New Delhi: With the third wave of COVID-19 expected by the end of August and vaccination programs still underway in many states, there are still concerns about how it will affect children. According to news agency PTI, a senior pediatrician said that if the next wave will be of greater or increased severity in children, it is all speculation.
Praveen Kumar, Director, Department of Pediatrics, Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi, said there is speculation that future waves may affect children more as most adults will be vaccinated in the next few months while the vaccine for children is yet to come. Not till. Accepted.
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The pandemic has brought a lot to children who are mostly confined in their homes for more than a year. On how the pandemic has affected the mental and physical health of children, Kumar explained that the pandemic can have a serious impact on the mental and physical health of children.
Apart from the fear of illness, diseases in the family, job loss for the parents has added to the stress. Children have a way of expressing psychological distress (sadness) which can play out in a different way. Each child behaves differently, some may be silent while others may express anger and hyperactivity.
How to deal with children in a pandemic?
Caregivers should treat children patiently and understand their feelings. It is important to look for signs of stress in young children, which can range from extreme anxiety or sadness, unhealthy eating or sleeping habits, and difficulty with attention and concentration.
Everyone in the family needs to help children deal with stress and overcome their anxiety. Stating that no one knows how the virus is going to behave and affect children in future, Praveen Kumar stressed on protecting children from infection.
Adults in the home should strictly follow COVID-appropriate behavior, and limit their social interactions to reduce the chance of infection as they can pass on and transmit the infection to others. In addition, all adults should be vaccinated, which will protect children to a great extent.
He said that Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS) is a new syndrome seen in children and adolescents (aged 0-19 years). Most patients report it two to six weeks after the peak of COVID-19 infection in the affected population.
To establish a diagnosis of MIS-C, advanced investigations are required. All suspected cases should be referred and managed in a tertiary care hospital with HDU/ICU facility. All these cases can be treated if detected early.
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