When your child gets sick, you want to know what she's got so you can treat her accordingly. Figuring out if it's just a common cold, or something more serious, stumps many parents. The good news is, there are certain symptoms--and noticeable lack of symptoms--that can show you with little uncertainty when your child has a cold.
Signs and Symptoms
The early signs of a cold commonly include nasal congestion, sniffles, sneezing, and sometimes a cough and a ticklish or sore throat. Later you may also find that your child has a headache, muscle aches, fatigue, or a mild fever.
Cold vs. Flu
You won't necessarily know your child has a cold just by the symptoms he has. Since these things are also signs of the flu and other viral diseases, they alone don't pinpoint a cold as the culprit. However, what's missing will tell you that it's more likely a cold: there won't be chills or a high fever, which often accompany the flu, and you're less likely to see headaches, muscle aches, loss of appetite, vomiting or diarrhea. Also, unlike the flu, which can come on very suddenly, a cold is usually slow to build.
Cold vs. Allergies
Cold symptoms can also be similar to those experienced by a child with allergies. However, seasonal allergies typically come with thin, clear nasal discharge. With a cold, your child is more likely to fill a tissue with thick yellowish or greenish mucous when he blows his nose.
Causes
Most colds come from airborne viruses, most often rhinoviruses or coronaviruses, which are found in invisible air droplets. As such, we can breathe them in, or touch them when they land on things. According to KidsHealth, a division of the non-profit children's health organization The Nemours Foundation, there are over 100 different rhinoviruses that can cause your child to experience a sore throat, headache, or stuffed up nose. When the virus infiltrates the protective lining in your child's nose and throat, it triggers an immune system reaction that brings on the signs of a cold.
Contagiousness
After your child's symptoms first appear, her cold is most contagious for the first 2 to 4 days, but she can continue to pass it on for up to 3 weeks. Your child can catch a cold through contact with someone else who has one, by breathing the air that someone has coughed or sneezed into, or by touching her mouth or nose after touching a contaminated surface. Washing hands well and often, especially after sneezing, is a good way to stop the spread of a cold. Also teach your child to sneeze or cough into a shirt sleeve or the crook of her elbow, so she doesn't transfer germs to her hands or the air.
Duration
After he's exposed to a rhinovirus, cold symptoms will usually show up in your child within 2 or 3 days. Expect the cold to last about a week, although some hang on for as long as two; after that, his symptoms should go away. If the cold persists, see his doctor to rule out any complications or more serious infections.
Frequency
If it seems like your child gets a lot of colds, that's okay. KidsHealth says that the average child gets as many as eight or more colds each year, making it the most common infectious disease in the United States, and the top reason that kids stay home from school, or see a doctor. According to the Children's Hospital in Boston, kids that go to daycare are more likely to get infected, but those over 6 years old get fewer colds than younger children.
Treatment
Most colds go away in time with little intervention on your part. In the meantime, however, you can offer some relief from the symptoms. Saline solution drops in his nose can reduce nasal congestion, as can a humidifier or sitting in a steamy bathroom after you run a hot shower. Never give aspirin to a child under 12 years old, and only offer cough drops to those over 3, since younger kids can choke on them.
