Omicron affecting DC worse than previous variants??

[UndertheCedartree]

Has anyone else found that Omicron seems to be hitting DC worse than previous types?

Perhaps this link might be useful in explaining the increased fear for many parents?
twitter.com/Saffiya_Khan1/status/1476657398173638660?s=20

London has witnessed some worrying admissions in the past few days

Hard pressed hospitals do not admit for parental anxiety though.

Also see the previous thread on here re US admissions

Here we are

Guardian article on paediatric admissions New York www.mumsnet.com/Talk/coronavirus/4436574-Guardian-article-on-paediatric-admissions-New-York

I was referring only to the Bloomberg article itself. Presumably there was an update?

@JanglyBeads

Hard pressed hospitals do not admit for parental anxiety though.

Also see the previous thread on here re US admissions

As per my previous post, there are a lot of babies (as was mine) being admitted as a precautionary principle. It’s not about parental anxiety, it’s standard medical practice not to take chances with a fever in tiny babies in case it’s something really nasty like bacterial meningitis. As I said I have just been on a ward with many infant Covid admissions, none were particularly sick and all were discharged very quickly once more serious conditions had been ruled out. Yes more young children and babies are catching Covid these days- the new strands are more infectious. Children are experiencing standard viral symptoms, like fever and vomiting, and recovering quickly and well. It remains vanishingly rare for a small child to become seriously unwell with Covid. The “admissions” statistics are misleading people if they are being taken as an indecision of serious childhood illness caused by covid.

*indication not indecision

@TheVanguardSix

My kids never had covid that I know of until now. Last Christmas, their dad was hospitalised and ventilated. We didn't get covid (or at least, didn't test because the kids and I had no symptoms). Anyway, this Christmas, we've all had it, the kids and I (I am separated from my husband this year) and I have to say, I was surprised, considering all the 'it's mild' stories from fellow parents in December, by how walloped my kids were by it. For about two days/nights my 11 and 7 year old were seriously 'scary' ill. I was scared. They seemed to flow through it very quickly and bounce back fast enough thank heavens, while my 19 year old and I are still battle weary, 2 weeks on- though we weren't as ill as the younger ones. It's weird.

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. This is the sickest they have ever been. We all slept together as they didn't want to sleep alone they were that poorly. They are feeling much better now but are both still having an afternoon nap - they are seriously fatigued.

@rainrainraincamedowndowndown

Isn't that purely because so many people/children are getting infected at the same time?

Sorry I don't follow...why would that make them.more ill than last time?

@MindTheChristmasGap

When did they have covid last time op?

It was April 20

@Bizawit - yes more are getting it but are they getting it worse than last time? And I have to say Covid has never seemed like 'standard viral symptoms' to me it is a bit strange and different to anything I've ever had before.

Thank you for reporting on your experience Bizawit and hope your little one has recovered

OP they mean if the proportion of admissions stays the same, then more people getting covid will mean higher numbers of paediatric admissions.

Unfortunately the proportion is not staying the same.

The dates of that data is over Christmas when drs surgeries are closed so I believe young children with temperatures will need to be seen and monitored, drs are closed so hospitals pick up the patients. I am not sure that it would suggest that they are seriously ill and needed treatment as such.

I hope that is how it is anyhow.

[quote UndertheCedartree]@Bizawit - yes more are getting it but are they getting it worse than last time? And I have to say Covid has never seemed like 'standard viral symptoms' to me it is a bit strange and different to anything I've ever had before.[/quote]
No, I don’t think there is evidence that children who get covid are getting more sick than they did in previous waves. It does seem to be the case that children are more likely to catch it, and perhaps to develop symptoms, but in terms of becoming seriously unwell- we don’t have the evidence for this. The increase in hospital admissions of babies and very small children is being read as an indication of this, but, this data can be very misleading for reasons previously described.
I would agree that Covid is a strange illness! I suppose the loss of taste and smell is particularly unusual, but otherwise, the symptoms that children commonly experience- fever, cough, runny nose, rash, vomiting, diarrhoea , fatigue , aches and pains etc, - are all typical viral symptoms. (Although they may appear in strange or unusual combinations with Covid!). What I meant I suppose is that these sorts of symptoms are commonly experienced with viruses, and they can make children feel very unwell for a few days, but they do not cause serious morbidity. The overwhelming majority of children recover quickly on their own within a few days.

