Colds are the most common cause of sickness in both children and adults. Symptoms include a runny or blocked nose, sneezing and coughing, watery eyes, headache, sore throat and a possible slight fever.
Children in education and care services can have as many as 8 to 12 colds a year. However, by the time they are 3 years old, children who attend a service have no more colds than those who are cared for only at home.
How it spreads
Colds spread by droplets in the air that contain the virus or direct contact with mucus or saliva. People get infected by:
- breathing in droplets when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes on them
- touching a surface contaminated with droplets - for example, hands, tissues, toys or eating utensils - and then touching their eyes, nose or mouth.
Exclusion period
If a person has respiratory symptoms (cough, sneezing, runny or blocked nose, sore throat), exclude them only if:
- the respiratory symptoms are severe or
- the respiratory symptoms are getting worse (more frequent or severe), or
- they also have concerning symptoms (fever, rash, tiredness, pain, poor feeding).
Otherwise, do not exclude.
A person can often have an ongoing cough after they have recovered from a respiratory infection. If their other symptoms have gone and they feel well, they can return to the service.
Actions for educators and other staff
Ensure staff and children have good respiratory and hand hygiene.
Ensure staff use appropriate cleaning practices, as described in the Staying healthy guideline.
Actions for parents and carers
Keep your child at home until their symptoms have gone and they feel well. If your child still has a cough, but their other symptoms have gone and they feel well, they can return to the service.
Teach your child to cough or sneeze into a tissue, then throw the tissue into a bin and wash their hands. If there are no tissues nearby, teach them to cough or sneeze into their inner elbow instead of their hands.
Clean surfaces that your child has touched, sneezed on, or coughed on to reduce the risk of the infection spreading to others at home.
More information about common cold
See healthdirect for more information on prevention, diagnosis and treatment of common cold.
To find out if a child needs medical help, you can:
- use the health direct online symptom checker
- speak to a registered nurse by calling their 24-hour health advice hotline on 1800 022 222.
