Knowing When To Take Your Child To The Doctor

Knowing when you should call your doctor for your child can be a tough decision. No parent wants to delay medical treatment if a child truly needs help, but going to a doctor only to be told the condition will clear up on its own - and then it does - can be frustrating, time consuming, and expensive. Here are a few guidelines to make the process easier.

Symptoms Have Different Meanings Depending On Age

The severity of some symptoms depends on the child's age. Between birth and about three months of age, a child’s immune system is still developing. During this age period, symptoms of illness should be monitored more closely, and medical help sought sooner, than after a child reaches the age of three months.

Pediatrician and emergency room doctors have three age categories when judging the severity of symptoms in children. This is based on the number of immunizations a child receives at different ages. The complications from an infection can be much more dangerous in infants who have not been immunized.

• Under the age of two months, a body temperature of 100.4º is a red flag. This is not a very high temperature for a toddler, but a newborn’s immature immune system can make this temperature dangerous. A doctor will often admit a newborn to the hospital for observation for a day or two when body temperature is above this level.
• For children between the ages of two and six months, a temperature over 100.4º is not by itself likely to result in a hospital stay. Consulting a doctor is advisable, however. Depending on other symptoms, or the results of lab tests, temperatures over 100.4º in children up to six months of age do warrant medical follow up.

Dehydration

If a child is vomiting or has diarrhea, dehydration can occur rapidly. Prolonged dehydration is a life threatening condition. When vomiting and diarrhea occur, offer the child water or other liquid frequently, and pay attention to how much they drink. If a child is loosing liquids and they are not being replenished, call for help right away.

Keeping track of how often a child urinates is also important for monitoring and preventing dehydration. If they are urinating less often than every six hours, this is a warning sign that they are becoming dehydrated and you should seek medical help. If there is blood in vomit or diarrhea, this is another red flag that calls for immediate medical advice.

When a Child Has Trouble Breathing

Stuffy noses are common in children, but if breathing is labored and the child is struggling to get air, there is something more serious going on. Danger signs in breathing that warrant quick medical help are:

• Blue or gray color in the child’s face or chest. If you see this, call 911 for immediate help.
• Nostrils flaring with each inhalation that is not relieved by cleaning the nostrils with a suction, or by the child blowing his or her nose.
• Retraction of skin on ribcage so that ribs show through, or straining of neck muscles, when inhaling.
• Breathing problems that are accompanied by facial swelling or a rash. This could indicate a severe allergic reaction. Call 911.

Duration of Symptoms

How long a symptom goes on is another factor in deciding when to seek help. Severe difficulty breathing, high fever, and blood in vomit or stool should prompt immediate medical attention no matter how long it has been happening.

A slightly elevated temperature, runny nose, mild cough, or short period of vomiting or diarrhea will often run its course in three or four days with rest and plenty of liquids. However, if mild symptoms persist for longer than four days, seek medical advice.

Getting Help Without Leaving Your Home

Going to the doctor with a sick child can be a major ordeal, and it can be especially frustrating if, once you get there, you find out you have overreacted. Online services like www.MeMD.me allow you to consult with a physician using a webcam from the comfort of your home. The online medical provider can then help you decide if a trip to your physician, or the emergency room, is really needed.

Getting a doctor’s advice from home also saves time and money and reduces the chances that you and your child will be exposed to germs in a doctor’s waiting room. So, an in-home consultation is also preventive medicine.