Is a cough at the end of a cold a "new" cough?

[bathsh3ba]

DD12 has had a cold the last few days - started with a sore throat, progressed to runny nose and blocked nose, today she has started coughing. She hadn't coughed much before she went to school today, since she came home she has been coughing once every half hour or so, but always after she sniffs, i.e. it's probably post-nasal drip. Does this count as a new cough and do I have to do the whole test and isolate thing AGAIN? (We isolated for DD10's change in sense of taste last week and she tested negative). No fever, no shortness of breath, no change to smell/taste.

Happened to my son, they wouldnt him in school and he had to be tested before coming back. I kept him off until his cough had almost gone but the school said even if he coughs in class occasionally they would send him home. We got a test for Wed and it came back negative Thurs, he has gone back today.

Well her school didn't send her home, so maybe that's something.... She says her whole class is sneezing and coughing and they're only sending home for a cough that isn't linked to a cold.

Yes it does. I would get her tested.

@bathsh3ba

Well her school didn't send her home, so maybe that's something.... She says her whole class is sneezing and coughing and they're only sending home for a cough that isn't linked to a cold.

Wow, really?? Thing is covid can present itself in cold like symptoms in children.

Well despite me having phoned them on Monday and them accepting that the cough was the end of a cold (he'd actually been coughing occasionally with the cold), my boys school decided yesterday that it was all of a sudden a persistent cough as he had a bout in school and apparently 3+ coughs within an hour is persistent even if they are more of a throat clear) Cough hadn't changed, was just more often and he can't return until he has a negative test. By some kind of miracle I managed to book him a test for today, fingers crossed we get the result tomorrow. Either way we are now at the 14 days since his symptoms started.

If I have to isolate for every time one of my DDs gets a cold that turns to a cough, we will literally be off half of the school term until Christmas. Ugh. Well if we have to do the whole rigmarole of constantly hitting refresh for a test, I guess we do....

This is why the testing situation is such an enormous fuck up. Kids are bound to get numerous coughs and colds now they're back in school and they will have symptoms that are the same as covid. The only safe thing is to test when that happens - but testing has become a massive rigmarole so people are now, understandably, reluctant to test and questioning themselves over whether they should.

My DS had those symptoms. He tested positive. If there was a way to tell between a cold and Covid they would tell us. There isn’t.

Thing is covid can present itself in cold like symptoms in children.

No, it can't.

www2.hse.ie/conditions/coronavirus/if-your-child-has-symptoms.html

@EarringsandLipstick

Thing is covid can present itself in cold like symptoms in children.

No, it can't.

Yes it can, and commonly does. Runny nose, sore throat, headache, cough.

@bathsh3ba

DD12 has had a cold the last few days - started with a sore throat, progressed to runny nose and blocked nose, today she has started coughing. She hadn't coughed much before she went to school today, since she came home she has been coughing once every half hour or so, but always after she sniffs, i.e. it's probably post-nasal drip. Does this count as a new cough and do I have to do the whole test and isolate thing AGAIN? (We isolated for DD10's change in sense of taste last week and she tested negative). No fever, no shortness of breath, no change to smell/taste.

I wouldn't necessarily trust your other child's negative test, as 1 in 4 negatives are false.

Runny nose, sore throat and then a cough was exactly how my DD's covid presented, and anecdotally lots of people seem to have common cold symptoms.

Google rhinorrhea (runny nose) and coronavirus. It's a very common symptom of Covid. I think just about the only cold symptom that isn't usually associated with Covid is sneezing.

The testing situation in the UK is nuts. I'm really glad we are not allowing self-testing in ROI & it's only via GP or public health following contact tracing.

Of course it's possible to have a cold AND Covid.

But cold symptoms =/= Covid symptoms.

It makes sense to follow the main criteria for testing as laid out in the HSE (Ireland) link I posted there. It doesn't mean that people without those symptoms or with other symptoms don't have Covid but there has to be a manageable set of criteria.

Yes it can, and commonly does. Runny nose, sore throat, headache, cough.

No that's inaccurate.

Children can have other viruses as well as Covid

That doesn't mean they are Covid symptoms.

The really poor communication shown by UK authorities, from Government to public health advice, is shocking.

I think all you can do is follow the guidelines. They are (sort of) clear in that a cough is a cough. There's no small print to say use your common sense and judgement. Isolation for a cough that turns out not to be covid is annoying. Not isolating for a cough that turns out to be covid is potentially devastating.

