Medical Emergency … Or Not?

How to know the difference between emergencies and non-emergencies – and taking the right action

When your child is sick or hurt, it can be difficult to decide whether urgent care or emergency department care is needed.

First, it’s paramount that you remain calm and recognize the difference between a medical emergency and a medical situation. For the latter, a different type of care may be more appropriate.

For non-emergency situations, first call your child’s pediatrician. If you believe an injury or illness is life-threatening or may cause permanent harm, go at once to the emergency department or call an ambulance. If your child is seriously ill or injured, it’s likely safer for EMT professionals to transport your child by ambulance.

Non-emergency Medical Situations

The staff at your pediatrician’s office can help you handle some non-emergency issues over the phone or recommend your next action. Situations that warrant care for illness or injury include

• Minor burns

• Earache or ear infection

• Pinkeye

• Potential urinary tract infection (UTI)

• Sore throats and potential strep throat

• Rashes and mild skin infections

• Gastrointestinal illnesses such as vomiting or diarrhea with mild dehydration

• Simple wounds

• Foreign objects in ears and noses

• Colds and coughs

• Allergies

Emergency Medical Situations

A trip to the emergency room is the best place for treating severe injuries or lifethreatening illnesses. As a rule, if your child can walk, talk, interact, and play, chances are whatever she or he has is not an emergency.

Situations that require emergency medical care include

• Large lacerations/wounds with bleeding that won’t stop

• Fever over 100.4 in a child younger than 2 months

• Seizure lasting more than 2 minutes in a child with no prior history of a seizure

• Any of the following conditions after a head injury Decrease in alertness level, confusion, headache, vomiting,

irritability, difficulty walking

• Loss of consciousness

• Severe abdominal pain

• Severe burns

• Swallowed object with difficulty breathing or swallowing

• Severe bone fractures

• Difficulty breathing

• Vomiting or coughing up blood

• Severe neck stiffness or rash along with a fever

• Poisoning by ingestion of chemicals

• Eye pain

• Croup

• Any venomous bites or stings with spreading local redness and swelling

• New or worsening psychiatric or behavioral health issue

• Worsening of most chronic illnesses such as diabetes, asthma, etc.

• Button Battery ingestion

If your child is experiencing a true medical emergency, visit a hospital emergency room or call 911 immediately. Never hesitate to call your pediatrician’s office—even if you know the office is closed, as most offices have after-hour service lines. Your pediatrician can best advise you on the most appropriate place for your child to receive care – and how quickly that needs to happen.

For more summer safety tips, visit www.healthychildren.org for more American Association of Pediatrics recommendations. Visit www.freemanhealth.com/pediatrics for more information about pediatric services at Freeman Health System.