When to Take Your Sick Child to the Doctor

Especially during cold and flu season, it may be hard to determine when you and your sick child should stay home and when you should go see your pediatrician. Parents should always seek professional care when concerned with their child’s health, however, or if they have any unanswered health-related questions.

A simple phone call to a nurse or an appointment with a doctor can help ease a parent’s mind if something just doesn’t seem right. You should seek medical care if your child is experiencing:

• High or persistent fever
• Any breathing problems, such as fast, labored, or noisy breathing from the chest
• Persistent pain, such as an earache, sore throat, severe headache, or stomach ache
• Eye discharge that is thick, sticks the eyelids shut, and doesn’t get better during the day

Additionally, you may need to have your child seen for:

• Frequent vomiting or diarrhea, not being able to keep down enough liquids to produce urine at least once every six to eight hours, or dehydration (severe dehydration needs to be treated in the emergency room)
• Vomit or diarrhea that contains blood
• A stiff neck, extreme lack of energy, or illness seems to be getting worse rather than staying the same for more than four to five days
• Exposure to a contagious illness, such as mono, influenza, chickenpox, or has traveled out of the country recently

It’s important to pay attention to how a child is acting with a temperature. If the child has a high fever but is playful and active, the illness may be less concerning. Paying close attention to a child’s respiratory symptoms is also important, as fast or labored breathing may signal that the child has a serious illness.

Children’s fevers may reach different heights (some tend to run high whenever they’re sick, while others rarely have high temperatures), so it is important to pay attention to how a child is acting and eating/drinking.

For newborns (under about 3 months), any fever over 100.4 F can be concerning and requires evaluation. For children 3 months to 3 years, a fever higher than 102 F can be worrisome. In general, there isn’t a set cutoff number for children’s fevers, but the symptoms occurring alongside the fever are very significant.

It is important for children aged 6 months and older to get a flu vaccine. Not only does it protect them from serious complications of the flu, but by preventing young children from getting sick, they will be less likely to spread the disease to people with relatively poor immune systems, such as infants or the elderly.

In addition, children under 2 years of age are at risk for hospitalization from problems associated with the flu, such as pneumonia. Another option is the nasal flu spray vaccine, which may be used for children age 2 years and older who do not have asthma.

To reduce distress while the vaccine is being given, distraction works well (singing a song or watching a video). Try numbing the spot ahead of time—ask your doctor about where to apply a freezing spray, ice pack, or lidocaine cream and make sure the cream has enough time to work. Older children may also appreciate it if a parent gets a shot with them.

Make sure your child gets plenty of fluids and rest. Before giving your child any medication, be sure to talk with your pediatrician about the best treatment for your child’s ailments.

You should not give younger children medications meant for older kids or adults. Dosage is important, so read labels carefully.

Although schools and child care centers may have their own rules, two reasons that a child should not attend school are:

1. Fever over about 101 F in the last 24 hours
2. Inability to focus on school work

If a child is uncomfortable, tired, or in a great deal of pain, he/she is better recuperating at home. Children with a high or persistent fever, excessive fatigue, rashes which could be contagious, difficulty breathing, frequent cough, thick eye discharge, dehydration, or repeated episodes of vomiting or diarrhea should seek medical advice before returning to school.