Jahnavi Sarma
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Written By: Jahnavi Sarma | Published : May 14, 2020 9:58 AM IST
Hygiene is important if you want to prevent COVID-19 infection in kids.
COVID-19 affects different people in different ways. Usual symptoms are fever, sore throat and difficulty in breathing. Some of the newer symptoms of this viral disease are muscle ache, rashes, gastrointestinal disorders and blood clotting. These are some of the general signs of the disease. But in children, signs of infection may be somewhat different. Many experts are now saying that many kids without fever or sore throat may also carry the virus. It may manifest in different ways like rashes on toes, body ache and even an upset tummy.
Covid-19, as we all know, has led to a global health crisis. It has spread at an alarming rate and is today present in almost all corners of the globe. To help contain the spread of the disease, it is essential to first know how to recognize the symptoms that indicate infection. Only then can you truly take remedial measures. Children were earlier seen as asymptomatic carriers. But now the view is slowly changing. Children too have symptoms. But these symptoms may be different from the ones we are used to seeing in most COVID-19 patients.
According to a new study at Tongji Hospital in Wuhan, China, most children are only mildly affected by COVID-19. The few severe cases that have come up often have some underlying health issues. Therefore, it is easy to miss its diagnosis in the early stage when a child has non-respiratory symptoms or suffers from another illness. The journal Frontiers in Pediatrics published this study. According to researchers, gastrointestinal symptoms may sometimes be the first indication of potential infection. This may happen when the virus enters the body through the digestive tract. They say that the type of receptors in cells in the lungs targeted by the virus can also be found in the intestines.
Researchers emphasized on the point that in areas where there is an outbreak of COVID-19 infection, if kids show any digestive issues, they need to get a COVID-19 test done.
Researchers looked at the clinical features of children admitted to hospital with non-respiratory symptoms. Most of these kids were subsequently diagnosed with pneumonia and COVID-19. They noted the fact that these kids came to the hospital for some totally unrelated issues. Researchers say that one had a kidney stone whereas another child come in with head trauma. But one thing in common was that they all had pneumonia. This was confirmed by chest CT scan before or soon after admission. They then went on to test positive for COVID-19.
Researchers say that almost all these children had mild or somewhat hidden symptoms of COVID-19, which is difficult to spot before admission to hospital. They also noted that four of the five cases had digestive tract symptoms as the first manifestation of this disease. They caution that this finding may suggest that COVID-19 might infect patients not only through the respiratory tract in the form of air droplets but also through the digestive tract by contact or faecal-oral transmission.
