By being prepared, experts say. This is what you need to know and do.
Plan ahead by setting up a structure in which all family members and potential caregivers know their roles and expectations.
Has anyone been fully vaccinated? The person must be the first choice as primary caregiver. Provide a backup if it is left out of account due to work or other obligations.
Provide a list of emergency telephone numbers, including all family members, your healthcare provider, the local public health department, the local hospital and ambulance service – just in case.
Develop a network of people outside the home, such as extended family, friends, and neighbors, who can deliver groceries, medications, or other supplies at the last minute. This is especially important for single parents, said dr. Leana Wen, medical analyst at CNN, said.
“Find out if you have a friend, neighbor, colleague or family member in the area who could be your backup person,” Wen said. He is an emergency physician and visiting professor of health policy and management at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. .
“If you are in quarantine with your child while caring for your child, the other person can help you with groceries and medicine if needed. If you have friends who are single parents, you can consider it to be their backup help. We are it all together and must help each other to get through this time, ‘said Wen.
Alternatively, you can investigate whether your local grocery store does home deliveries, or investigate your online grocery delivery services and set up an account as a precaution.
Have a designated bedroom ready to use, preferably with a private bathroom that no one else will use. Provide the bedroom with all relevant forms of entertainment: TV, computer, iPad, books, even games that you can play via FaceTime or Skype.
Here is a list of basic supplies you have on hand:
- A working thermometer to monitor fever, considered 37.7 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit).
- Fever-reducing medications, such as paracetamol.
- A box of rubber or latex disposable gloves and face masks.
- Regular soap and at least 60% ethanol or 70% isopropanol hand sanitizer (antibacterial soap is not necessary if you wash well, and thus you will not contribute to the world’s growing antibiotic-resistant super sugar).
- Tissues to cover sneezing and coughing. But you do not need to store toilet paper – it is a respiratory disease.
- Regular cleaners, kitchen cleaning gloves and trash cans.
- Disinfectant cleaners – you can choose from a list that meets the virus protection standards of the US Environmental Protection Agency, or you can also make your own version by 1/3 cup bleach per liter of water or 4 teaspoons of bleach per liter of water. Never mix bleach with ammonia or any other household cleaner – it produces toxic gases.
Pick up your child
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends charging your child alone at school, with windows open for ventilation. If you do have other children with you, everyone should be masked, unless the child is younger than 2.
Once your child is home
First call your child’s healthcare provider to discuss whether your child should be evaluated and to determine options to be tested for Covid-19, the CDC recommends.
Ideally, there would be only one primary caregiver, someone who has already been fully vaccinated, who will “care for the child in one part of the home and not share rooms with others,” Wen said.
“Keep everyone else separate from the child and the adult caregiver,” Wen said.
“If there are people in the household who are not vaccinated and who are at high risk for serious coronavirus effects – for example, a child with an immune system or an older adult with severe underlying conditions – try to get that person on the other side. from home or in an area where there is no shared public space. ‘
The age of the child is also a factor here, Wen said. An older child may be able to take care of themselves, thus enabling the caregivers to put food and drink outside the door.
“If it’s a baby, toddler or younger child who needs physical support from a caregiver, it’s going to be harder,” Wen said.
“Again, I would designate one caregiver who is essentially placed in quarantine with the child. The caregiver can still try their best to reduce the risk of infection for them by wearing a mask and washing hands very well, but it can be very difficult be to avoid physical distance in caring for a young child. ‘
Should other vaccinated parents be quarantined in the home? It’s complicated, Wen said.
“The CDC says that people who are fully vaccinated and who are in contact with someone known to have coronavirus do not have to go into quarantine. In this situation, however, I would stray on the side of the warning,” he said. Wen said.
The designated caregiver is at high risk of contracting coronavirus, she added, explaining: “the risk is greatly reduced if they are vaccinated, but the person should not interact with others either, as they can still be a carrier. . “
Members of the family who have been fully vaccinated and have no contact with the child are likely to be able to undertake their daily activities, Wen said: “But I will once again be extra careful during this period. Other children need to be quarantined and not go not to school, if it is known that one child is infected. ‘
Cover and disinfect
Caregivers should wear a face mask at all times when dealing with your child, even if you and other adults in the family are fully vaccinated, Wen said. “The vaccines are very effective in preventing Covid-19, but not 100%.”
Plus, “we’re still learning how effective the vaccines are against variants of the virus,” the CDC said recently, as well as “how long COVID-19 vaccines can protect humans.”
Another good idea to reduce the risk is to open as many windows and doors as possible to allow fresh air to circulate and thus dilute any virus in the air.
“Being in a shared space with a child who has been actively contagious for long periods of time exposes you to risks,” Wen said. “It may not be possible to limit time together or to physically distance oneself, especially with a young child. So try to improve ventilation by opening windows and keeping a mask on yourself.”
Although “direct contact and air sharing” are the most important ways experts now believe Covid-19 is distributed, Wen said: “You can reduce the risk to yourself and others in the household by following the CDC’s tips:
- Do not share drinking glasses, cups, forks or other cutlery.
- Do not share towels or bedding.
- Do not shake the isolated child’s dirty clothes to “reduce the possibility of the virus spreading through the air.”
- Wear disposable gloves when cleaning the child’s bedroom or bath, but then throw them away before going to other cleaning jobs. “Clean hands after removing gloves,” the CDC said.
- Wide a lined trash can for tissues or other paper or disposable products used by an isolated or sick person, the CDC says, adding that caregivers should use gloves when removing, handling and disposing of garbage bags. Wash hands after handling or disposing of trash. ‘
- Let everyone in the house wash their hands at every opportunity. Clean and disinfect all areas that are shared regularly – do not forget the fridge and microwave handles.
Look for symptoms
If children do show symptoms, it is usually mild, but that does not mean that a child cannot become seriously ill, the CDC adds.
Just like adults, children with pre-existing conditions such as ‘obesity, diabetes, asthma or chronic lung disease, sickle cell disease or immunosuppression may also be at increased risk for serious COVID-19 diseases’, the agency warns.
Possible symptoms of Covid-19 infection are similar to many other viral infections and include fever, fatigue, headache, muscle or stomach pain, poor appetite, sore throat, cough, nasal congestion, shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
Some symptoms that appear to be unique to Covid-19 are a new loss of taste or smell and ‘Covid tone’, swollen red or purple tone caused by small blood clots in the smallest blood vessels.
“According to the CDC, children are less likely to have a fever, and that they are less likely to have fever as an initial symptom, and may only have gastrointestinal symptoms.”
The parent should monitor these symptoms and contact a healthcare provider, emergency room or 911 immediately. One last, very important thing: call 911 immediately if your child or other family member develops one of these symptoms:
- Increased or sudden difficulty breathing or shortness of breath.
- Persistent pain or pressure in the chest.
- Any sign of oxygen deficiency, such as new confusion, bluish lips or face, or you can not wake the sick person.
When can your child go back to school?
This may depend on the extent of your child’s risk of exposure, subsequent symptoms, school policies and more; so keep in touch with your child and your pediatrician now.
- It has been at least ten days since symptoms began.
- Overall symptoms improved.
- The child has no fever for at least 24 hours (without medication that reduces fever).