There are so, so many winter bugs and viruses (including Covid!) doing the rounds right now, and it can be particularly full-on having sick kids to worry about – as well as your own health! Having sick kids – particularly very little ones – can be so distressing, and most parents will be familiar with that horrible feeling of trying to weigh up whether you should make an emergency trip to an A&E in the middle of the night, or whether it can wait until the sun’s up. Here, a paediatrician gives his best advice about what to look out for in your littlest ones…
It feels like everyone you talk to right now is sick, so spare a thought for the parents who are also dealing with the onslaught of daycare viruses being brought home.
For a lot of parents, sick kids can mean a lot of stress and a lot of worry, but thankfully Dr Golly has some really helpful advice for navigating this season.
One of the biggest things a lot of parents stress about is knowing when to consider a hospital visit for sickness, and he’s shared some of the red flags you need to be aware of.
Dr Golly said it’s one of the most common questions parents want help with, and usually comes at 2am when everyone is sleep deprived.
“The main advice is – if in doubt, get them checked,” he told 9honey.
He said the easiest way to assess an emergency is the 3Bs and 3Ps:
3 Bs: Breathing, Behaviour, Breast and Bottle
3 Ps: Pee, Poo & Vomit, Pain
While it doesn’t fit into these, Dr Golly added “non-blanching rashes are the other thing I want parents to be on the lookout for.”
So once you’ve started to assess these, how do you need to know when it’s time to head to the emergency room or book a GP appointment?
“Breathing difficulty and dehydration. These are the big two red flags,” he said.
“Parents need to pay attention to any breathing red flags – when your child is breathing harder, faster or noisier.
“Any of these should prompt immediate medical attention. Another red flag is retraction, when the area between the ribs or below the neck sucks in when a child tries to inhale. Retractions are a sign that your child is working hard to breathe.”
He also shared that babies and children can deteriorate really quickly due to dehydration and said you should always have an oral rehydration solution/electrolyte on hand.
“For younger babies, I use a medicine syringe to give them ~5mL at a time, if you can do this regularly – it can often be the difference between a hospital visit and managing things safely at home,” he explained.
Dr Golly has recently released a new book, Dr Golly’s Guide to Family Illness and it’s full of tips, advice and more for parents who are deep in the trenches of sickness.
For many parents with little kids in childcare, sickness is going to be unavoidable, but he hopes that parents can educate themselves more to know what the red flags are.
“I want parents to be prepared and empowered to assess family illness, minimise spread and discern what’s an emergency and needs immediate review,” he said.
“Trust your parental instincts always. If you think something needs to be reviewed, do not hesitate.”
A dad himself, Dr Golly knows how relentless it can feel being hit with sickness after sickness, but he has some words of advice.
“And remember if you’re in the trenches of childcare family illness bingo just know, it doesn’t last forever,” he said.
“As your children grow, their hand hygiene improves and they stop licking everything they see. That’s when the volume of illnesses decreases dramatically.”
This article was reproduced with permission from 9Honey. To read the original article, click here.
