Child feels hot and has diarrhea

[magicgoldpot]

He needs a test doesn't he?

Is it just him or all the household need tests?

Do we all need to isolate until results come back negative?

@Char2015

I'm sure OP wouldn't have wasted time by stating child was 'really hot' if they thought it was just the duvet.

To differentiate between a fever and being hot.

I wish people would stop telling others that a runny nose/ diarrhea/ nausea/ sneezing are emphatic signs that something is not covid.

I know 4 people who had confirmed covid. All have antibodies.

1 had sneezing and runny nose for 24 hours followed by sore throat and cough then bilateral pneumonia. Her nose ran like a tap throughout. She never had a fever.

2 had sneezing and runny nose, then dizziness, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Could not move from the bed without vomiting. No fever at any point. No cough. Lost a stone. Now has antibodies so high he is donating plasma. He realised once he could eat again that he had no sense of taste.

3 had a cough and a bit of a temperature, and one day of breathlessness.

4 - partner of number 2 - had severe fatigue for a few days, which she put down to looking after him. No fever, cold symptoms or cough.

In mumsnet covid policing, only number 3 would have had an early test. Number 1 would have been told it's just a cold as she was sneezing with runny nose and no temperature. Number 2 would have been a "gastric bug". Number 4 would have been understandably exhausted looking after her sick partner.

I don't advocate testing for every little symptom. But I do get annoyed when someone comes on here and claims "it's definitely not covid if you have diarrhea/ runny nose/ no fever, that is not a symptom"

The CDC in Trump's America that we all laugh at has a much more extensive range of symptoms listed:

www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html

@AntiHop

I disagree with *@emptyshelvesagain*

The NHS guidance is clear. The parent should judge if the child feels warmer than usual.

It is also well documented that gastric symptoms are a common sign in children. Not so much in adults. I'm surprised the government has not included this in the guidance.

So yes, test.

And this is where it is difficult when you have a child with two homes and separated parents. And one parent is refusing to have the child tested - saying the tests are "nasty and painful". It is to protect everyone else. If a child goes back to school without a negative test that is how it spreads like wildfire in school and back to homes. I am still very cross about the refusal to have a test - or to keep the child off school - but there will be people who ignore everything and say "it's just a usual cold/bug" which is why it's important the rest of us do things properly! If we can at all.

Yes of course - a temperature goes down but can go up again as soon as they go outside or get active. It goes down because you're keeping them indoors, warm and resting and possibly giving them calpol as well. It needs a good 24 hours without calpol to know if temp is still down and another 24 to 48 hours at home to see if it goes up again. And really any temperature over 37.5 needs a test (because it could easily be 37.8).

I found when we were chasing around looking up info and filling in ,Gov symptom checker, that the US info on covid in children is much more reliable than Uk info. Basically any viral type symptoms can be covid - all the same symptoms they could have with a stomach bug or a cold. A high temperature as well means a test is needed. Without a high temperature you should still keep them off really as the other thing is children can have very mild symptoms of covid and not even have a temperature.

It's a minefield. I suspect the guidance is vague to keep schools open and to avoid running out of tests (but then I'm a cynic!)

Sorry I meant I am still very cross in our case where we wanted to have child tested and Mum refused.

In mumsnet covid policing, only number 3 would have had an early test.

No. According to the NHS & Government guidelines only Number 3 would be tested. It's not 'Mumsnet policing' that would dictate who was tested in your examples. it's literally the U.K. criteria for testing that does that.

No, emptyshelves
The NHS checker suggests you get checked if you have any of those key symptoms - fever, cough, loss of smell.

It's people on here who make parents feel foolish when they ask if a child needs a test for fever with diarrhea, for example. In this very post two of the first 3 responses told the OP that diarrhea isn't a symptom (yours was particularly dismissive, "a bit hot and the shits isn't it")

The testing sites do NOT limit testing to those with only the listed symptoms and nothing else. The NHS criteria does NOT say "covid doesn't include the shits" or "if it's a runny nose it's not covid".

In fact diarrhea is a very common symptom in children.

The NHS checker suggests you get checked if you have any of those key symptoms - fever, cough, loss of smell.

And only Number 3 in your example did.

Gastro symptoms common in covid in children -As outlined here by the British Medical Journal

www.bmj.com/content/370/bmj.m3484

It's people on here who make parents feel foolish when they ask if a child needs a test for fever with diarrhea, for example.

