Coronavirus Infections

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KEY POINTS

• Coronavirus (CoV) infections are caused by a group of viruses. Some CoV infections cause minor illnesses and some cause more serious illnesses.
• Call ahead and see your child’s healthcare provider for serious symptoms such as a high fever, cough, and trouble breathing, especially if your child has recently been near people or has traveled to places where people have been sick from a CoV.
• To prevent getting or spreading a CoV infection, help your child wash his or her hands often with soap and running water for at least 20 seconds and especially after using the restroom, coughing, sneezing, or nose blowing. If your child is sick, keep your child at home and limit contact with others except to get medical care.

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What is a coronavirus infection?

Coronavirus (CoV) infections are caused by a group of viruses. Some CoV infections cause minor illnesses and some cause more serious illnesses. Types of CoV illnesses include:

• Common cold
• Pneumonia
• Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV)
• Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV)
• COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2)

A cold is an infection of the head and chest caused by a virus. It is a type of upper respiratory infection (URI). Colds can affect your child’s nose, throat, sinuses, eyes, and ears, as well as your child’s windpipe, voice box, and the airways in the lungs. Sometimes a CoV infection affects the lower respiratory tract and can cause pneumonia.

MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV also cause pneumonia but may also cause diarrhea and kidney problems. Serious cases can lead to death.

COVID-19 may cause no symptoms, or minor, moderate, or serious respiratory illness, pneumonia, blood clotting problems, and kidney problems, which can lead to death.

How does a coronavirus infection spread?

CoV infections spread when viruses are passed to others by sneezing, coughing, or touching. Moisture from the mouth and nose (droplets) can carry the virus outside of the body. Your child may also become infected by handling objects that were touched by someone with the virus. Some of the viruses can live on the skin and on objects, such as door handles or phones, for hours.

Your child has a higher risk for getting sick with a CoV if:

• Your child lives or works in crowded conditions or goes to school.
• Your child has long-term lung problems including asthma.
• Your child has a weakened immune system or a medical condition that lowers the ability to fight infections such as poorly-controlled diabetes or a heart problem.
• Your child has been around people or have traveled to places where people have a CoV.

How can I help prevent my child from catching or passing a CoV?

If your child is sick, you can help protect others if you:

• Keep your child at home and limit contact with others except to get medical care.
• Teach your child to cover his or her mouth and nose with a new tissue when coughing or sneezing. Throw the tissue in a separate trash container. You or the person emptying the container should not touch the trash and should wash hands thoroughly after touching the container.
• Teach your child to wash hands often with soap and running water for at least 20 seconds and especially after using the restroom, coughing, sneezing, or nose blowing. Your child should also wash his or her hands after touching pets and before eating or touching the eyes.
• Your child should not share silverware, dishes, clothing, towels, or bedding. Wash these items with hot water and soap before others use them. Your child should use paper cups, or separate cups, and paper towels in bathrooms instead of shared drinking cups and hand towels.
• Use a household disinfectant often to clean surfaces that your child has touched or used, including toys, door handles, toilets, and sinks. Wash and dry stuffed toys according to instructions on their labels.

To lower your child’s risk of catching a CoV:

• Make sure your child washes hands often with soap and running water for at least 20 seconds and especially after using the restroom, coughing, sneezing, or nose blowing. Your child should also wash hands before eating or touching his or her eyes. Your child should avoid shaking hands with people when greeting them. Wash your child’s hands after shopping or handling packages delivered to your home. If your child can’t wash with soap and running water, your child should use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
• Help your child keep surfaces clean, especially tables, surfaces in the bathroom, and toys. Some viruses and bacteria can live for hours on surfaces such as tables, door handles, and desks. Wipe them down with a household disinfectant according to directions on the label.
• If your child needs to go out, your child should avoid large or crowded gatherings because some viruses can be spread not just by a sick person, but also by someone who does not have symptoms. Limit your child’s time away from home to small groups for short periods of time. If possible, have your child meet people outside and stay at least 6 feet apart. Putting space between you and your child and other people in a public setting is called social distancing or physical distancing.
• Help your child, if at least 2 years old, wear a covering over the nose and mouth that tucks under the chin and fits snugly on the sides when in public or near people who are not part of your household. Make sure your child can still breathe easily. Teach your child to try not to touch the face covering while wearing it. When you can remove your child’s face covering safely, discard it or place it in the washing machine, then wash your hands.
• Teach your child to avoid touching his or her eyes, nose, or mouth when out in public.
• Take care of your child’s health. Make sure your child eats a variety of healthy foods and gets enough sleep and physical activity every day. Talk to your child about the risks of smoking, using e-cigarettes, drinking alcohol, and using drugs.

