My advice to parents is do not panic,” says Dr. Kevin Dahlman, a pediatrician and chief medical officer for Aurora Children’s Health. “We see lots of kids this time of year with similar symptoms.
We’re leaving the peak respiratory season and entering the allergy season. Add to that the fear of COVID-19 and parents are rightfully concerned about their children’s fevers, coughs and sneezes.
Here’s what he suggests:
- If your child has a low-grade fever, along with a cough and sniffles for a couple of days, treat it as you would any other time of the year. But if you child has another underlying condition, it is always best to call your pediatrician about symptoms.
- If those symptoms last longer than a few days or if your child’s temperature is above 103, call your pediatrician.
- If your child has congestion with itchy eyes and nose, with no fever, it’s probably allergies and can be treated with children’s allergy medications, as usual.
- Whenever in doubt, call your pediatrician. He or she may recommend a virtual visit to address your concerns.
“While COVID-19 is new and there is still much about the illness in children we are learning, our clinicians are prepared and knowledgeable to take care of your family during these stressful times,” says Dr. Dahlman. “We are ready and willing to meet you on the phone, by video, in clinic and in the hospital. We will get through this together as a team.”
The best way for parents to protect their family right now is to stay home and practice good handwashing skills. Those are the two best ways to keep your loved ones safe in this new environment.
COVID-19 cases top 1 million globally
More than 6,000 Americans have died from the COVID-19 pandemic, as the country and world continue to surpass more somber milestones.
For the first time Wednesday, more than 1,000 Americans died in a single day, breaking a record for the most COVID-19 deaths any country has experienced in a 24-hour period. More than 54,000 worldwide have lost their lives to the disease, and there are now more than 1 million cases across the globe, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.
“The exponential curve that we’re all so familiar with now – we have to figure out a way to bend that curve to prevent our health care system from breaking and to save lives,” said Dr. Robert Citronberg, director of infectious disease at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, IL.
“Social distancing works,” he said. “We know how the virus spreads. You have to be basically within six feet of someone to catch it.” He also stressed the importance of hand-washing and cleaning surfaces frequently.
Dr. Citronberg emphasized while social distancing starts working from the first day that you do it, it can take about two weeks before you see results. He pointed to encouraging news from the Bay Area in California about two weeks after they started sheltering in place and social distancing, saying they’d already seen “a flattening of the curve.”
At least 38 states have put in place some form of stay-at-home order as of Thursday, meaning about 300 million U.S. citizens are under a state or city order to hunker down.
Nonetheless, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s foremost coronavirus expert told CNN’s Anderson Cooper he doesn’t understand why every state hasn’t issued stay-at-home orders.
“You really got to take it seriously,” he stressed.