I would always say yes to testing if the child had a fever.

In this very post two of the first 3 responses told the OP that diarrhea isn't a symptom (yours was particularly dismissive, "a bit hot and the shits isn't it")

Before the dismissive comment I asked if the child had any of the 3 symptoms. It was not clear at that point whether the child had a temperature or not, hence me asking.

[quote CulturallyAppropriatedName]Gastro symptoms common in covid in children -As outlined here by the British Medical Journal

www.bmj.com/content/370/bmj.m3484[/quote]

I am not doubting this btw. My comment was simply about feeling 'hot' not necessarily meaning a temperature.

@emptyshelvesagain

The NHS checker suggests you get checked if you have any of those key symptoms - fever, cough, loss of smell.

And only Number 3 in your example did.

Nope; number 1 had cough with runny nose (if it's a runny nose it's a cold say Mumsnet police)

Number 2 had no sense of taste but also diarrhea and vomiting ("diarrhea isn't a symptom" say Mumsnet police).

Yes he needs a test.

The testing system being fucked is not a reason to not request one. Helping to hide the scale of the govt and serco fuck up helps no one in the long run.

Also having previously said on threads here that a snotty nose doesn't seem to be a symptom I now know a child who tested positive one so either has both a cold and covid or it can be caused by covid. So I am correcting myself.

Nope; number 1 had cough with runny nose (if it's a runny nose it's a cold say Mumsnet police)

You did not mention a cough. Of course if a cough was present a test would be needed in that case.

Number 2 had no sense of taste but also diarrhea and vomiting ("diarrhea isn't a symptom" say Mumsnet police)

Apologies, I missed that. However you said Number 2 did not know about the loss of taste until a bit later so perhaps it's fair to say a test would not have been done based on initial symptoms.

@wafflyversatile

Yes he needs a test.

The testing system being fucked is not a reason to not request one. Helping to hide the scale of the govt and serco fuck up helps no one in the long run.

Also having previously said on threads here that a snotty nose doesn't seem to be a symptom I now know a child who tested positive one so either has both a cold and covid or it can be caused by covid. So I am correcting myself.

The EU and Americans also list runny nose as a common symptom.

@emptyshelvesagain

Nope; number 1 had cough with runny nose (if it's a runny nose it's a cold say Mumsnet police)

You did not mention a cough. Of course if a cough was present a test would be needed in that case.

Number 2 had no sense of taste but also diarrhea and vomiting ("diarrhea isn't a symptom" say Mumsnet police)

Apologies, I missed that. However you said Number 2 did not know about the loss of taste until a bit later so perhaps it's fair to say a test would not have been done based on initial symptoms.

Empty, I did mention cough for #1.

The point I am making is people on here definitively excluding covid based on symptoms.

I don't think it's sensible to do that. Just because a person has a runny nose or sore throat or upset tummy alongside one of the key symptoms isn't sufficient to rule covid out.

@CulturallyAppropriatedName

I missed that completely despite reading it several times

The point I am making is people on here definitively excluding covid based on symptoms.

I think we agree tbh. I would not have excluded covid in Number 1 either, had I managed to read correctly

Another vote here for getting a test, OP. Fatigue, fever, headache and GI disturbance are the main symptoms in DC. If you disregard your initial instinct to get one, you run the risk of being the vector who passes it on to someone vulnerable. Which is the point of the guidelines and the testing programme.

It's difficult to know what to do for the best. Can I even get a test if he doesn't actually have any symptoms?
He felt hot when I started this thread and since then his temp has been in normal range.
Diarrhea doesn't warrant a test does it?

@magicgoldpot

It's difficult to know what to do for the best. Can I even get a test if he doesn't actually have any symptoms? He felt hot when I started this thread and since then his temp has been in normal range. Diarrhea doesn't warrant a test does it?

Diarrhoea alone doesn't warrant a test at this time. But a high temp does so if you feel he had a high temp then he did have symptoms which would warrant a test. This is enough to get a test as he had one of the covid symptoms. One of the current issues with the testing problems presently (i.e. lack of tests) is that by the time people arrange to have a test their symptoms may have improved such as temps returning back to normal, however, it is still encouraged to get a test. You can order a home test days 1-4 of symptoms, I think they say after that you would need to go to a testing site - I'm not too sure without checking what the time limit is on that.