COVID SYMPTOMS IN KIDS OR COLD HOW TO

But if you’re trying to differentiate, I would say that those elements, if they’re present, might be helpful,” Shaw says.įinally, disorientation could point to COVID-19, especially in older adults, says Kenneth Koncilja, M.D., a geriatrician at Cleveland Clinic. “That said, there are other viral and bacterial illnesses that can give you diarrhea, so that alone doesn’t mean it can only be COVID. Diarrhea is not a common sign of flu in adults (it is in kids, though), nor does it usually accompany a cold. It may not be as prevalent as some of the other COVID symptoms, but people still get it with a coronavirus infection. “And it’s one we would see less so in someone with a common cold or someone with influenza.”Īnother symptom that’s more typical with COVID-19 than with the flu or a cold is diarrhea, Shaw says. “Especially if you don’t really have a runny or stuffy nose and you have this symptom, that probably is something that’s more specific for COVID,” says Albert Shaw, M.D., an infectious disease expert and professor of medicine at Yale School of Medicine.

Loss of taste and smell, for example, is a common warning sign of a coronavirus infection. There are some more specific symptoms, though, that could signal your sickness is caused by COVID-19. Chief among them are sore throat, runny nose, cough, headache and body aches. The truth of the matter is, several symptoms for cold, flu and COVID-19 overlap. COVID-19 has a few distinguishing symptoms Plus, they have some advice on what you can do to avoid getting sick in the first place.

COVID SYMPTOMS IN KIDS OR COLD HOW TO

The hospital encourages parents to err on the side of caution and keep their children home when they feel sick, even if it’s just a runny nose.As we face winter, when people head inside and respiratory viruses come out in full force, experts share some tips on how to distinguish among the different diseases and how to recover from each of them. 'If family members are having symptoms, they should get tested as soon as possible, which may take longer than usual.' 'At this point, it’s probably best to assume you are positive until you are proven otherwise,' said Marc Mazade, M.D., director of Infection Control at Cook Children’s. RELATED: Dallas ISD extends mask mandate, Lancaster ISD students to learn remotely due to omicron variant Since these variants share so many similar symptoms to the common cold and the flu, the hospital said it can be nearly impossible to distinguish between them without a test. Meanwhile, the most common symptoms of the delta variant have been a cough, fever, headache and sometimes the loss of smell or taste. So, what should you do when your child comes home from school with symptoms like a sore throat, runny nose or a cough? How can you tell the difference between COVID-19, a common cold and the flu?Īccording to Cook Children’s, the most common symptoms of the omicron variant seem to be a sore throat, cough, congestion, runny nose and fatigue.

Covid symptoms in kids or cold