What are the symptoms?

Your child may have no symptoms or very mild symptoms. If your child has symptoms, they will usually start 1 to 3 days after contact with a CoV, though it can be longer. Symptoms may include:

• Cough
• Ears that are stuffy or blocked
• Feeling tired
• Fever
• Headache
• Loss of sense of taste or smell
• Runny or stuffy nose
• Scratchy or sore throat
• Sneezing
• Watery eyes

For more severe infections, shortness of breath is very common.

How is it diagnosed?

Call ahead before visiting your child’s healthcare provider and tell him or her about your child’s symptoms. You and your child should wear a face covering over the nose and mouth when in the same room with other people and when you visit a healthcare provider.

Your child’s healthcare provider will ask about your child’s symptoms, medical history, and recent activities and travels, and examine your child.

Your child may have tests to check for possible causes of your child’s symptoms such as:

• A test that takes a sample of mucus from the back of your child’s nose and throat to look for a specific virus
• Blood and urine tests
• Chest X-ray

How are they treated?

See your child’s healthcare provider for serious symptoms, such as a high fever, cough, and trouble breathing, especially if your child has recently been around people or traveled to places where people have been sick from a CoV.

For mild symptoms, medicines that you can buy at most drugstores can help relieve your child’s symptoms.

Help your child:

• Get plenty of rest.
• Drink extra liquids such as water, fruit juice, and tea.
• Use a humidifier to put more moisture in the air. Avoid steam vaporizers because they can cause burns. Be sure to keep the humidifier clean, as recommended in the manufacturer's instructions. It's important to prevent bacteria and mold from growing in the water container.

Give your child nonprescription medicine, such as acetaminophen, ibuprofen, or naproxen to treat fever or pain. Read the label carefully and give your child the correct dose as directed.

• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medicines (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen, naproxen, and aspirin, may cause stomach bleeding and other problems.
• Check with your healthcare provider before you give any medicine that contains aspirin or salicylates to a child or teen. This includes medicines like baby aspirin, some cold medicines, and Pepto-Bismol. Children and teens who take aspirin are at risk for a serious illness called Reye’s syndrome.
• Acetaminophen may cause liver damage or other problems. Do not give more doses than directed. To make sure you don’t give your child too much, check other medicines your child takes to see if they also contain acetaminophen. Unless recommended by your healthcare provider, your child should not take this medicine for more than 5 days.

You can buy many different medicines for coughs without a prescription. However, there is no proof that they will help your child’s cough. Cough medicines may cause harm to young children, but they are generally safe for older children and adults.

• Do not give a child under age 4 any cough and cold medicines unless you have instructions from your healthcare provider. Children over 6 years of age may be given cough drops or hard candies to help relieve a sore throat or cough.
• Contact your child’s healthcare provider if your child has new or worsening symptoms or your child’s symptoms last longer than 2 weeks.

Your child will need to be in the hospital if very ill. Treatment may include:

• Giving your child extra oxygen to breathe. In serious cases, your child may need to have a tube in his or her throat and a machine to help your child breathe and to make sure your child is getting enough oxygen. Your child may be in the intensive care unit.
• Giving your child IV fluids and medicines to treat your child’s symptoms

How can I take care of my child?

Follow the full course of treatment prescribed by your healthcare provider. Ask your provider:

• How and when you will get your child’s test results
• How long it will take to recover
• If there are activities your child should avoid and when your child can return to normal activities
• How to take care of your child at home
• What symptoms or problems you should watch for and what to do if your child has them
• Make sure you know when your child should come back for a checkup. Keep all appointments for provider visits or tests.
• Stay up to date with the recommended immunizations (shots) for your child including flu and COVID-19. Ask your healthcare provider about any other vaccines your child or your family may need.

For more information, contact:

• World Health Organization
  https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  888-232-3228
  https://www.cdc.gov/