COVID-19 in Children: Symptoms, Testing, and When to Seek Care

A practical guide for families when a child has a respiratory illness

MEDICALLY REVIEWED - APPROVED FOR WEBSITE PUBLICATION

This page is for general education only and does not replace individualized medical advice. This resource does not establish a doctor-patient relationship. For questions about your own child, contact your child's current healthcare professional.

Magnolia Pediatrics, Valley Children's Healthcare
2497 E. Herndon Avenue, Suite 101, Clovis, CA 93611 | 559-538-3070

COVID-19 can look like many other respiratory illnesses. Most children recover with routine supportive care, but the child's breathing, alertness, hydration, age, medical conditions, and whether symptoms are improving or worsening are more important than the name of the virus alone. Testing can help guide family, school, activity, and healthcare decisions.

Urgent warning signs - check this first

Call 911 now for severe trouble breathing, blue or gray lips or face, chest pain or pressure with serious illness, new confusion, a child who is hard to wake or cannot stay awake, or another life-threatening emergency.

Seek urgent medical evaluation now for ribs pulling in, very fast or labored breathing, inability to drink because of breathing trouble, significant dehydration, a child who looks very ill, or symptoms that are rapidly worsening.

Symptoms families may notice

Fever or chills, cough, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, fatigue, headache, body aches, or a change in taste or smell.
Some children have stomach symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or abdominal pain.
Symptoms overlap with influenza, RSV, common colds, strep, and other infections. A symptom list cannot identify the virus by itself.

Testing

Follow the instructions that come with the specific test. A negative rapid antigen test does not always rule out infection, especially early in illness.
Contact your child's clinician if testing is needed because the child is at higher risk for severe illness, a treatment decision may be time-sensitive, or symptoms do not fit a routine mild respiratory illness.
Tell the clinician about the child's symptoms, date symptoms started, known exposures, test type and results, vaccination history when relevant, and medical conditions.

Care at home and preventing spread

Offer fluids, rest, and simple foods as tolerated. Use fever or discomfort medicine only as directed by your child's clinician or the product label for the child's age and weight.
Keep the child home and away from others while they have fever or feel too unwell for usual activities. Follow the current instructions from the child's school, childcare program, healthcare professional, and public-health authorities for returning to activities.
Use practical measures that lower respiratory-virus spread: clean hands, cover coughs and sneezes, improve indoor air when possible, and avoid close contact with people who are at high risk while the child is ill.
Do not use leftover antibiotics. Antibiotics do not treat COVID-19 or other viral infections unless a clinician identifies a separate bacterial infection.

When to contact your child's healthcare professional

Symptoms are worsening, fever is persistent or returns after improving, the child is not drinking or urinating normally, or the child is not returning toward usual energy and alertness.
Your child is very young, has a chronic lung, heart, kidney, neurologic, or immune condition, is receiving immune-suppressing treatment, or has another condition that may increase concern for severe illness.
Several weeks after COVID-19 or another infection, the child develops persistent fever along with severe abdominal pain, rash, red eyes, chest pain, marked weakness, or other new concerning symptoms. Ask promptly about possible multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C).

Sources and medical review

Sources checked: August 15, 2026 | Medical review completed: August 15, 2026