It is always a tough call for any parent to know when to call the doctor out of hours. No one wants to be a timewaster. Babies and young children, on the other hand, can go downhill quickly if they are not attended to quick. Ultimately the best person to be the judge of whether your child needs a doctor is you when it comes to making that decision. In this article you will find a list of situations where you should call our GP service for children in Costa del Sol.
Your child’s face is swollen
If your child’s face or tongue has suddenly swollen or eyes itchy, this could be the sign of an allergic reaction, and you should call our home GP service as soon as possible.
Your child has a fever
Any temperature of a infant that increases above 37.5C is known as a fever but in fact the temperature of most children varies.
Fevers are common in children, of course, and in most cases a little bit of TLC and adequate home treatment is usually sufficient to nurse a child back to health. But sometimes you will need a doctor to check on your child.
If your child is under three months of age and has a temperature of 38C or above, or between and six months of age and has a temperature of 39C, you will need to get medical advice.
In older children seek medical help if a high temperature is accompanied by other symptoms, such as blotchy skin or rapid respiration.
Your child’s temperature isn’t going down
If you have treated your child’s fever with medicine and the temperature still remains high, call our GP service for children in Costa del Sol.
Your child's body can fail to cope with the infection so you'll need to get a doctor to further examine.
Fevers clear up within a few days for most kids. However, if after five days your child still has a temperature, you'll need to seek medical advice from our GP.
It's a indication that the disease isn't triggered by a infection that your child's immune system may fend off, but could have a bacterial origin that needs antibiotic care.
Your child has a high temperature and a stiff neck/ headache
If your child has a fever and feels very uncomfortable with headache or stiff neck, this is a warning flag for meningitis and you'll need to seek urgent medical care in the hospital.
If your child appears vacant and unresponsive, and is uncomfortable with bright lights, other things to watch out for are.
Your child has an injury that won’t stop bleeding
If your child has had a fall and there is bleeding after 10 minutes of applying pressure that you can not stem, your child will need further medical attention. Though you can treat many cuts with first aid, your child may need stitches.
Your child has fallen and vomited
Kids sometimes slip, so typically, if it's a small fall (less than their height) for kids above the age of six months, and they don't drop on any sharp things, they 're ok.
But, if a fall is followed by vomiting, loss of consciousness or the kid is distressed or disoriented, you'll have to call our GP service for children in Costa del Sol.
It 's important for babies still under the age of six months that they are always checked by a doctor after a fall.
Your child has a sudden stomach ache
In babies, tummy aches are relatively common, either actual or imaginary. You can usually get an idea as a parent though when a tummy ache is real.
You need to sit up and notice on the lower right side of the stomach pain that develops, as it may be appendicitis
You will need to be vigilant if there are unexpected cramps that come and go on either leg, as appendicitis will start around the tummy button and travel away.
There is a temperature with a tummy bug, then vomiting, then cramping and then diarrhoea after.
With appendicitis, the order is more likely to be diarrhoea, then tummy pain, then vomiting, then pain, then fever.
Your child is suffering cramping with bloody stool
In a young child under the age of four, and your child has a sudden stomach pain that causes him to be doubled in agony for one minute, but fine the next one, you need medical help as he may have intussusception.
Each episode tends to last two to three minutes and happens every hour, and as the condition progresses, it will become more frequent.
If you see blood in your child's stool, seek medical attention as soon as possible.
Your child has a headache with vomiting
If your child wakes up early in the morning or in the middle of the night with a headache and vomits, you should seek medical attention.
Your child has breathing problems
If your child's rib cage and stomach sucks in as he or she struggles to breathe, or if you have whistling sound when you breathe, call our GP service for children in Costa del Sol.
Blue-tinged lips can also accompany those symptoms and the problem may be croup or bronchiolitis. Other underlying causes may include allergy or asthma.
Your child is dehydrated
How do you know if your child suffers dehydration? A lack of wet nappies will be apparent in a younger child, for those trained in potty, you'll have noticed fewer trips to the loo.