NHS services - for you and your baby... I


t can be very worrying, as a new parent, when your child becomes ill. The NHS Choices website has a range of health information to guide you including an online symptom checker – visit www.nhs.uk. If in doubt, call 111 for advice on which NHS service to use. It’s free and open 24 hours a day.


Symptoms of serious illness include:


• a high-pitched, weak or continuous cry • a lack of responsiveness or increased floppiness


• in young babies, a bulging fontanelle (the soft spot on a baby’s head)


• not drinking for more than eight hours


• a temperature of more than 38C (100.4F) for a baby less than three months old, or more than 39C (102.2F) for a baby aged three to six months old


• a high temperature, coupled with listlessness or cold feet and hands


• fits, convulsions or seizures • turning blue, very pale, mottled or ashen


• difficulty breathing, fast breathing, grunting while breathing, or if your child is working hard to breathe


• unusual drowsiness, hard to wake up or doesn’t seem to recognise you


• unable to stay awake, even when you wake them


• a spotty, purple-red rash anywhere on the body that doesn’t fade when pressed against a glass


• repeated vomiting or bile-stained (green) vomiting


Small Steps 9 Is it an Emergency?


Take your child to A&E if they: • have a fever and are persistently lethargic, despite taking paracetamol or ibuprofen


• are having difficulty breathing (breathing fast, panting, or are very wheezy)


• have severe abdominal pain • have a cut that won’t stop bleeding


• have a leg or arm injury that means they can’t use the limb


• have swallowed a poison or tablets


Call an ambulance if your child: • stops breathing


• is struggling for breath (you may notice their skin being sucked in under the ribcage)


• won’t wake up, is unconscious or seems unaware of what’s going on


• has a fit for the first time, even if they seem to recover


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32