I have a child who always has an on / off cough through winter?

[Crunchymum]

Are my only options to test each and every time (second cough in 5 weeks now!) or to isolate?

She is almost 6 and if she follows her usual pattern then she'll have a cough now until March. It goes away but returns. Never gives her a temperature and normally she'd be a school with it.

Anyone else with a child like this?

Obviously she does get other bugs too and she is always kept off for those but "just" the cough is never a cause for concern.

She doesn't fit any other criteria for asthma (I've checked), she has a healthy diet, is a very active and lively child (with or without cough!)

My son is 13 and exactly the same although he is asthmatic. I have kept him off school on the days his cough is bad and the school sends work for him to do over the internet. His attendance is down to 85% and it's only October. No idea how this winter is going to pan out. If he got the symptoms then i would test him of course. But this rattly chest is a continuous feature of autumn and winter for him.

I've got a 5 year old who is the same. We've tested him once (negative) but now he know what the test is like it's going to be very difficult to get him to do it again!

Thankfully (?!) his is lingering, so we have a free pass from the first test. I'm wishing it to not go away because then when it inevitably returns we'd have to test again, and that's a horrible thing to wish for!

So no advice, just sympathy!

My 5 year old coughs his way through winter too. Dreading it

I’m like this, as is one of my (teenage) children (we are both asthmatic). I started following the guidance to the letter and getting a test for every new cough. I’ve now relaxed a bit about getting me tested where we clearly have the same cold and DS has also had a negative test, where the cough is mild (we are miles from our nearest testing centre which is probably influencing this, and I can mainly work from home so don’t feel I’m a big risk). We have had numerous tests though, and DS has missed quite a lot of school (4 separate periods of absence this term, and siblings have also self isolated until he’s had a negative result back). Getting tested at least lets you judge missing school (/work) based on level of illness (ie not tested yet = no school, negative test but coughing badly / full of cold / wheezing = no school, negative test & coughing a little but otherwise well = OK for school).

DS2 has an asthmatic cough every winter.
He has an ongoing cough that hasn't fitted the descriptions for testing.

It started as his usual bedtime cough- one episode, eased with his inhaler. At the end of a textbook cold I can now hear the phlegm rattling and he's having several throat clearing, brief episodes a day, but it's an old cough that's progressed a month after the bedtime cough, and normal patterns for him, and other than perfectly normal colds none of us have matched the Covid descriptors for testing and school have had no concerns.

Currently listening to my 5 year old cough, she had a cold/cough for months last winter, this year is looking no different. She eats well, has vitamins every day, washes her hands but she is just prone to colds. Otherwise she is very healthy! Have so far not tested her, school have said it's not a dry hacking cough so not to worry

Yes, DS is like this. So far he's been tested in September when his cough started and again in October after it eased off for 10 days then came back with a vengeance.

Fully expecting this pattern to be repeated until late spring. It means other DCs all taking a day off while waiting for the test results and having to show the result when we go back, because the cough is really bad.

Apparently it's any type of continuous cough according to the guidelines, so that's what the school are sticking to.

The NHS guidance is for any cough. Nothing about it being dry.

There are vulnerable children and staff in schools. Testing is essential. It might be inconvenient but testing of anyone with any symptoms and soap are the only protective measures for these vulnerable people!