The greatest fear of this year is Coronavirus. It is a lethal virus that has killed more than 2804 people, and more than 82294 cases of infected people are reported (as per the latest report of the World Health Organization on February 27, 2020). Everybody is worried about the spread of this virus, especially the parents who are concerned about their children’s health and safety. However, there are very few cases of Coronavirus in babies. It is still not clear why children are safe from it.
The biggest danger is that it is zoonotic, which means that it can spread from animals to humans. This is a large family of viruses that causes common diseases to more serious diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). The new strain called novel coronavirus (nCoV) or dubbed 2019-nCoV was never found in humans previously. The World Health Organization has named the new strain COVID-19.
Symptoms
The parents should identify the symptoms of Coronavirus carefully. They should call the doctor when they find any of the following symptoms in their child. The symptoms include:
- coughing
- sneezing
- fever
- body aches
- tiredness
- sore throat
- headache
- diarrhea
- pneumonia
- shortness of breath
- close personal contact
- contact (touching your mouth, nose, or eyes) with an object or with anything with viral particles.
Care is better than cure. Therefore, it is advisable to practice good hygiene by washing and drying your children’s hands thoroughly.
Prevention & Treatment
The best way to treat the infection is to keep your children away from being exposed to this virus because, currently, there is no antiviral treatment available to cure this infection. Experts recommend everyday preventive measures to stop the spread of respiratory viruses. These include:
- Teach children to wash their hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- Guide children to stay away from an infected person(s).
- Advise children to avoid touching their eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
- Instruct children to use a tissue when sneezing or coughing and then throw the tissue in the trash.
- Clean and disinfect household objects and surfaces with cleaning spray.
- Make sure your child has received the flu vaccine.
- Encourage your children to eat a healthy diet, exercise, and getting enough sleep. These habits will keep your child’s immune system strong.
- Use a humidifier to help with congestion.
It is recommended that one must take all the necessary preventive measures to stop the spread of 2019-(CoV) in your children. Therefore, if you fear your babies are developing symptoms of Coronavirus, immediately take them to Pediatric Health Care to get proper treatment.
