More kids are starting to catch colds again. Here’s why

Clinics and hospitals are seeing an increase in children catching the common cold and other non-COVID-19 viruses since the pandemic began.

The number of children doctors are seeing for symptoms like fevers and headaches is similar to pre-COVID times, said Dr. Eddy Lau, a pediatrician at St. Joseph's Health Centre. One possible reason for this uptick in benign viruses could be because kids are seeing each other more often now that they're out of lockdown.

This is, I think, within what we expect to be like a normal degree of viral spread among children who will be in contact with each other at let's say, daycare, even pre-COVID," said Lau, who is also a board member of the Canadian Paediatric Society.

Lau said that he and his colleagues at St. Joseph's Just for Kids Clinic started noticing more visits for non-COVID illnesses around two months ago. Pediatricians are seeing more common cold-type illnesses in children with symptoms like runny noses, fevers, headaches, or aches and pains in the body.

There's a number of common viruses that are around all the time and when you are around other people in closer contact, you're more likely to spread them," Lau said.

Because kids are now getting more exposure to certain viruses that they didn't encounter during lockdown, their immune systems are being put to work - which, Lau said, is a normal bodily reaction to new environments.

It's good for them to get exposed to these less significant viruses because it basically primes their immune systems to develop responses to them so that their immune system gets trained to fight illnesses," Lau said.

On top of kids coming into contact with each other more frequently, Lau thinks that parents and guardians are more comfortable taking their children to clinics and hospitals now that COVID-19 cases are decreasing. When COVID-19 hospitalization counts were higher, some people wouldn't bring their kids to the hospital because they were worried about risk of exposure.

A lot of clinics and the hospitals have appropriate precautions and protocols on how to keep people safe when they come in," Lau said. Don't be afraid to bring your child to get checked - I think that's one thing we don't want parents to be afraid to do."

If a child has a fever for no more than two or three days and they're eating and drinking well, they just need some TLC," Lau said. He suggests giving them some anti-fever medicine like acetaminophen or ibuprofen and making sure they stay hydrated.

But if a child's fever persists, they have a loss of appetite or have any other concerning symptoms, they should get checked by a doctor. Newborns should also be taken to a doctor immediately since they're more vulnerable to severe infections compared to older children.

To help prevent children from getting sick in the first place, it's important to encourage healthy hygiene habits like wearing a mask or washing their hands, though Lau thinks lots of kids are already great at that.

Masks prevent illnesses from spreading by reducing the moisture droplets that people expel from their mouths when they breathe, cough or sneeze. Proper handwashing continues to be one of the best ways to stop the spread of viruses. And if your child is sick, keep them at home until they've recovered.

A lot of younger school-aged kids are really good at wearing masks and they've learned a lot about their hand hygiene and things like that," Lau said. The precautions that they're taking now are certainly better than pre-COVID times when a lot of these kids would just be sharing food or coughing on each other and not washing their hands."

On top of making sure kids are staying healthy, as COVID-19 restrictions loosen, Lau said people need to understand how the pandemic has affected them to ensure they recover from the past year. He notes the astronomical" mental health issues they've seen kids face in the past year. This is why it's especially important for kids that COVID-19 is controlled so they can go back to being kids.

For kids, getting back into school, proper social activities, sports, things like that (are) really important to get them back into a regular kind of routine."

Celina Gallardo is a Toronto-based staff reporter for the Star. Reach her via email: cgallardo@thestar.ca