that children seem to be recovering quickly after testing positive for COVID.

This could be due to the fact that most of the population has developed immunity from previous infections or vaccines, or the virus is now weaker, and I think it’s likely a combination of both.

It’s important to note, however, that a child can have two respiratory viruses at the same time, which may cause their symptoms to be more severe. Other viruses in heavy circulation right now include RSV and the flu, which some have dubbed, along with COVID-19, the “tripledemic.”

How contagious is XBB1.5?

The main difference that has been observed by the CDC with XBB variant compared to other COVID-19 variants is that XBB variant spreads quickly. 

Because the XBB1.5 variant has quickly come to account for a large portion of infections, scientists think that it may be more highly transmissible than other variants. The XBB.1.5 variant has a mutation virologists believe is helping the virus better bind to cells and thus be more transmissible.  This is not a good sign for possible future variants.  As always, wear masks and wash your hands and continue to social distance at least 6 feet or 3 meters.

BE SAFE Get vaccinated for COVID and Flu!

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