10 Tips: When to Go to the Emergency Room for Babies
After taking your newborn baby out of the hospital, the last thing that you want to do is take them back in for health problems, and especially not to the emergency room. However, babies, which is a term that generally refers to infants and newborns, that is those under the age of one-year-old, are usually still quite delicate as their immune system develops and as such they are prone to suffering from health problems. Given their age, parents usually panic, and rightfully so, for any health problem and have them taken to the emergency room, even when it may not be necessary. It is important therefore to know when one should take their baby to the emergency room and when not to and that is where this article comes in as it will look to highlight instances where on should take their babies to the emergency room, with the help of the following 10 tips.
For babies under the age of 90 days, if the spike a fever of over 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit, then they should be taken to an emergency room as soon as possible and be evaluated. As a rule of thumb, such a fever in in the first 90 days as far as babies are concerned should be taken very seriously as it is an emergency.
Speaking if high temperature readings, if the elevated temperature is due to heatstroke, then the baby should also be taken to the emergency room as soon as possible to have them evaluated and attended to. The subject matter experts over at FrontlineER.com insist that any situation that could lead to a baby suffering heatstroke, such as leaving them in a hot car for a long period, should be avoided as heatstroke in babies can be quite serious.
Another instance when one should ensure that they take their baby to the emergency room as soon as possible is if they are having a seizure. While febrile seizures don’t cause long-term health problems, this should still be taken seriously by having the baby assessed at the emergency room as soon as possible.
You should also take your baby to the emergency room as soon as possible if they are showing signs dehydration. As is covered in great detail over at FrontlineER.com, some of the red flags to look out for include crying with no tears, significantly fewer wet diapers than normal, sunken eyes and soft spot, dry mouth among others; all of which should be taken very seriously.
The next tip we have for you as far as when to take your baby to the emergency room is that you should ensure you do just that if your baby is refuses to eat. Instances of babies refusing to nurse are usually signs that there is something wrong, since they can’t talk, and as such they should always be treated with the utmost seriousness.
Yet another tip and one that is given credence by the subject matter experts over at FrontlineER.com, is that you should ensure that you also take your baby to the emergency room as soon as possible if they appear extremely irritable and if when they cry they are inconsolable, that is they can’t stop crying. Once more, this is a sign that there is something wrong with the baby, with this being their way of communicating it since they can’t speak.
If your baby starts to suddenly act lethargic and they are non-responsive, that is, you are unable to make your baby respond to you, then you should take them to the emergency room as soon as possible as this may be an indication of something more serious such as a head injury or drug interactions especially if you are breastfeeding and are on certain medications.
If your baby is presenting with signs of an allergic reaction such as hives as well as swollen lips, wheezing among others. As is covered in detail over at FrontlineER.com, allergic reactions in babies, especially those younger than 2 months old, should always be taken very seriously and should be assessed at the emergency room pronto.
You should also ensure that you have your baby taken to the emergency room as soon as possible if they are having difficulties breathing or if they are not breathing at all. These, for obvious reasons, is a medical emergency and should be treated with the seriousness that it deserves. Red flags to look out for is if their skin appear molted or is turning blue in color.
Babies may suffer falls by accident and after such an event, if your baby loses consciousness, you should ensure that you take them to the emergency room as soon as possible to be attended to. If after a fall, your baby is having difficulties waking up, then you should also ensure that you take them to the emergency room immediately to be attended to.
The above tips only begin to scratch the surface on the topic of when one should take a baby to the emergency room, with more on this topic and then some to be uncovered by visiting the ever reliable FrontlineER.com.
