Coronavirus has no boundaries – we know this. But the disease may be more harmful to children than previously thought. A doctor reveals what to look out for.
Medics have observed a certain pattern of illness appearing in children throughout the UK.
Symptoms include abdominal pain and swelling of the heart.
But This Morning’s Dr Ranj insisted health experts can’t confirm that the illness is linked to the coronavirus outbreak.
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He said: “A number of children have been admitted to hospital, some have ended [up] in intensive care with a certain pattern of illness.
“Some of them have tested positive for coronavirus and some of them haven’t.”
On Monday April 27, a health alert was raised in the medical community.
Dr Ranj added: “This alert went out to health care professionals to warn them to be extra vigilant.
“What we’ve seen is these children have hyper inflammatory syndrome, which is lots of inflammation around the body.
“Some of their symptoms are similar to a condition called Kawasaki disease.”
What is Kawasaki disease?
Also known as mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome, the NHS explains that the condition mainly affects children under the age of five.
Kawasaki disease causes the blood vessels to become inflamed and swollen.
The characteristic symptoms include a fever that lasts for five days or more, with:
- A rash
- Swollen glands in the neck
- Dry, cracked lips
- Red fingers or toes
- Red eyes
Treatment at hospital is required, and a full recovery can be made in eight weeks.
Taking to Instagram, Dr Ranj commented: “We are not sure whether this pattern of illness that we are seeing could be related to coronavirus at all.”
He reassured the public: “For parents and carers at home, the advice has not changed.
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“The vast majority of children who get coronavirus will only get a mild illness and be absolutely fine.”
Mild symptoms of coronavirus include a fever, cough and fatigue.
For anybody worried about the symptoms of coronavirus, make use of the NHS 111 online tool.
In fact, the NHS advises parents, grandparents or carers, to call 111 if the child is displaying the following symptoms of coronavirus:
- A high temperature
- A new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot, for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours
Dr Nazima Pathan, a consultant in Paediatric Intensive Care in Cambridge, said: “Overall, children seem to be more resilient to serious lung infection following exposure to coronavirus.
“The numbers admitted to intensive care units are relatively low.
“Some of the children have presented with a septic shock type illness and rashes.
“The kind of presentation we would expect to see in toxic shock syndrome and Kawasaki disease.”
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