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What to Do

What to Do... Your Choice, Your Decision

One purpose of this Symptom Checker is to help you decide how sick your child is. Then it is time for you to make a decision and act. Read the What to Do screen and use common sense to choose one of the What to Do choices. The suggested action will be one of the following:

Call 911 Now

  • What This Means: Your child may have a life-threatening emergency.
  • What You Should Do: Call 911 right NOW or your emergency ambulance service.

Go to ER Now

  • What This Means: Your child may have an emergency medical problem that is not life-threatening.
  • What You Should Do: Take your child to the nearest Emergency Room (ER) now.

Call Doctor or Seek Care Now

  • What This Means: Your child may have an urgent medical problem.
  • What You Should Do: Call your doctor right away. If you can't reach your doctor within 60 minutes, take your child to the nearest urgent care or emergency room by car. If you don't have a doctor, go to an urgent care or ER now.

Call Doctor Within 24 Hours

  • What This Means: Your child probably has an illness that needs testing or treatment. He or she may need a test (such as a throat culture) or an antibiotic (such as for an ear infection). He or she probably needs to be seen by a doctor. But you should be able to safely wait until tomorrow.
  • What You Should Do: If the office is open, call now. If the office is closed now, but will be open within 24 hours, call when it opens. If your child doesn't have a doctor, go to an urgent care center or ER within the next 24 hours.

Call Doctor During Office Hours

  • What This Means: Your child probably has a non-urgent symptom or illness. It may be lasting longer than expected (such as a cough or rash). But usually there is no risk of complications. Your child may need to be seen in the office by the doctor. It is generally safe to wait a few days to do so if it's the weekend or a holiday.
  • What You Should Do: If the office is open, call or schedule online now. If it is closed, schedule online (if available)or call on the next day it is open. If you don't have a doctor, choose a doctor and call their office when it is open. Make an appointment to be seen within the next 3 days.

Self Care at Home

  • What This Means: Your child probably has a mild illness and does not need to see a doctor. These illnesses are usually harmless and get better without medical care.
  • What You Should Do: Follow the care advice found in each care guide. Call your doctor if your child gets worse.

If you think that your child is having a medical emergency, call 911 or the number for the local emergency ambulance service NOW!

When in doubt, call your doctor NOW or go to the closest emergency department.