{"id":3804,"date":"2022-02-26T16:30:42","date_gmt":"2022-02-26T16:30:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.cov19longhaulfoundation.org\/?p=3804"},"modified":"2022-02-26T16:30:42","modified_gmt":"2022-02-26T16:30:42","slug":"spotting-long-covid-symptoms-in-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cov19longhaulfoundation.org\/?p=3804","title":{"rendered":"Spotting Long COVID Symptoms in Children"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"has-normal-font-size wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chla.org\/blog\/covid-19\/spotting-long-covid-symptoms-children\"><\/a>Authors:  <em>Katie Sweeney<\/em>   Published on&nbsp;November&nbsp;17,&nbsp;2021  Categories:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.chla.org\/blog\/covid-19\">COVID-19<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.chla.org\/blog\/hospital-programs\">Hospital Programs<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s one of the more mysterious aspects of COVID-19\u2014a condition called long COVID. While most people recover from the virus within two to four weeks, others can struggle for months afterward with lingering, often debilitating symptoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Long COVID has been most commonly talked about in adults, but children can experience it, too\u2014even if they didn\u2019t have any symptoms with their initial COVID infection. That can make the condition challenging to diagnose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMany children don\u2019t have any symptoms when they have a COVID infection,\u201d says&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.chla.org\/profile\/sindhu-mohandas-md\">Sindhu Mohandas, MD<\/a>, a pediatric infectious disease specialist and Attending Physician at Children\u2019s Hospital Los Angeles. \u201cSo if the symptoms of long COVID appear later, it can be difficult to link them to the coronavirus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Is it long COVID?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Unlike COVID-19, there is no simple nasal swab or other diagnostic test for long COVID. Doctors instead look at a child\u2019s pattern of symptoms, as well as past exposure to the virus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Those symptoms can vary widely from patient to patient, but in children, the most common long COVID symptoms are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Unusual tiredness\/fatigue<\/li><li>Headaches<\/li><li>Difficulty concentrating, or \u201cbrain fog\u201d<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:24px\">Children can also experience:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Shortness of breath<\/li><li>Sore throat<\/li><li>Unexplained fevers<\/li><li>Exercise intolerance<\/li><li>Fast heartbeat<\/li><li>Chest pain<\/li><li>Loss of smell or taste<\/li><li>Muscle or nerve pain<\/li><li>Sleep disorders<\/li><li>Diarrhea, vomiting or constipation<\/li><li>Anxiety<\/li><li>Depression<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Long COVID symptoms are persistent, lasting more than four weeks after a COVID-19 infection. Symptoms can vary between children. For example, one child may have a headache for a couple of hours every day, where another may have a headache a few times a week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The condition also interferes with normal activities. A child who was previously a strong student may now have difficulty completing assignments. An athlete may no longer have the energy to take part in sports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cLong COVID can be more severe in some patients than in others,\u201d Dr. Mohandas notes. \u201cBut it can significantly impact the quality of life for the child, and consequently the entire family.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Past exposure to COVID<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Symptoms alone are not enough to diagnose long COVID, though, especially since they can be caused by other conditions. That\u2019s why doctors also look for whether a child was previously exposed to the coronavirus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This link is much easier to make for children who had a positive COVID-19 test or clear COVID symptoms in the past. For those who were never tested or never felt sick, doctors look closely at the family history and whether there were any known virus exposures for the child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Antibody tests can indicate a past COVID infection, too. \u201cThe one caveat is that if a child is vaccinated, the antibodies may be because of the vaccine and not infection,\u201d Dr. Mohandas explains. \u201cHowever, we can order a test that distinguishes between those different antibodies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Long COVID treatment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Although there is no definitive cure for long COVID, But it is still important for children to be diagnosed, because often the symptoms can be managed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf you think your child might have long COVID, or you\u2019re just worried about the symptoms, see your pediatrician,\u201d she says. \u201cEven if it\u2019s not long COVID, there could be something else going on. Your doctor will be able to evaluate your child and decide if the child needs to be seen at a specialized center.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This past summer, Children\u2019s Hospital Los Angeles launched a dedicated&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.chla.org\/long-covid-recovery-care\">Long COVID Recovery Care<\/a>&nbsp;service\u2014one of only a few of its kind for children in California. Dr. Mohandas says many families she\u2019s seen struggled for months to find a diagnosis before coming to Children\u2019s Hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThese families are so grateful to finally understand what is happening with their child,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A thorough exam can help rule out other causes for a child\u2019s symptoms or help pinpoint if specific organs are affected. For example, if a child is having chest pain, an EKG and echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart) can check for structural changes or damage to the heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fortunately, children with long COVID typically do get better, though it can sometimes take many months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe most important thing is time and rest,\u201d Dr. Mohandas says. \u201cBut we may also be able to provide supportive care to help manage a child\u2019s symptoms. All this can be done safely if we\u2019ve ruled out other conditions or causes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u2018The million-dollar question\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>So far, it seems that long COVID is more common in adolescents 12 and older than in younger children. But that\u2019s not known for sure. In fact, little is understood about how many children get long COVID\u2014or why they get it in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s the million-dollar question right now,\u201d Dr. Mohandas says. \u201cThe most important thing is defining how prevalent this problem is in children, and then we need to understand why it\u2019s occurring. If we can understand the cause, we can then develop treatments.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Children\u2019s Hospital Los Angeles is actively trying to find those answers. Recently, the hospital was awarded $8.3 million from the National Institutes of Health to participate in a national study called RECOVER (Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery). The study aims to better understand the after-effects of COVID-19 infection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the meantime, Dr. Mohandas stresses that the best strategy for long COVID is prevention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt is critically important to get children vaccinated when they are eligible, and to follow local masking and distancing guidelines,\u201d she says. \u201cThe best thing you can do to prevent long COVID is to prevent COVID-19.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Authors: Katie Sweeney Published on&nbsp;November&nbsp;17,&nbsp;2021 Categories:&nbsp;COVID-19,&nbsp;Hospital Programs It\u2019s one of the more mysterious aspects of COVID-19\u2014a condition called long COVID. While most people recover from the virus within two to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3815,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[748,856,425],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-child-health","category-long-haul-children","category-pediatric-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cov19longhaulfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cov19longhaulfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cov19longhaulfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cov19longhaulfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cov19longhaulfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3804"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cov19longhaulfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3804\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cov19longhaulfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cov19longhaulfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cov19longhaulfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cov19longhaulfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}