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Runny Nose, Cough, Stomach Ache: This year, between school desks and beyond, distinguishing common seasonal ailments from Covid-19 symptoms will be an undertaking bordering on the impossible.
Only the swab will be able to give certainty, which is why analysis laboratories are preparing to perform swabs with a large diagnostic panel, so that with a single test it is possible to distinguish the SarsCov2 virus from other coronaviruses and seasonal influenza and respiratory viruses.
The advice is to avoid DIY diagnoses, but since you will face various dilemmas when dealing with symptoms, it is best to give some advice.
“In principle, we can exclude Covid-19 if the cough is oily and productive, or if you have a catarrhal type conjunctivitis, with the classic mixed eye: these problems are usually of bacterial origin”, explains Francesco Broccolo, clinical microbiologist at the University of Milan-Bicocca.
If, on the contrary, there is a skin rash with spots “it is more likely to be an exanthematous disease”, while a gastroenteritis without fever “is unlikely to be Covid, even if the child must stay home.”
The most enigmatic symptom continues to be the cold, which in 30% of cases is caused by coronavirus: “It is impossible to distinguish the cause without a swab, so – concludes Broccolo – I hope that rapid tests will be carried out on students who enter the the school”. he must present the symptom, to have an answer in a few minutes: the exam is not very sensitive but it still allows an initial screening of the cases ”.
“When the child has mild symptoms like cough or runny nose, don’t worry – explains the president.
of the Italian Society of Pediatrics Alberto Villani -. On the other hand, when they start to be more ‘demanding’ the right thing to do is consult a pediatrician ”.
“It is important to avoid sending children to school if they are unwell and we have to go back to following the old rule of law
convalescence. If it was a trivial flu, it is better that they stay home one more day without fever. “
Next, it specifies the two most characteristic symptoms of Covid, the absence of taste and smell, which however “are very rare among children.”
According to Villani, the school “will be one of the safest environments2, the problem” is what happens outside.
(Unioneonline / L)
