When a child should attend Emergency Room

When is a child sick enough to go to the Emergency Room?

A sick child can be an enormous concern to a parent. The normal young child can have up to 12 colds in a year so what are the signs that should prompt you to go through the unpleasantness of attending an emergency room? In my opinion the main ones are:

Drowsiness

Refusing to drink at all

Vomiting everything

Excessive irritability

Marked pallor

Struggling for breath

I could make a list that would go on and on for instance convulsions or coma but these are so obvious that I have not included them or other signs that would prompt any parent to seek urgent attention.

The child who is active &/or drinking well is unlikely to have a serious illness, whereas the combination of drowsiness, severe irritability when disturbed, absolute refusal to drink (not just less drinking) and vomiting is a particularly worrying one.

The experienced parent is able to recognize the pattern of minor illnesses and give Tylenol for discomfort, keep up the fluids and rest for their child. Unfortunately, when we first have children none of us are experienced and will often consult the doctor with minor ailments but it is the doctor’s job to look after such children as much as the sicker ones.

If a doctor is patronizing or otherwise makes you seem silly he/she probably does not

have children or is stressed by their job or some other factor. If you are worried it is better to put up with such an attitude than to be sorry that you did not see the doctor.