Children's Health

Does your child have severe neck stiffness, pain, and fussiness?

Is your child less alert than you would expect, very sleepy, or hard to wake up?

Does your baby have a bulging soft spot (fontanel) on the head when he or she is not crying?

Is your child breathing rapidly or having trouble breathing?

Does your child have new tiny purple or red spots (petechiae) on his or her skin?

Does your child have many new bruises (purpura), but he or she has not had an injury?

Do you think your child has a skin infection?

Does your child have new swelling, pain, redness, or warmth in one or more joints?

If you have answered "No" to the above questions, go back to Check Your Symptoms and continue to answer the questions to evaluate your symptoms.

Do you think your child's vomiting may be caused by a recent injury?

Do you think your child's vomiting may be caused by abuse?

If you have answered "No" to the above questions, go back to Check Your Symptoms and continue to answer the questions to evaluate your symptoms.

Has your baby younger than 3 months of age vomited after 2 feedings in a row?

Has your child older than 3 months of age vomited after 2 or more feedings or meals in a row?

If you have answered "No" to the above questions, go back to Check Your Symptoms and continue to answer the questions to evaluate your symptoms.

Is there any blood or yellow or green liquid (bile) in the vomit of a baby younger than 3 months of age?

Has your child older than 3 months of age vomited mostly blood, bile, or material that looks like coffee grounds?

Are there streaks of blood in your child's vomit?

Has your child older than 3 months of age vomited bile occasionally?

Over the past 24 hours, has your child occasionally vomited and had streaks of blood in the vomit some of the time?

If you have answered "No" to the above questions, go back to Check Your Symptoms and continue to answer the questions to evaluate your symptoms.

Does your baby younger than 3 months old have a rectal temperature of or higher?

Do you think your baby younger than 3 months old has a fever, but you are unable to measure his or her temperature?

Does your child older than 3 months of age have a rectal temperature of or higher?

Do you think your child has a high fever but you are unable to measure your child's temperature?

Does your child older than 3 months of age have a rectal temperature of or higher?

Has your child older than 3 months of age had a rectal temperature of to for 12 hours or longer?

Do you think your child has a moderate fever but you are unable to measure your child's temperature?

Has your child had a rectal temperature of to for 24 hours or longer?

Do you think your child has had a mild fever for 24 hours or longer but you are unable to measure your child's temperature?

If you have answered "No" to the above questions, go back to Check Your Symptoms and continue to answer the questions to evaluate your symptoms.

Does your child have severe belly pain?

Does your child have increasing pain that is clearly localized to one section of the belly?

Does your child have a new bulge around the belly button or in the groin that cannot be easily pushed back into the belly or groin?

Does your child have vomiting, belly pain, and dark red diarrhea?

Has your child had moderate cramping or persistent belly pain for 4 hours or longer?

Has your child's belly pain increased, and he or she has begun to vomit more frequently?

Has your child had vomiting that comes and goes and mild belly pain for longer than 48 hours?

Has your colicky baby had occasional vomiting?

If you have answered "No" to the above questions, go back to Check Your Symptoms and continue to answer the questions to evaluate your symptoms.

Has your child had repeated vomiting of yellow or green liquid (bile)?

Has your baby younger than 3 months old forcefully vomited 2 or more times?

Has your baby younger than 12 months old had repeated vomiting for 4 hours or longer?

Has your child age 1 year through 3 years had repeated vomiting for 8 hours or longer?

If you have answered "No" to the above questions, go back to Check Your Symptoms and continue to answer the questions to evaluate your symptoms.

Does your child have moderate dehydration?

Does your child have mild dehydration, and he or she is unable to drink enough to replace lost fluids?

Has your child had mild dehydration for 24 hours or longer, but he or she is able to drink enough to replace lost fluids?

If you have answered "No" to the above questions, go back to Check Your Symptoms and continue to answer the questions to evaluate your symptoms.

Has your baby younger than 3 months of age had occasional vomiting for 1 to 2 days without other symptoms?

Has your baby age 3 months to 6 months had occasional vomiting for 2 days or longer?

Has your child age 7 months through 3 years had occasional vomiting for 1 week or longer?

Is your child's occasional vomiting becoming more frequent or more severe?

Has your colicky baby had occasional vomiting?

If you have answered "No" to the above questions, go back to Check Your Symptoms and continue to answer the questions to evaluate your symptoms.

Do you think your child's vomiting may be caused by a medicine?Note: If your answer is "Yes ":Call the doctor who prescribed the medicine the same day (before your child's next dose) to determine whether your child should stop taking the medicine or take a different one. An appointment may not be necessary.If you gave your child a medicine not prescribed by a doctor (nonprescription), stop giving the medicine. If you feel your child needs to continue taking the medicine, call your doctor.

If you have answered "No" to the above questions, go back to Check Your Symptoms and continue to answer the questions to evaluate your symptoms.

Has spitting up increased significantly in amount or frequency?

Does spitting up occur with other symptoms, such as diarrhea, constipation, or irritability?

Has spitting up without other symptoms increased over the past 1 to 2 weeks, and it has not improved with home treatment?

Has spitting up occurred for at least 1 month, and it has not improved with home treatment?

If you have answered "No" to the above questions, go back to Check Your Symptoms and continue to answer the questions to evaluate your symptoms.

Call your health professional immediately.

You have answered "Yes" to a question that indicates you may need immediate care. Call your health professional now to discuss your symptoms and arrange for your care.

• Symptoms are likely to worsen without medical care.
• If you do not have a health professional, seek emergency care.
• Emergency transportation is not needed. However, if you are not able to travel safely either by driving yourself or having someone else drive you, call an ambulance.

You do not need to answer any of the other questions.

Call your health professional today.

You have answered "Yes" to a question that indicates you need to call your health professional to discuss your symptoms and arrange for care.

• An appointment today is usually needed.
• Symptoms are unlikely to improve without medical care.

Return to the Check Your Symptoms section and answer the questions. You may need to see a health professional sooner if you have other more serious symptoms.

You may wait to see if the symptoms improve over the next 24 hours.

You have answered "Yes" to a question that indicates you may wait to see if your symptoms improve over the next 24 hours (or the specified time period). If symptoms improve, no appointment is needed.

• If symptoms do not improve after 24 hours (or the specified time period), an appointment within the next 24 hours is usually needed.
• If appropriate, try home treatment to relieve your symptoms.
• Check your symptoms in 24 hours, or sooner if there is any change.
• Call your health professional if symptoms get worse.

Return to the Check Your Symptoms section and answer the questions. You may need to see a health professional sooner if you have other more serious symptoms.