The pediatrician chair: This is when children can be sent to school and when they should stay home

3 ‘reading

One can easily imagine with what feelings parents await the test of the first days of their children’s return to school, starting on Monday for most of the country. Satisfaction, for the recovery of a crucial activity in growth. But there are also many fears, driven by uncertainty about how to face the multifaceted reality of living with the virus. It is about observing the suggested practices and is the necessary first step. In addition to this, it will be necessary to interpret a series of common health situations that in an unprecedented context, such as the current one, deserve great scruples. How to deal, for example, with a “simple” form of cooling? Do you keep the baby at home? Do you wait for time to pass to follow its evolution?

Safe place school

An essential premise. “The school will be one of the safest environments because clear and precise rules have been given and there will be those who will verify that the teaching and non-teaching staff are respected,” explains Professor Alberto Villani, president of the Italian Society of Pediatrics. In the initial phase of the pandemic, the little ones appeared to be almost completely safe from the consequences of SARS-CoV-2; however, gradually, it became clear that this was not the case, although in a much less serious way. On this point, a study among many recently published in the British Medical Journal, the largest carried out so far in the world, reassures: the risk of hospitalization remains very low and the spectrum of even infinitesimal lethal consequences is among the most little ones. and among children aged 10 to 14, including the categories potentially most exposed to physical or social conditions.

What to pay attention to

Naturally, the principle of maximum precaution must be observed. “In the epidemic period, you have to be very careful because you have a duty to protect your own health and that of your loved ones, but you also have a responsibility for the health of the people with whom you share school, work, any type of activity. Those who are not in good health should not run the risk of infecting other people. That said, the same old criteria and a dose of common sense apply to the number one Italian pediatricians who is also a member of the Scientific Technical Committee. “If the child has a condition that is a prelude to worsening and the parents know about it, or if he has symptoms that make it better to stay home, stay home. In general, temperature is definitely a deciding factor. ‘ In itself, the presence of any discharge is not a contraindication. «A child without fever but who has situations already known to her parents should leave them alone. If you have clear, watery rhinitis, you sneeze several times but are allergic, there is no reason to worry. “Only in the case of a more pronounced manifestation, referral to a doctor becomes a mandatory path.

Symptom overlap

The main problem to be treated arises from the fact that “the symptoms with which the SARS-CoV-2 infection occurs are common to all respiratory infections and, in particular, to influenza and” it is not possible to diagnose the infection by SARS. -CoV-2 only on the basis of clinical symptoms. “But beware of smells and tastes that are no longer felt: anosmia and ageusia (lack of smell or taste) are quite typical signs of the disease because, Villani specifies , “other situations in which this occurs”. The Ministry of Health has drawn up, as every year, a circular indicating who should be vaccinated against the flu: the elderly and those with comorbidities also include children between 6 months and 6 years. Because “beyond what they can do to others, in terms of transmitting the infection, even young children can face serious problems with the flu so it is correct to vaccinate them.”

Rules of conduct to suggest

When we move on to the precautions that should always be taken during the school day, the list does not change from the usual, general. For Villani it is necessary to “respect the rules we have known for a long time.” And therefore “avoid meetings, physical distance of at least one meter, the use of a mask if you are moving and / or if you are less than one meter from people close to us, frequent hand washing.”