Do I send my son with a cough 😬

[Dickorydockwhatthe]

He stayed home Friday bunged up full of cold which has developed into a cough as the mucus has loosened. No temperature or loss of taste, he feels fine just has the annoy tickly cough you get after a cold especially first thing in the morning. But it always sounds worse first thing but he will probably perk up later!!

@AutumnSummersBuffysCousin it’s so difficult we’re in the same position... but cough is not continuous so I’m thinking not.

@Happyhippos2020 I am erring on no test too, but then there’s a variance in what is being defined as a continuous cough.This is bloody pain in the ass

My friend works in a nursery, stayed off with a cold as a precaution. Now has a cough and they won't let her back.

Children at schools know what's going on, and some certainly won't be happy having someone in their small overpacked class coughing. Sorry, OP. Whatever speak to school before DC goes in.

It doesn't help that the advice is conflicting and schools are all doing things differently. In our area some schools have closed bubbles everytime a child has covid symptoms and has to be tested. Other schools only closing bubbles when cases confirmed, and other schools only sending home children who have sat next to or come into close contact with infected child!!

We've all got "a bit of a cough" this morning. DC are 3 and 5. It's by no means continuous. It's occasional, throat clearing sort of cough.

I've looked at his online, gobe through the questions, the result is it's likely a cold . Pre school are not accepting children with ANY cold symptoms.

With the best will in the world keeping a kid off with a slight cold surely isn’t viable @Branleuse no one would be educated or able to work in the autumn/winter months?

Same here. DS has a cold and a cough. I am as sure as I can be that it's just a cold, but managed to book a test for this morning. I felt that it was important to follow the guidelines.
Fingers crossed the results come back quickly!

In the same situation here.

DS has a cold + cough. No temp. Have kept him off today as ExH wfh so happy to keep him. Will categorically not be sending him for a test (even if it were vaguely possible to get one!) for what is clearly a cold picked up from contact with 30 kids at school after months at home.

Seems common sense is in short supply.

We got a letter from the school last week saying not to keep children at home unless they have c-19 symptoms. So, if they have a cold and feel well enough to go in, they should.

@GoatsInBoats

We got a letter from the school last week saying not to keep children at home unless they have c-19 symptoms. So, if they have a cold and feel well enough to go in, they should.

Right, but a cough is a C19 symptom

@EDSGFC exactly! No one here is talking about colds without coughs, that would be straightforward.

Local schools to me are advising this:

A continuous cough means 3 x in 24 hours, ie a cough, not clearing your throat or getting something caught.

If so many people are sendig their kids to school with a covid symptoms, a cough, no wonder its spreading.

We know in children its mild so may not look like more than a cough.

For those of us high risk its scary.

Our school said to send her in, because the whole year group has a cold including one of the TAs. They said any concerns and they'll call me.

THis is how it spreads. Some body sent their coughing child to school last week now 3 staff are isolating and ALL the children’s education is suffering. Selfish.

Kings college are reporting that children with C19 are presenting with a cold.

Reported dd’s cold symptoms in the app and was asked to get a test. She was positive. No cough/temperature, just a runny, bunged up nose.

I had the same. My son has been full of cold and has had a cough that's clearly mucus not a dry cough so I sent him in. No temperature either.

Wow Rossita. Its going to spread liek wildfire isn't it. If even those with official covid synptoms arent getting tested, then those with "just colds" like your child who aren't a sclued in as you will be spreading it.

Hope your daughter is okay? Have the rest of you got it? Im high risk so fear my kids having it unknowingly.

@Rossita

Kings college are reporting that children with C19 are presenting with a cold.

Reported dd’s cold symptoms in the app and was asked to get a test. She was positive. No cough/temperature, just a runny, bunged up nose.

Oh god

@Rossita

Kings college are reporting that children with C19 are presenting with a cold.

Reported dd’s cold symptoms in the app and was asked to get a test. She was positive. No cough/temperature, just a runny, bunged up nose.

Wow. My DD is 1 and has had a snotty nose for the past 6 days or so. Nothing else seems wrong with her. I have just put it down to a typical cold and have put her into nursery (which is where I presume she got it). Can you even get a test with just a runny nose?

Rossita Can you provide a link to this info from Kings College please?

My school uses a cough as one of the three symptoms for which children get sent home for a test. You don't have to have a temperature at the same time either.

If your child is still very bunged up and coughing he should be at home, schools don't want anyone coughing all over all the other children, it will make things much harder to determine who is possibly COVID and who isn't...

@Rossita

Kings college are reporting that children with C19 are presenting with a cold.

Reported dd’s cold symptoms in the app and was asked to get a test. She was positive. No cough/temperature, just a runny, bunged up nose.

Wow. It just goes to show how symptoms can present so differently person to person. And obviously some people will be walking around with no symptoms at all and have Covid. Without robust testing in place, it really is going to be difficult this Autumn to differentiate whether someone has a cold or Covid.

Yes would agree @WanderingMilly. We've kept ours at home for this reason.

I use the Zoe app (the Kings College one), and a runny nose isn’t even on the symptom list? Their research says fever, headache and fatigue are the most common symptoms In children. A sore throat is on their symptom list, as is a cough. But not a snotty nose!