When To Call a Doctor

 At your child's checkup, ask your doctor what or she considers a fever in a baby who is your baby's age and at what temperature you should call him or her. Also, go over with the doctor what problems you should call about immediately.

When your baby

is sick, be sure to pick her up and comfort her. Call your doctor right away if your baby has any of theses symtoms:

*a stiff neck, or if she can't move her head to any position

*a wheezing or crackling noise when she breathes

*pulling on her ears as if they are painful

*a severe cough or red throat

*a fever of any kind

*your baby has diarrhea

*your baby refuese to eat

*all of sudden, your baby has trouble sleeping

*your baby seems to be drowsy  or less active

It is very important that your baby not become dehydrated. Babies are smalland can dehydrate quickly due to a fever, diarrhea, vomiting or refusing to drink liquids. It is especially dangerous if your small baby has two or more of those symptoms at one time.

Copyright Permission - Public Domain
The pamphlet is distributed by the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Education and Health and Human Services, and is in the public domain. Authorization to reproduce it in whole or in part is granted. While permission to reprint this publication is not necessary, the citation should be:
U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Healthy Start, Grow Smart, Your Three-Month-Old, Washington, D.C., 2002.