HealthInfo Canterbury
Helping your child with COVID-19 symptoms
There's no treatment that cures COVID-19, but there are things you can do to help your tamaiti (child) with the symptoms COVID-19 causes. The most important of these is giving them comfort, being reassuring and distracting your tamaiti with books or play.
You can look after your tamaiti with a fever at home if they:
- are drinking and feeding well
- are still interacting with you
- don't look sick.
Fever
- Undress your tamaiti so they're just wearing a single layer (maybe a singlet and pants).
- Make sure the room isn't too hot or too cold.
These are the best and most comfortable ways to bring your child's temperature down.
- It's best not to give your tamaiti a bath or shower to cool them, but you could use a cool face cloth.
- Your tamaiti may need extra rest, or they may want to play, either is OK.
- Encourage them to drink fluids and eat small healthy meals.
If your tamaiti is happy and well, you don't need to do anything more. You don't need to treat the fever with medicine.
If your tamaiti is miserable because of the fever, you can give them paracetamol to make them more comfortable. You must follow the dosage instructions on the bottle. It's dangerous to give them more than the recommended dose. Find out how to give paracetamol to children safely.
If your doctor gives your tamaiti ibuprofen, only use it if your tamaiti has a fever and is miserable.
Don't give your tamaiti cold and flu medicines. Never give your tamaiti aspirin as this may increase the risk of Reye syndrome, which is a rare and serious illness.
Headache and other pain
If your tamaiti is in pain, as well as comforting and reassuring them, you can use medicine such as paracetamol or ibuprofen. You can buy these from a pharmacy or ask your doctor for a prescription.
If you buy the medicine from a pharmacy, tell the pharmacist who you're getting it for to make sure you get the right type for the age of your tamaiti. You must follow the dosage instructions on the bottle. It's dangerous to give more than the recommended dose.
Cough
Most coughs don't need treatment and get better by themselves within three to four weeks. Make sure your tamaiti child isn't exposed to any cigarette smoke.
Note the following.
- Cough medicines aren't useful for treating cough in tamariki (children).
- Honey may be helpful for a cough caused by COVID-19. But wait until your pēpi (baby) is at least 12 months old before giving them honey – it can make young pēpi babies sick.
- Antibiotics don't help coughing caused by a viral infection. But if your doctor finds that your child's cough is due to a bacterial infection in the throat or the chest, they may prescribe antibiotics.
Vomiting and diarrhoea
The main treatment is to keep giving your tamaiti fluids. Whichever fluids your tamaiti is having, the important thing is to:
- offer them small amounts of fluid often rather than large amounts – aim for a quarter of a cup every 15 minutes or 1 teaspoon (5 ml) in a syringe every minute
- keep offering your tamaiti fluids even if they're vomiting.
Types of fluids
- If you're breastfeeding, keep feeding on demand – you may need to feed more frequently and drink extra fluid yourself.
- If your tamaiti child is drinking formula, keep giving them formula feeds.
- If your tamaiti is over 1 year old, you can give them cow's milk.
- If your tamaiti is dehydrated, your doctor or pharmacist may prescribe electrolyte solutions such as Electral or Pedialyte. You can also buy electrolyte solutions from your pharmacist for approximately $15 per day.
As long as they aren't dehydrated, you may also give your tamaiti the following drinks. You must dilute the drinks with water as they contain too much sugar (which can make the diarrhoea worse).
- Apple juice – mix one part water to one part juice.
- Cordial – make up to normal drinking strength then add one part water to one part cordial.
- Soup – add one part water to one part soup.
- Fizzy drinks such as lemonade – add one part warm water to one part drink (warm water removes the bubbles).
Drinks to avoid
Don't give pēpi or tamariki with vomiting or diarrhoea:
- undiluted soft drinks, fruit juices, Lucozade, Ribena, sports drinks (such as Powerade or Gatorade) – these contain too much sugar and can make your child's diarrhoea worse
- coffee and tea – these can make your tamaiti dehydrated.
Food
- You can offer your tamaiti food if they're hungry, even if their diarrhoea continues.
- Continuing to feed your tamaiti can speed up their recovery and can reduce the length of time your tamaiti has diarrhoea.
- Your tamaiti may refuse food at first – this isn't a problem as long as they keep taking fluids.
- If possible, don't stop giving food for more than 24 hours.
- Starchy simple foods are best – offer foods such as bread or toast, porridge, rice, potatoes, plain biscuits, yoghurt and milk pudding.
Foods to avoid
Don't give your tamaiti fatty or sugary foods such as takeaways, chippies, sweets, cakes, chocolate, ice cream, cream or coconut cream.
Medicines
Don't give your tamaiti medicines for diarrhoea as they can be harmful to tamariki. Your doctor may occasionally prescribe a medicine for vomiting. Follow your doctor's instructions.
Vomiting and diarrhoea are usually caused by a virus and antibiotics don't treat viral gastroenteritis. The body will get rid of the virus on its own without treatment.
Sore bottom
Diarrhoea can cause a rash. After each bowel motion, wash your child's bottom and pat it dry. Then put on a protective cream or ointment (such as zinc and castor oil cream or Vaseline).
Content shared between HealthInfo Canterbury, KidsHealth and Health Navigator NZ as part of a National Health Content Hub collaborative. Last reviewed February 2022.
Review key: HICOV-710714
