SHOULD I CALL THE DOCTOR?

Most parents feel anxious when their baby gets sick. Often your intuition will tell you when something’s not right, but any of the following signs shows that you must get help from a doctor quickly: • Difficulty breathing, breathing rapidly or grunting. If your baby’s chest and shoulders lift with each intake of breath, they may be having breathing problems. • Coughing or wheezing • Stopping breathing, even briefly • Difficult to wake for feeds or is unusually sleepy, floppy or listless • Any change in skin color, like turning blue, or very pale • Blotchy skin or a rash, particularly if it’s red or purple • Crying or screaming more than usual or on a high pitch. • Obviously experiencing pain while feeding or refusing to feed at all (this often happens when your baby has an ear infection). • Crying and pulling at an ear. Is the ear discharging? Look at the head sheet in your baby’s bed. • Waking in a distressed state during the night when they have been in a regular sleep pattern previously. • Fussing during feeding when previously they fed quite happily. • Refuses three consecutive milk feeds or has trouble swallowing. • Vomiting for more than six hours or continual, severe vomiting. • There is a change in bowel motions; for example, a loose, smelly, runny pool that is green or contain blood, and is frequent at every feed. Is your baby vomiting as well? If so, you need to take your baby to the doctor immediately. • Convulsion or fit • Swelling in the groin area or swelling or redness in the testes • A bulging fontanels when not crying • If your baby has been hurt (especially on the head), or has fallen off a bed, table or couch, they should also see a doctor. If you are not sure if your baby needs to see a doctor, it is better to be safe and get your baby checked out. If there is no improvement, or your baby gets worse, see the doctor again or, if you cannot see a doctor, take your baby to the nearest hospital. If your baby is having breathing problems, ask for an ambulance immediately. If it is not urgent, you can call into a Plunked clinic and ask the nurse to look at your baby. Be assertive when it comes to your baby’s health. No one knows your baby better than you do and if you are anxious about your baby, follow through on your gut instinct. Be persistent until your baby gets the treatment they need and begins to improve.