How to get my child tested for COVID if no classic symptoms?

[diamondwhiteisclassy]

My 15 yr old son had an awful headache on Saturday. He was then fine after a sleep.
No cough, no temp.
Today woke up for school but said he's so tired so I kept him off. He has gcse mocks so thought maybe wanted day to study.
He's just so lethargic though. Even after resting all day. No other symptoms.
Looked at booking him test but says he doesn't qualify?

@Castlecliff I assumed it was a migraine as he said it was awful but he had an afternoon sleep then in evening he was ok. He's never had a migraine before though. I blamed stress of his gcse mocks.
So even this tiredness I took with a pinch of salt but he was out for the count this afternoon. I thought I would catch him on Netflix or PS4 when I popped back from work early

If you are going to lie to get a test I assume that your household is isolating and will do so until he gets a negative result?

I assumed that'd go without saying.

Headache was my main symptom, they were terrible and didn’t shift with paracetamol. Then fatigue followed by taste and smell loss. I barely had a cough and it definitely didn’t start until 10 days in and I never had a fever.

@diamondwhiteisclassy thanks. I just nipped up to check on ds expecting him to be on his phone in bed but he’s fast asleep. Really not like him. Just googled Covid headache and it says it’s usually on both sides of the head so hopefully it’s nothing.
Hope your DS is ok xx

Seems to be two different camps when it comes to getting a test without the three “main” symptoms. There’s the one where people have been in contact with a positive case, have no symptoms but get a test even though they are supposed to be isolating for 14 days anyway.
The other one is where responsible people want to get a test because they know that covid symptoms are not restricted to those “magic 3”. I think you’re right to get one although it starts the domino effect off of whether to isolate whole family while waiting or not.

I wouldn’t normally advocate lying but it is yet another massive fail on the part of BoJo and his clowns in midst of this shitshow that they aren’t offering testing for children unless they show one of the three main adult symptoms....which are different in children on the whole . But they’ve left the schools open!!

Personally I’d like to know if my child had it, therefore whether the rest of the family may catch it and should isolate. Especially if the child in question is isolating due to close contact with a positive case.

My sons friend - who has Coronavirus currently continued to go to school whilst infectious, potentially spreading the virus far and wide because despite the fact his brother was isolating he didn’t have to isolate as his brother had no ‘symptoms’ and couldn’t get a test (had a headache and was a bit tired)....four year groups at their school now closed, 12 confirmed cases and it’s a waiting game as to how many of the rest of the school community are going down.

Of course amongst those kids now isolating only those children who now get one of the ‘three main symptoms’ (unlikely) can get tested. If the children who are self-isolating show no symptoms and have no test then their siblings can continue to go to school, parents to work etc etc....potentially exposing who knows how many others to Coronavirus before they themselves become symptomatic...if only some scientists could come along and work out why the virus is still spreading like wildfire

Download the zoe covid app and will most likely request you have a test which is also an option when booking (the e-mail from Zoe will tell you what to tick). There is much more tests available unlike in September when it wanted me to drive 300 miles for a test

...just to add I hope your son is ok. It could be sinusitis which is really draining

chipsandgin completely agree.

Has no-one else else had a letter from school saying kids should get tested if they show any of the secondary symptoms? (From memory: headache, aches and pains, fatigue, sore throat, runny nose.) The letter says they can still be in school (if not too ill) whilst awaiting the result. It doesn't say how to go about getting the test though.

I rang up this morning for a test got one for 11 am in sw area , test centre was busy but they had capacity all day when i rang
I have had a very mild cough which has actually stopped now so not really expecting to have it but As i coughed a fair few times yesterday took a test , dh has to be off work and kids off school/ college whilst we await resUlts though
I wonder of they will ever add more symptoms to the list

Why do you need to test him for non of the symptoms? This is why they take so long if people get them when the don't need...

I really think they should drop the requirement to have one of those 3 symptoms for a test, now that the capacity issues are finished. The more cases identified the quicker we stop the spread so they should want to be using the capacity to test not sitting empty. Perhaps they could add it as a secondary category on the test request form,so that you can say no to the three symptoms, but yes to other symptoms. That way if they found the system flooded with demand they would be able to restrict tests based on the answers to those questions, but while there is capacity they could be identifying the cases that would otherwise fall through the gaps in the policy

Because he has common covid symptoms found in children

I'd just tick one of the boxes and get the test.
We had the exact same scenario in our house : 14 year old had terrible headache, fatigued, generally felt 'down'. They Tested positive and then we all dropped like flies within the household with it. Loss of taste and smell came later in the virus.
No teenagers I know who had COVID recently had the NHS top 3 testworthy symptoms which is a worry.

I'm wondering about DD, she was feeling cold all day on Sunday and yesterday although the thermometer didn't indicate a fever. Grumpy as sin last night and so exhausted. She woke up this morning with a pounding head and very tearful, slept for 4 hours this morning and she's still exhausted and just lying in bed. She's very down in the dumps this afternoon, I can't get a smile out of her at all, which isn't like her. The boy who sits next to her at school is apparently off with symptoms but the school haven't told us that, she found out on the year 6 group chat.

@Glitterblue I would get a test for your daughter, this is EXACTLY how my 14 year old started with it. I thought he'd had a personality transplant and was depressed! Headache is a very common symptom along with fatigue for the teenagers. The loss of taste and smell seems to come along but later in the virus duration. 3 out of 5 of us in this house eventually got it, none of us had a cough or a high temperature though all felt lousy for about 10 days. Teens aren't presenting with very 'test worthy' symptoms. Good luck.

@halloween88 oh dear, thank you, I'll see about getting her a test. She's normally such a happy child, but there's just nothing today. Even the cat trying to haul the blanket off her bed in his mouth didn't raise a smile and that normally has her giggling. She's completely miserable 😢 Hope you're all ok now.

Our school sent a link to a NHS page titled covid in children.
I thought it might be different symptoms to look out for in children.....it was the same 3 symptoms that are listed everywhere.8 cant see why there was a separate page if they're not acknowledging it presents differently in children.

Dont lie. Speak to a Gp first. Not every illness is Covid. 1 headache tbat went away, and some tiredness may actually be no illness at all.

Will it do any harm to get tested though?
Lucky to get an appointment with a gp anyway

Mine started with a horrible headache, and I never get headaches. Paracetamol didn't shift it. I knew something wasn't quite right but (luckily?) 24 hours later my smell went so I got tested and it was positive.

I can see why headache isn't an official symptom, but if it's unusual and accompanied by fatigure in a child I'd just get tested!

Literally everyone I know who has tested positive in recent weeks (I know a lot due to a school outbreak here) all had headache as their main early symptom closely followed by fatigue and the loss of taste and smell came between 3-6 days later.

No wonder I couldn't get a test for my symptomatic DS within a 60 mile radius then when every fucker is lying. Because he didn't get a test, he was told to go back to school. If he hadn't been so ill that I kept him off, he could've infected dozens of other kids!

We are not testing enough kids, the positivity rate is way too high. We should be testing way more of them, not discouraging people from doing so.

Postal tests are available.