Re: a sick charlie, please help
Asked by merlin0903
Question:
charlie went to the doctor last night for a green nose and a really bad cough and was put on medication for it, he hasn't been himself all day but in the
last hour i have changed 4 bright yellow diarrhea (sorry for the graphic details) but do you think it could be because of the medication or something else and should i take him to the doctor?
My Advice:
This can be quite scary the first time it happens, and it is hard to know whether or not you should go to the doctor. Lately there have been a few similar questions posted, including fever, vomiting and diarrhea, breaking out in a rash etc. Often these things occur at night, babies and young children often develop a fever that peaks between 8pm - 9pm.
It can be very distressing, and in some areas, there are no 24 hour medical centres, or it can be a long way to the local Emergency room. You find yourself torn between leaving it until the morning, or seeing a Doctor straight away - which can be quite difficult and traumatic in itself. Another common problem that also seems to occur late in the evening or in the early hours of the morning, are breast feeding issues, so I have included this information also.
I have compiled some of the help lines that we have used when these situations have occurred with us. I feel sure that other Minti members would be aware of more that could be added. At the moment I only have information for Australia, so if you would like me to add your information to this - and give you credit for it, please leave it in a comment below. Also, if you want to write similar advice for your country, or you would like me to add the same information for your country to this list, please do the same. That way, if there is a parent sitting up with their sick child at 1am - as you do - they can find some quick advice from an appropriate source, and take the best action for their little one.
Please note that the above mentioned topics are just some of the many things these helplines and websites can help you with, so check the links for further information. This advice was originally posted 18 months ago; if you have problems with any of the links, or would like to add any, let me know and I will update them and give you credit for your input.
Kidsnet - The Children's Hospital at Westmead (1830 to 0100 Monday to Sunday and 0930 to 1630 weekends and public holidays).
Phone (02) 9845 2432
WEBSITE www.chw.edu.au/site/directory/entries/kidsnet.htm
Tresillian Family Care Centres (24 hour Parents Help Line)
Phone (02) 9787 0855 or Freecall 1800 637 357 if outside Sydney Metropolitan Area
WEBSITE www.tresillian.net/
Karitane - 24 hour Care Line
Phone 1300 CARING (1300 227 464) or TTY (02) 9794 1848 - for hearing impaired
WEBSITE www.karitane.com.au/newframe.htm
* Health Direct - 24 hour help line for parents in Western Australia
Freecall 1800 022 222
WEBSITE www.health.wa.gov.au
^ Nurse On Call (Victoria 24 hour helpline)
Phone 1300 60 60 24 the cost of a local call, from anywhere in Victoria
WEBSITE http://www.health.vic.gov.au/nurseoncall/
^ Maternal and Child Healthline - Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne (24hr helpline)
Phone 132 229
WEBSITE http://www.rch.org.au/kidsinfo/factsheets.cfm?doc_id=9453
WEBSITE http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Maternal_and_Child_Health_Line?OpenDocument
+13HEALTH - Queensland Health (24 hour helpline)
Phone 13 43 24 84 - for the cost of a local call
WEBSITE http://www.health.qld.gov.au/13health/default.asp
Australian Breastfeeding Association - Breastfeeding Helpline Service (24 hours - volunteers take calls from their own homes)
Phone numbers below:
ACT/Southern New South Wales (02) 6258 8928
New South Wales (02) 8853 4999
Queensland (07) 3844 8977 or (07) 3844 8166
Townsville (07) 4723 5566
Cairns (07) 4058 0007
Toowoomba (07) 4639 2401
South Australia and NT (08) 8411 0050
Northern Territory counsellor contact line (08) 8411 0301
Tasmania (03) 6223 2609
Northern Tasmania (03) 6331 2799
Victoria (03) 9885 0653
Western Australia (08) 9340 1200
WEBSITE www.breastfeeding.asn.au/products/counselling.asp
# Other 24-hour Parent Helplines in Australia
Western Australia (WA) Family and Children's Services (08) 9272 1466 or 1800 654 432
Victoria (VIC) Parentline 13 22 89
Tasmania (TAS) PITAS - Parent Information Telephone Assistance Service 1800 808 178
Australian Capitol Territory (ACT) Tresillian Parent Help Line 1800 637 357
New South Wales (NSW) Tresillian Parent Help Line (02) 9787 5255 (Sydney metro area) or 1800 637 357
Karitane Care Line (02) 9794 1852 (Sydney metro area) or 1800 677 961
Queensland (QLD) Telephone Support Service (07) 3862 2333 (Brisbane metro area) or 1800 177 279
Northern Territory (NT) Local health services eg. doctor or hospital emergency
WEBSITE www.cyh.com/SubContent.aspx
Sydney Medical Centres that Bulk Bill:
WEBSITE www.doctors-4u.com/sydney/sbulkbil.htm
Meningococcal:
A diagnosis for Sydney this winter has been made, for more information on this disease.
WEBSITE http://www.meningococcal.com.au/
Childsafety Australia: Poisons Information Centre - 24hr helpline
Australia wide 131126
WEBSITE http://www.childsafetyaustralia.com.au/community/poisons/poisons.htm
* Iniformation kindly provided by Libby24
^ Information kindly provided by HarrisonsMommy
+ Information kindly provided by cheekymonkey
# Information provided by Children, Youth and Women's Health Service
Finally some tips that I have picked up and found useful over the past 3 years:
When using pain/fever relief medication, always use the recommended dosage and seek medical advice if the pain/fever is peristent. I always found it useful to strip my baby down to his nappy when he had a fever and wrap him in muslin so that it was easy to keep checking him for a rash and cool him down with minimum disturbance. I would also take his temperature every 20mins and if it started to creep up around 38.5 C or more, I would cool him with a damp cloth or place him in a tepid bath if this didn't bring it back down.
It is important to keep up your babies fluids, if you are breastfeeding, be prepared to have it on tap ; ) If in doubt, (no matter what advice you were given online or by phone), get down to your local health professional and get your baby checked ASAP. If your baby/toddler/child won't drink milk or water, try children's electrolyte drinks or ice-blocks, even fruit that is juicy if it is age appropriate.
Glass test for a rash; place a glass over the rash and press down gently. If the rash can't be seen or fades when you look through the glass while holding a little pressure, there is a good chance it is fairly harmless. If the rash doesn't fade or disappear then don't hesitate to seek further medical advice, even if you have to go to emergency at your local hospital. Do the test on a regular basis while the rash is present, as the nature of the rash can change over time.
Often babies seem fine the next day, however if you are worried, or you have another rough night, don't hesitate to seek medical advice, you know your baby/child/toddler best!
