When to call your pediatrician

When your little one is sick, how do you know when it's time to call a doctor? Below is a list of common ailments and the symptoms that necessitate a call to your provider. 
 

Abdominal Pain

• Continuous pain for three or more hours
• Pain and swelling in the groin or testicles
• Pain three hours after vomiting or diarrhea
• Blood in the stool, urine or vomit
• Sever vomiting with abdominal pain
• Decreased appetite and weight loss
• Pain that awakens your child from sleep

Bleeding and bruising

• Unexplained bruising, or bruising in unusual sites
• Blood in the stool or urine
• Prolonged bleeding from minor cuts
• Unusual paleness or fatigue

Constipation

• Painful bowel movements
• Blood in the stool
• Is leaking fluid between bowel movements

Cough

• Noisy, rapid breathing
• High fever
• Is sluggish or drowsy
• Bluish coloration around the lips, mouth, fingernails
• Refusal to drink

Diarrhea

• Infrequent urination
• Dark urine
• Sunken eyes
• Refusal to drink
• Dry, sticky lips and mouth
• Decreased activity

Earache

• Swelling around the ear
• Headache
• Fever of 102°F
• Dizziness

Fever

• Age 2 months or under has a rectal temperature higher than 100.4°F or is over 2 months and has a fever higher than 102.5°F
• Ill appearance, unusual drowsiness or severe headache regardless of age
• Persistently ill appearance after temperature has been brought down
• Delirium, hallucinations
• Refusal to drink

Headache

• Unusual drowsiness 
• Reluctance to bend the neck forward
• Repeated awakening with a headache, but without other signs of illness
• Irritability
• Refusal to drink
• Temperature higher than 102°F
• Vomiting, but no diarrhea
• Muscular weakness or loss of coordination

Skin problems

• Ring-shaped, red or scaly patches on the body or scalp
• Spreading blisters that turn crusty and scaly
• A rash while taking a prescribed medication
• Many small, itchy, red lumps and track marks in the skin

Sore throat

• A temperature of 102°F
• Ear pain
• A rapid onset of  new symptoms such as nausea, swollen glands, rash, severe headache, breathing difficulty, or red, tender joints
• Dark urine up to three or four weeks after the sore throat
• A rash
• Pus on the tonsils

Vomiting

• Swelling and sharp pain in the abdomen
• Blood or bile (green material) in the vomit
• Confusion, lethargy or irritability
• Diarrhea for more than 12 hours
• Signs of dehydration such as dry lips and scant urine

For more information visit, American Academy of Pediatrics.

Prevea offers 24-hour phone service, staffed by an experienced medical team. For assistance call (920) 496-4700(920) 496-4700 or toll free at (888) 277-3832. The phone lines are staffed 24-hours a day, 365 days a year.