What If My Child Develops a Fever or Cough During Lockdown?

3 minutes

As parents, we all have a lot of questions regarding this new situation that we're experiencing. One of them is what to do if your children develop a fever or cough during lockdown? We'll tell you what you should know here.

What If My Child Develops a Fever or Cough During Lockdown?

Last update: 27 May, 2020

With the declaration of a State of Emergency in our country, many doubts are surfacing. Among them, a lot of them have to do with our children. For example, how should we act if our children get a fever or a cough during lockdown? We’ll help you navigate this situation in the article below.

What is lockdown and why is it necessary?

Lockdown, or quarantine, refers to temporary confinement to which we must undergo before going to certain places or doing certain activities. Depending on the state where you live, staying home may be a recommendation or an obligation right now. Either way, it’s important to stay home as much as possible.

The purpose of this confinement is to make sure people are not infected, in this case, with coronavirus. At the same time, it serves to slow down the spread of this virus from infected individuals to others.

Why have the authorities ordered us to stay home?

At this point, it’s hard to find someone who’s not aware of what’s going on as a result of coronavirus. The current strain, COVID-19, involves a high contagion rate.

Among children and young people, this virus doesn’t normally cause serious illness. However, among at-risk populations, like the elderly and persons with suppressed immune systems, the illness can become serious and even fatal.

In more severe cases, especially in the groups we mentioned above, it quickly leads to pneumonia and respiratory failure. As a result, people with these complications must be admitted into ICU (Intensive Care Unit). There, they require proper assistance and vigilance in order to prevent death.

In the face of a possible collapsing of our hospitals and in order to avoid the possible rapid propagation of this virus, many states have announced school closing and stay-home orders.

You may also be interested in: Activities for Children During Coronavirus Isolation

What should I do if my child develops a fever or cough during lockdown?

Fever and cough are possible symptoms of coronavirus. What’s most important in these cases is staying calm. Remember that all of the data available to date demonstrates that the virus usually goes unnoticed in babies and small children. Many of them will experience the infection without showing any symptoms while others will only develop a common cough.

Just the same, this doesn’t mean there’s no chance of the illness becoming serious. Therefore, if your child develops a fever or cough during lockdown, you should call your pediatrician, local med center, or emergency room. A medical provider will tell you what you need to do.

Keep reading: The First Baby Born with Coronavirus

What happens when I call?

When you call, you’ll likely be asked a series of questions about your child’s current condition and symptoms. This may vary depending on where you live. Don’t be alarmed if, after answering these questions, you’re told that your child should stay at home under parental observation.

As we’ve said, this virus doesn’t usually become serious in cases. Therefore, many communities are opting to keep possible positive coronavirus cases under home vigilance. The idea behind this strategy is to keep urgent medical facilities from collapsing. At the same time, it minimizes the number of people that a person who may have coronavirus comes into contact with, thus reducing the chances of contagion.

From this point on, you’ll need to continue caring for your child at home. If symptoms don’t improve after 3 or 4 days, then you can call again and explain the current situation. If necessary, they may recommend taking your child in to see a doctor as well as recommend the current security measures for doing so.

So, what should I do if my child develops a fever or cough during lockdown?

What’s most important is staying calm and doing whatever the experts tell you to do. This means respecting the stay home protocol as well as responding appropriately in the case of possible infection. And of course, unless absolutely necessary, stay home!