It’s awful to watch your little one suffer from a sickness, but fortunately, a children’s hospital in Brooklyn, NY is there to help. However, you may question if your child has a significant enough problem to visit the ER. Certain issues, especially in younger children, require emergency attention, or at least a call to your pediatrician, to stop some problems from progressing into a serious problem.

Fever

While every fever doesn’t require the immediate attention of the ER or a physician in general, depending on your child’s age and temperature, it could be a necessity. For children who are under three months of age, even a temperature of 100.4 degrees could be an issue. Therefore, you should bring your kid into the ER if he or she has a fever of 100.4 or higher. Those who are over three and have a fever of over 102.2 should be brought into a children’s hospital in Brooklyn, NY. For older children, a fever of 104 or greater could be a reason to be concerned.

Since a fever is a sign your child’s body is fighting an infection, it’s oftentimes a normal reaction. However, if it won’t come down with a fever reducer or persists for five days or longer or is accompanied by drooling, breathing difficulties, or significant behavior changes, you may want to bring your child into the ER to determine the underlying cause.

If your child has a fever and you’re not sure as to why, it could be a reason to seek emergency medical attention or at least contact his or her pediatrician.

Breathing Difficulties 

While a pediatrician is adequate for many breathing problems, especially associated with an infection, you should bring your child into the ER if he or she is having labored breathing. You want to look for signs that your child’s breathing is severely affected, such as he or she is having trouble speaking or functioning. If you notice your child is gasping for air or coughing so hard that it’s affecting his or her breathing, you may want to bring your child to a hospital for an examination. 

Vomiting or Diarrhea

While vomiting or diarrhea is a normal part of gastroenteritis, it can seriously affect a child, especially since it takes much less for a child to become dehydrated than an adult. If your child has had persistent vomiting or diarrhea for several days, you should bring him or her in, especially if you’re concerned about dehydration because he or she isn’t getting fluids. Bloody diarrhea or emesis is another reason for concern.

These are some reasons why you should bring your child into a children’s hospital. However, if your child has other issues that are causing you to be concerned, you should use your instincts and bring your kid to the ER as needed.