How is your child doing after they had Covid 19?

[Sarah62]

My DS (age 8) tested positive for covid 19 about 3 weeks ago. He had a fairly mild case. However since then we’ve noticed he’s still struggling with tiredness - most afternoons he develops huge bags under his eyes. He used to be super fit (always on the go, doing multiple hours of sport each week) but now we’ve noticed he’s not able to complete some of the things he used to be able to do with ease. For example yesterday he had to stop to rest going up a hill he would have been able to normally run up with ease. His younger sister seemed to have noticeably more energy than him which is not normally the case.

Just curious if other children have been affected in this way? Did they return to ‘normal’? How long did it take?

If we are expecting the unvaccinated to keep getting covid perhaps a few times in their life time would we expect this to get worse each time?

Appreciate we’ve been lucky as symptoms are relatively mild compared to worse case scenario but it’s horrible seeing how much a difference it’s made to my DS who lives for sport and exercise

My son has long covid. We all had covid last October and although he only had mild symptoms of covid he has struggled terribly. Exhaustion, Headaches, stomach issues, joint pain, muscle pain, spiking temperatures. I think he is a little better now but still not where he was before. My 5 year old never tested positive but had a terrible cough so is recorded as a probable case. I never pushed the testing too hard as she has special needs. She developed another bad cough over the winter which couldn't clear. It was then that the doctor said her lungs were probably still damaged from covid. She is back to herself now, thankfully. Keep an eye and don't be afraid to call the doctor. Vitamins and plenty of rest.

As a teacher I've known quite a few teenagers who have had covid. Several seemed to loose a bit of their spark for a while after - they were back at school but looked tired, bags under eyes, lack of concentration etc. I'd say it took a couple of months for them to be back to their normal selves. So just give it time.

Yes, it needs time.
Both mine had covid in the first wave - DS had stomach issues for a good six months afterwards, fatigue not so much. DD suffered quite badly from post-viral fatigue and still has chest pain, it also seems to have triggered anxiety which is hard for her to cope with. She is improving. It took her a long time to recover fitness - at PE at school she had to take breaks still months afterwards. She still cannot really ride her bike as much as she did. She is older than your DC (teenage). My experience is that it takes a lot of time.

Sorry for all those with kids who are still suffering.

Really sorry to hear that.

I’m hoping things will eventually go back to normal.

But also concerned that he will then catch it again and we will be back to square one??

Sorry for your son

My DS is older, but he was exhausted for two to three months. Eventually asked the GP if they could give him a blood-test. It turned out his vitamin D was very low (despite me dragging him into the garden daily & giving him a daily supplement). Gave him a high-dose vit D for a few weeks & he was back to normal.

No idea if it was caused by the COVID, obvs, just a teensy bit of anecdata for you.

My (then) 14 yr old was very unwell with Covid in May 2020. He had a non stop high temperature for 15 days (no cough). He was one day off being hospitalised. Anyway, despite us being terrified for him, he did make a full recovery and was back to online school three weeks later. He looked very yellow and thin for a good while though, maybe 3 months. I put him on a regimen of smoothies, vitamins and rest until he got his glow back.

Mine both recovered in a few days 🤷🏼‍♀️

Neither of mine have had it twice (touch wood!)
I only know one person who had it twice and both times very mild. I would try not to worry about that.