Maternal: Does your child have the flu? Understand why ‘daycare centers’ are more intense

Adenovirus, bocavirus, rhinovirus, influenza, parainfluenza, coronavirus, respiratory syncytial virus or enterovirus. Did you feel like coughing? These are some of the menu items responsible for the fevers, coughs and endless greenish boogers that have appeared in children lately.

The accumulation of viruses circulating around and the capacity of emergency rooms drew the attention of even those who have been working in hospitals for years. Winter started warmer, but the temperature should drop in the next few days and it gives you serum, inhalation and patience.

Other than that, the rise in cases of hospitalization for Covid-19 is also worrying parents of children between zero and five years old – the only age group that cannot receive the vaccine against the disease.

According to the Infogripe survey, by Fiocruz, since April, 15% of hospital admissions records are in this range. In November, this group represented less than 5% of the weekly cases of severe acute respiratory syndromes. Also according to Fiocruz, in the last four weeks, 71.2% of cases of flu syndrome recorded in Brazil were caused by Covid-19.

The family of teacher Thaís Fernandes, 23, is part of this statistic. Daughter Aurora, 1 year and 5 months old, tested positive recently. The parents’ concern increased because the girl has already been hospitalized twice with pneumonia.

The “nursery”, a term used for the illnesses that appear after the beginning of school life, arrived at her house with everything and in addition to the repeated colds, Aurora has already presented sinusitis, otitis and pneumonia of repetition, coming to take antibiotics eight times to treat all these diseases.

“Stop working [para ficar com a filha em casa] it was never an option. The way was to get used to it. I’m a teacher and I see viral cases up close, but I had no idea it would be a good week and 15 sick days,” she says.

The family of banker Ana Bosco, 41, also has Covid-19. Her son Thales, almost two years old, also had several viral pictures since he started at school, in April of that year.

“They are constant colds. In the last month he had a sequence of high fever, a lot of phlegm in the chest and a runny nose. In addition to Covid, Thales has conjunctivitis. Recently the boy used antibiotics and corticosteroids to treat other bacterial infections. “We learned to deal with . We are going around the symptoms with home medications to try to make him better “, he explains.

The pandemic has altered our immune response. Before social isolation, daily contact with respiratory viruses left our body “‘trained” to fight them. The period of isolation at home, without daily contact with these viruses, made the diseases come stronger and take longer to go away.

​​CAUTION WITH ANTIBIOTICS

For specialists heard by Maternar, only 20% of cases of ‘nursery’ need antibiotics, as this drug only works against bacteria. In the case of viruses, taking antibiotics can further worsen the patient’s health, because the product also eliminates good bacteria from the body.

“There is also the risk of causing allergies, vomiting, diarrhea, liver and kidney problems. And the most worrying of all: the emergence of more resistant strains”, explains Francisco Ivanildo de Oliveira Junior, an infectious disease specialist at Sabará Hospital Infantil.

After so much medication on her daughter, Thaís Fernandes says that she is now waiting to go to the emergency room. “Today I wait about three days. I manage the fever before running there, because every time we went to the ER we left with the antibiotic prescription. It seems that they give it without criteria”, she says.

PS, WHEN TO GO?

Most childhood viral conditions do not need emergency care. The ideal is to medicate and observe the fever. If the child has a fever for more than 72 hours, has difficulty breathing, prostration, loss of appetite or refusal to drink fluids, the recommendation is to take him to the hospital.

SCHOOL BREAK?

Families with young children (under three years old) who have the privilege of hiring a nanny or having a relative who stays at home with them can take the child away from school for a period or even delay the start of classes. “Small children benefit much more by staying at home with a caregiver who is responsive to them and who have the opportunity to develop strong bonds with just one person. Weighing the pros and cons, it is worth staying at home free from infections”, explains pediatrician Marcia Zani.

CAN YOU BOOST YOUR IMMUNITY?

For Zani, there is no magic medicine capable of boosting children’s immunity. The ideal is to check how your health is doing before supplementing in an exaggerated way. The specialist recommends keeping vaccinations up to date and increasing the intake of liquids and “real” foods, such as fruits and vegetables and reducing processed foods, which hinder the functioning of the body.

Parents should pay attention to the hygiene of the environments and treat preexisting diseases such as asthma and rhinitis. The use of masks in environments with many people is the most recommended, as well as frequent hand hygiene with gel alcohol.

Sick children should not go to school and if parents can take a break for a few more days for the child’s body to recover well, it’s the best option.

“Stressed people get sicker. A family weekend close to nature helps reduce cortisol [hormônio do estresse] which weakens our defense. Wellness hormone also protects the body”, adds the specialist.