@Thingybob

Thank you for reporting on your experience Bizawit and hope your little one has recovered

Thank you ❤️. She is doing much better. Still very snotty and some tummy discomfort poor thing, but nothing serious x

There is simply not enough evidence either way to make a conclusion on this matter.

To take hospitalisations as the only indicator is irresponsible.

The increase in hospitalisations could be down to a number of factors:

1. That the variant is more severe for children.
2. That the variant is more able to infect children, which means that more children are getting the virus, but the same proportion of infections (or even a lower proportion!) are being admitted.
3. That there is such significant community transmission that many children being admitted for other reasons are testing positive on admission.

Personally I think it's probably number 2, especially given the latest information about how it leans towards infecting the upper respiratory tract more than before. But I'm not an epidemiologist so I'll leave it to them to work it out and wait for the results.

Until then, it's too early to say either way and if anyone tells you otherwise they are talking out of their backsides.

www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/children-risk-omicron-covid-variant-south-africa-b972091.html

Well this was the opinion of various experts three weeks ago.

My son -13- woke at 3am, runny nose, sore throat.
Gave him calpol and a drink.
Kept all with the calpol next day with drinks of honey and lemon. Tested positive, next day he was fine.
The mystery is the rest of the family is negative.
He has literally seen no one.
He is autistic and has spent the last week in his gaming room, only coming out for food. Been for a couple of walks to the park with the dog but hasn’t been anywhere near anyone.
Can’t understand how he has caught it.

No anecdotally it’s very mild amongst dc I know who have it

@bizawit - I see, yes. Well my 2 are feeling much better since yesterday so they had 6 days being very unwell. Hopefully they are on the mend now, although still very fatigued. In all honesty they have always been very healthy children. This is the first time my 9yo has ever really been unwell aside from the odd sickness bug or cough and cold. My 14yo has only been this ill once before when he had tonsillitis as a baby.

So yes overall mild illness but not 'just a cold' mild illness. But what I am saying is that compared to last time this is much worse as they barely had a symptom last time and my friend's DD is the same. So I'm not saying Omicron is causing serious illness or hospitalisation in children but is it causing worst symptoms in DC that had it mildly before?

@MarshaBradyo

No anecdotally it’s very mild amongst dc I know who have it

But how was it the first time they had it?

@Cassimin

My son -13- woke at 3am, runny nose, sore throat. Gave him calpol and a drink. Kept all with the calpol next day with drinks of honey and lemon. Tested positive, next day he was fine. The mystery is the rest of the family is negative. He has literally seen no one. He is autistic and has spent the last week in his gaming room, only coming out for food. Been for a couple of walks to the park with the dog but hasn’t been anywhere near anyone. Can’t understand how he has caught it.

How strange! Hope he is feeling better.

Op I haven’t really done that kind of tally for others only that a few dc have omicron right now and saying it’s mild

One dc here had delta very mildly and other dc had symptoms

They haven’t had omicron yet to compare

Are these children in hospital due to covid? Or are they there for another illness and happen to also test positive for covid?

[quote UndertheCedartree]@bizawit - I see, yes. Well my 2 are feeling much better since yesterday so they had 6 days being very unwell. Hopefully they are on the mend now, although still very fatigued. In all honesty they have always been very healthy children. This is the first time my 9yo has ever really been unwell aside from the odd sickness bug or cough and cold. My 14yo has only been this ill once before when he had tonsillitis as a baby.

So yes overall mild illness but not 'just a cold' mild illness. But what I am saying is that compared to last time this is much worse as they barely had a symptom last time and my friend's DD is the same. So I'm not saying Omicron is causing serious illness or hospitalisation in children but is it causing worst symptoms in DC that had it mildly before?[/quote]
Ah I see. Well I’m not sure if that’s a generalised experience or not. It does seem to be the case that as the virus has mutated and become more infectious , children have become relatively more susceptible to being infected and developing symptomatic infection too.. whether it’s generally worse for those who have a symptomatic infection though I’m not sure..