It’s now well-known that Long COVID can affect both adults and – more rarely – children. The syndrome shows a variety of symptoms. Often children or teenagers suffer from excessive fatigue after very little exertion. They have difficulty concentrating (brain fog), and suffer from physical pain (headaches and abdominal or muscular pain) and sleep disorders. There are cognitive symptoms, too, such as forgetfulness, confusion or an increased sensitivity to noise and light. As a consequence of these symptoms and limits on social contact, children’s mental health can also suffer.
Get help from others’ experiences
Understandably, most parents are initially overwhelmed by the situation. Hearing about and learning from the experiences of other parents can provide great support.
We’ve summarized some of the key advice from these parents in this blog post. We’ve removed names to protect the children’s identities.
Take your child’s concerns seriously!
What you can do right away:
- Take your child’s concerns seriously! You know them best: “I can’t... because I don’t want to right now” is something entirely different from “I’m not able to... because I’m not feeling well”.
- Prepare yourself for the possibility that you will have a sick child at home for a long period of time. Organize support and assistance at home so that things are also tolerable for you. If it ends up not lasting that long, so much the better!
- Get informed about Pacing (our Vademecum can help). Your child shouldn’t exceed their limits, and those are now much lower than before. Turn down the pressure and recalibrate to a new scale: 10 minutes of reading might already be too much. Let your child do what makes them feel good, and help them avoid putting too much pressure on themselves.
- Avoid appointments away from home. If they are absolutely necessary, schedule them for the times when your child is best prepared for them.
- Inform yourself, too. Many physicians still do not have a lot of experience with Long COVID. Visit a specialist at a children’s hospital, if needed.
- Adjust to variable, changing and irregular symptoms. This is particularly difficult, but it helps if you know that it’s part of the process. Bad phases can follow good phases, and vice-versa.
- Get information about tips for adults with Long COVID, and connect with other parents (with the Altea Community or the Facebook group Long Covid Kids CH for example).
- Antihistamine is a relatively common remedy for fatigue. It can be tried in consultation with your doctor at a low level and without great risk. Not all have the same effect, so you may have to try them until you find the right one. Give the antihistamine in the evening. If the effect is positive, a (temporarily) low-histamine diet may also be helpful.
Child on the way to school: with Long COVID, going to school is often difficult or impossible.
What does it mean for you as a family?
- Your sleep cycle can be disrupted: sometimes, you’ll be up all night long.
- Be creative in your everyday activities. Find out what makes you – and your family – happy. Having a sense of humor helps! It’s best to integrate it into your daily routine (like always watching a comedian before lunch).
- Occasionally invite another kid over to a meal so the kids can see each other, even if they cannot play together at the time. Keep your door open to friends and discuss visits with your child. There are times where in-person contact is too stressful for weeks on end, but meeting up online or online gaming is perhaps an option at least.
- It pays off to keep a weekly journal and color-code it according to your child’s condition (e.g. sleep/very tired/so-so/doing well). Write down appointments and events (such as a visit) and record when medication or nutritional supplements are taken. This will help you learn to recognize patterns and correlations. These journals are also helpful for therapists, physicians and teachers, and can also help in discovering the triggers for crashes.
Don’t be embarrassed to ask for and draw on help.
More support
Many support options are either not very well known, or parents are reluctant to draw on them. Don’t be ashamed to gather information about support options in your area.
- If possible, take advantage of home treatment options, which can be a massive relief for you and your child.
- Occupational therapy can help with energy management. Pediatric home care relieves the burden on the family, while children’s psychiatric home care can assist during depressive phases.
- But keep things in moderation: you should avoid “overtreating” your child, as too much exertion can provoke “crashes”.
How to deal with school and the authorities
Your child isn’t alone in wanting to go back to school. After a while, pressure from the educational authorities to implement mandatory school attendance also increases. However, putting pressure on the child and urging them to exceed their limits repeatedly doesn’t get anyone anywhere. If going to school isn’t an option, it’s better to organize individual lessons at home twice a week, for instance. Many schools have a pool of remedial lessons or the like available for such a situation. Keep in regular contact with the school and the authorities to make sure everyone is up to date.
Make plans for the future
Last but not least, create mental “COVID-free zones” and make plans for the future like Mattia and his family did. Doing so will provide strength and confidence.
