While most common colds, flu or other illnesses can be treated at home, Dr. Angela Mattke, a pediatrician with Mayo Clinic’s Children’s Center, said parents should watch for these three signs that their sick child may need to see a health care professional.
Hydration
When children are sick, they don’t drink fluids as much. But Mattke said that if they can drink enough to urinate at least every eight hours, they should be meeting the bare minimum for hydration.
“Typically, if they’ve urinated less than three times in 24 hours, that’s concerning for dehydration,” she said.
If you’re concerned your child is dehydrated, call your health care team.
Breathing
Another thing Mattke said to check is how your sick child is breathing.
“If your child is seeming to be breathing faster, harder or seeming to have some kind of impairment in any way, that’s a really good time to call your health care team or possibly bring them in,” she said. “If your child is struggling to breathe, where they can’t talk in sentences, that’s something more urgent and possibly should be seen in an urgent care or emergency room setting.”
Alertness
“You can have a child who has a fever and is acting fine, running around, eating, drinking, breathing fine. But you can have a child who maybe has a really low-grade fever, but is not as alert, they’re not responding to you as well — that is a sign that you should bring them in,” Mattke said.
Mattke added that if your sick child is hydrated, breathing fine and acting normal, but you still have questions, never hesitate to contact your care team.
“There’s a whole group of people that can help answer questions, from nurses to providers,” Mattke said. “We want to hear from you.”
