Would you test?

[LunaNova]

I'm a rule follower, our family have tested on multiple occasions when symptoms have reared.

DD (15 months) has a cold with a runny nose. In the daytime she is otherwise chirpy and her normal self but she's been having some problems getting to sleep because of her blocked nose.

This morning she's gone for her nap and she's been coughing in her sleep (probably every 10 minutes or so), now she's awake she's not coughing at all so I think it's likely to have been post nasal drip caused by lying down. But is this enough to trigger the need for a test/self isolation?

DH also has a cold, and I am fine. Both DH and I have done LFTs which were negative.

If it were one of us I'd test with no hesitation just to be sure but seeing as it's so difficult to swab her I'm worried we might not get a decent sample anyway.

I've got a long awaited hospital appointment tomorrow, which is just typical timing!

If your DH also has a cold I'd get him to have a proper PCR test. Delta is very like a cold - we've all just had it, and it was wet cough, snotty nose, congested, etc. In your shoes, I'd get him swabbed and see what it says. LFTs aren't reliable but I understand your reluctance to swab your DD!

No I wouldn't test as it doesn't sound like your family have the relevant symptoms.
Delta may be more like a cold, but we're not being asked to test for cold symptoms (thank goodness).

Yeah... It blows my mind they haven't updated the symptom checklist - it's surely widely recognised by now that the overlap with cold symptoms is huge?! But your not technically requested to, so I guess it's an awkward judgement call!

No, I wouldn't stick a swab down a 15mo throat and nose - it will be extra awful for her if she's feeling ill.

Thanks for the opinions both! It's so hard to make the call knowing that a test might not yield the right results if we don't get a decent sample anyway. I tried to put a saline spray in her nose last night and it was like wrestling an octopus (I swear they grow a million limbs and suddenly develop super strength when they don't like something )

She's not coughed once since getting up so I'm going to keep a close eye today and see if any further symptoms develop before deciding. The hospital are calling me in the morning for a covid screening discussion so I will ask their guidance about whether I need to reschedule based on her current symptoms.

Fortunately DH and I both work from home so it's not an issue for us to self isolate in the meantime.

My 2.5 year old is currently coughing a lot, along with a runny nose, he's tested negative.
There's a lot of respiratory stuff going round the kids atm!
Don't know how I would manage to test a 15m old!

Have you tried to swab her nose when she's napping? It works for my 2 year old.

@ArchbishopOfBanterbury that's a good idea with the sleeping!

I tested by 2 year old with similar symptoms, being completely honest, I only did because she goes to nursery and I doubt they would have accepted her without a negative test. If she doesn't go to childcare, I don't think I would. Our test was negative (last week), there are lots of normal colds going round at the moment.