2 year old has been coughing continuously for the past hour or so...

[MakkaPakkasSpongyThing]

....he’s asleep now. I’m sure cough will not be an issue in the morning - he’s had a very snotty nose. No temp. No one else here ill. Do I send DD into school tomorrow?

PCR test not LFT
You do it yourself (big treat after)
You only need to do nose
Whole household isolated until results in
Good Luck!

Jesus. Of course you test a coughing child. Where have you been for the last fucking year?

Thanks all. Test it is. Do they do it to him in his car seat?

@MakkaPakkasSpongyThing

Thanks all. Test it is. Do they do it to him in his car seat?

They don't do it to him, as lots of the other comments have said. You have to test him. If going to a drive through centre, then you can't get out of the car so it's easier if he's in his car seat.

I've started taking my 3 year old to a walk in centre when she's needed a test, as it's easier (there's still a car park).

I’ll let DD’s school know too.

@Missypuff30 DS will be very very VERY resistant. I’m thinking car seat - he’ll be strapped down. So they’ll give me the test - and it’s just nasal?

They’ll talk you through it OP. When I took DS they were brilliant even through I was nervous that I wouldn’t do it right. It will be fine. Fingers crossed the result comes back quickly and it’s negative.

DH has had covid confirmed twice and both times was like a cold, so it’s good that you are getting him tested.

[quote MakkaPakkasSpongyThing]@Missypuff30 DS will be very very VERY resistant. I’m thinking car seat - he’ll be strapped down. So they’ll give me the test - and it’s just nasal?[/quote]
My daughter is the same and barely lets me touch her, but found it easier out if her seat as more space and I can be in a better angle.

Yes it's just up the nose for toddlers. If you book now, you'll likely get a morning slot and have the results before your daughter is due in school tomorrow.

My son coughed on and off for one morning. I only got him tested as we had someone booked to come to the house at the time and was worried what they would think . He woke coughing. I managed to get a PCR test at 1pm that day . He stopped coughing that afternoon and I felt like an idiot but we all waited for the result the next day when he seemed absolutely fine though possibly a tiny bit more tired than usual .

I felt less idiotic when the results were positive. I also imagine that the portly middled aged workman whose visit I cancelled to be safe while we 'tested to be sure it was nothing ' was probably very grateful .

I meant to say
I felt LESS idiotic when. .

Personally I think people need to test with any cough rather than trying to get out of it by saying it's not continuous enough. I wouldn't insist on a test if they were clearly coughing briefly in the morning to clear phlegm from a cold/nasal drip but a cough of any other sort could be covid so just do your family and contacts a favour and take it seriously.

Glad you've done that.

@bumblingbovine49 blimey. Thank you for sharing that. It was snot on Sunday, lots of it. Slight cough yesterday morning (no toddler group) and then this continuous deep barking cough last night for about an hour.

He hasn’t been anywhere!! And the rest of us are well (apart from DP who had his first AZ yesterday). God, I’m really worried about where we have all been now. DD - school, DP - vaccine venue...

Test booked for 10am

He went to the toddler group last week - but it’s all outside, spaced - separate equipment, all cleaned between each use...

If I didn't send my children in every time one had one single coughing fit they'd never be in. DS often has a coughing fit in the morning or after running around. Sometimes I think he may have mild undiagnosed asthma. Dd has hayfever which can make her have coughing fits that are short lived but often worse first thing too.

[quote MakkaPakkasSpongyThing]@Missypuff30 DS will be very very VERY resistant. I’m thinking car seat - he’ll be strapped down. So they’ll give me the test - and it’s just nasal?[/quote]
I had to do my 6 year old.

Car seat and you get to the back, you do it on them and it's nose only...

we took cuddly toys and a chocolate egg for afters (and it was negative...)

Yes you need to get him tested but coughs are worse when lying down as the snot goes down their throat. So don’t worry too much! Good luck with the testing. Maybe try to distract so he is looking away from his nostril?! Shiny thing out the window? Your phone held up and away so he’s looking there whilst you quickly and gently do other nostril.

Bubbly2997 a single coughing fit that can obviously be attributed to something: fine, no need to test. Coughing that makes you think "best not go to playgroup today, lest I be judged/worry the other parents": not a single coughing fit with clear cause, test required. That's before you get to the barking nighttime cough...

OP "but he hasn't been anywhere" (which isn't true any way, as you go on to say he went to playgroup last week...) doesn't make a difference unless the entire household haven't been out and had no other human contact. How do you think he got his cold? He either has been out somewhere else, caught it at playgroup last week despite it being held outside, or a family member has brought it into the house with them. Covid uses the same routes of transmission. If he can catch a cold, it is sensible to assume a cough could be covid.

I hope the test isn't too traumatic (for both of you) and it comes back negative. We've had to test the DCs a few times and it's been a pretty horrible experience each time. We've waved a small bag of Haribo and a tablet in front of them each time and promised they can have them as soon as we've done, which has helped. Or at least helped them get over the experience pretty quickly...

Would he watch cartoons on your phone? It only takes a few seconds.

Dd3 tested positive at Christmas and she had a runny nose and mostly only coughed at night.

We had to do another test a couple of weeks ago. Results came back that night.

I’ve just done it! Had cartoons on my iPhone, climbed in the back, he strongly objected to the swab, but I kept poking it back up!! Reckon I got about 8 seconds up there.

The really idiotic thing I did was open the car window when lady approached me! She was waving a number at me - and then it suddenly dawned on me - she wants me to phone her!!

Thanks for all the help here everyone!

I had a voice message from DD’s school saying that my daughter IS allowed in school while we wait for test results! I was very ???? about that - surely she’s at potential peak contamination spread right now - if DS is positive!!

The school have got that wrong!

I hope he’s negative, it’s results came back in 12 hours at the weekend so hopefully yours will be quick too. School are absolutely wrong, you must all isolate until his test results are back, I can’t believe they told you she can go in, so worrying.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/self-isolation-and-treatment/when-to-self-isolate-and-what-to-do/

This confirms that you must isolate if someone you live with has symptoms.

I’m sure you’ll have the same info on the email from booking your son’s test but this is a screenshot about the whole household isolating taken from our test booking email at the weekend.