Can I even test a 7 month old?

[WombatStewForTea]

So my 7 month old has had a snotty nose for a few days but started with a cough in the night. Think she coughed 2/3 times (so not a single cough) twice in the night and then this morning has again coughed a couple of times this morning. It's a phlegmy cough and she's still got quite the snotty nose.
So I guess this counts as a continuous cough.
Can I accurately test a baby? There's no way I'd be able to swab the back of the mouth without touching her tongue. Could probably manage the nostrils if I can get a test. Is that acceptable or does it have to be nose and throat?

@Char2015 What makes you feel there would be more demand for tests if they updated the criteria for kids? I was expecting they’d list the top 3, being extreme fatigue, headaches and fever. God knows what they’ll bloody do though!

[quote BornOnThe4thJuly]@Char2015 What makes you feel there would be more demand for tests if they updated the criteria for kids? I was expecting they’d list the top 3, being extreme fatigue, headaches and fever. God knows what they’ll bloody do though![/quote]
Oh, I had seen a long list of child symptoms and just thought that's an awful lot of symptoms that would require a child to be tested. But you are right, top 3 or around that seems more likely. I am definitely in agreement that if kids symptoms differ so much then a different list should be compiled for testing reasons.

No need for the test OP. A runny nose is not Covid, it's a cold. A cough usually accompanies a runny nose due to the mucus inevitably running down the back of the throat. I have no idea why people are so keen to start stuffing a massive cotton bud up their childrens nostrils and use up these tests which are clearly limited and mean people with actual Covid cant get tested.

I'm sure it is a cold but I've been told to get a test so I am.

If you ring 111 of course they're going to say to get a test - they're working from a script.

I understand that you want to the right thing for your baby, but we've been repeatedly told a snotty nose isn't a symptom. My DD has been snotty all week - it's just a cold!

We don't have enough tests to go around, people should only go if absolutely necessary. Every test used by someone who doesn't really need it is taking a test away from NHS staff and teachers who have to be tested so they can stay in work.