@EarringsandLipstick

Yes it can, and commonly does. Runny nose, sore throat, headache, cough.

No that's inaccurate.

Children can have other viruses as well as Covid

That doesn't mean they are Covid symptoms.

The really poor communication shown by UK authorities, from Government to public health advice, is shocking.

Right, but you do realise those are all common covid symptoms though?

From the EU Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
"An observational study of 1 420 patients with mild or moderate disease indicated that the most common symptoms were headache (70.3%), loss of smell (70.2%), nasal obstruction (67.8%), cough (63.2%), asthenia (63.3%), myalgia (62.5%), rhinorrhoea (60.1%), gustatory dysfunction (54.2%) and sore throat (52.9%). Fever was reported by on 45.4% [2]."
So that's headache, sore throat, blocked or runny nose, cough, fever - cold symptoms.

From the Zoe app covid.joinzoe.com/post/back-to-school
"According to research from the COVID Symptom Study app over half (52%) of children school aged children (those under the age of 18) who tested positive for COVID don’t log any ‘adult’ classic symptoms (cough, fever, anosmia) in the week before and after the test.
The top five symptoms in school aged children who test positive for COVID are; fatigue (55%) headache (53%), fever (49%), sore throat (38%) and loss of appetite (35%). "

Sorry but how are these symptoms different to a cold?

Dd had the same and tested positive

So that's headache, sore throat, blocked or runny nose, cough, fever - cold symptoms.

Er, based on your preceding quote it's not!

You've listed those symptoms as if they correlate with the list, but they don't!

After headache it's loss of smell, then nasal obstruction, then a whole load more symptoms not associated with a cold at all, with sore throat coming towards the end.

It's really unlikely to be Covid with only common cold symptoms.

But they could be there as well.

Covid typically presents in a more flu-like way (it's not flu tho). Rapid onset, severe illness, exhaustion & temperature.

Not cold symptoms.

Of course, one can have Covid & have no symptoms at all, which is the problem.

But you can't provide testing in those circumstances.

So you develop reasonable criteria which don't fit every case of course but allow schools particularly to run as well as they can.

Physical distancing, hand hygiene & mask wearing go a long way to helping.

This silliness over # of coughs that make up a continuous cough is ridiculous & confusing & not used at all in Ireland.

fatigue (55%) headache (53%), fever (49%), sore throat (38%) and loss of appetite (35%).

These are NOT cold symptoms!

What kind of cold do you get? 🤔

(Fever is v rare with a cold, for example 🤷🏻‍♀️)

Blocked/runny nose, sore throat, headache and a cough are pretty standard cold symptoms and common covid symptoms.

Less than half of people with covid have a fever. As many as 60% have a runny nose.

If a child has a sore throat, runny/blocked nose and a cough they should get a covid test.

I heard that a lot of people are getting false positives now cold season has began due to Covid 19 actually having developed from the common cold.

I was under the impression that a runny nose meant it was not Covid 19? In which case I need to be concerned as both my little ones currently have a cold and a cough with it but I usually wouldn't suspect anything unusual about this at this time of year?!

If a child has a sore throat, runny/blocked nose and a cough they should get a covid test.

Ok - not if they live in Ireland.

In the absence of a high temperature and / or loss of taste & smell, it isn't advised.

I am not saying that you can't have the above symptoms & have Covid.

But having them & having Covid is drawing false causality.

IMO the sensible approach being taken here is working.

There have been Covid + cases in schools & requirements for others to isolate but bar I think one school all are operating well.

There are clear guidelines & levels in place which are easily understood & mostly (tho not always) followed.

The madly varying approaches taken in the UK are shocking.

Shocking too are the amounts of posts I read here daily of people who really do need a test and can't get one as they're all booked up & none for 200 miles or something.

@Cat14123

I heard that a lot of people are getting false positives now cold season has began due to Covid 19 actually having developed from the common cold.

I was under the impression that a runny nose meant it was not Covid 19? In which case I need to be concerned as both my little ones currently have a cold and a cough with it but I usually wouldn't suspect anything unusual about this at this time of year?!

The guidelines are pretty clear - if they have a cough you should test and isolate.

Blocked/runny nose, sore throat, headache and a cough are pretty standard cold symptoms and common covid symptoms.

I'm feeling a bit 🙇🏻‍♀️ at this point but this is NOT true!

They are standard cold symptoms. They are NOT standard Covid symptoms.