Symptoms in children vary depending on age

Long Covid affects all ages. When symptoms persist for more than a month, health professionals say there is a long-term infection. In a recent study to be presented at the annual meeting of the Academic Pediatric Societies in Toronto, Canada, researchers explain that symptoms of the disease change with age in young people.

This study involved 6,000 participants, more specifically children and caregivers. 75% of them were infected with SARS-CoV2. The tests revealed the symptoms that the young people were experiencing. Most of them continued to suffer from it for more than a year after infection. But they varied depending on the age of the participants. Infants mainly experienced general and respiratory symptoms (eg, cough); in preschool children (up to 5 years old) the same symptoms were observed, as well as problems with the gastrointestinal tract and ENT organs (for example, nasal congestion); in school-age children, general and ENT symptoms predominated; finally, adolescents/young adults frequently reported loss of taste and/or smell and pain. According to the criteria defined by the authors, school-age children include children aged 6 to 11 years.

Long Covid: ‘lack of appetite, sleep problems and restlessness’ in young children

“School-aged children, adolescents and young adults with a history of Covid-19 infection had many common persistent symptoms, including lack of energy, fatigue after walking, headaches, body, muscle and joint pain, dizziness, difficulty concentrating attention and gastrointestinal symptoms. such as nausea and vomiting.the authors continue in the press release.

At the same time, they noticed that some participants experienced psychological symptoms. Among children aged 6 to 11 years, some had specific and persistent fears, for example, adolescents were afraid of crowds or closed spaces; “Young children aged birth to five years who had previously been infected with Covid-19 were more likely to suffer from poor appetite, sleep problems and restlessness, as well as long-lasting respiratory symptoms such as nasal congestion and cough, compared with children without the virus . known previous Covid-19 infection”they continue.

Better understand the symptoms of long Covid so you can manage them better.

According to the authors, this information on the typology of symptoms depending on age will allow better recognition of long-term forms of Covid-19 in young people. “These findings highlight the importance of characterizing the long-term course of Covid in children, as researchers are still discovering the long-term effects of infection in this age group.says Rachel Gross, associate professor of pediatrics and public health at New York University Grossman School of Medicine. This research is important because doctors will be able to diagnose and treat correctly if they better understand how the disease affects different age groups.”