What Are the Signs and Symptoms of an Unwell Child?

A toddler or infant getting sick often worries parents, especially first-time parents. Signs and Symptoms of an unwell child include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, breathing problems, headaches, jaundice and rash.
A toddler or infant getting sick often worries parents, especially first-time parents. Signs and Symptoms of an unwell child include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, breathing problems, headaches, jaundice and rash.

A toddler or infant getting sick often worries parents, especially first-time parents. All sorts of thoughts might concern parents who are not aware of the signs of an unwell child. These are the signs and symptoms of a sick child. If you see them, you should seek immediate medical attention.

Fever

Babiesshouldn’t get afeverin the first three months of life. If the infant has a rectal temperature of 100.4 F or higher, visit the doctor or ER. Fever in newborns could be a sign of a serious bacterial infection.

Vomitingordiarrhea

If a toddler hasdiarrheaor vomits, seek immediate medical attention. Infants can get dehydrated within 12 hours of severediarrhea. Always check for a drydiaper, which will indicatedehydration. Besides that, check for blood or bile in the vomit or stools\.

Breathingproblems

If the baby inhales and exhales rapidly, has noisy breathing and a spot in the middle of the chest sinks in, then seek immediate medical attention. Also, if the childcoughscontinuously, it could indicateasthmaor that the child has inhaled an object.

Headaches

Toddlers may hold their heads, bang their heads or repeatedly use words to indicateheadaches.Headacheis a rare complaint in toddlers and needs to be investigated.

Jaundice

Newborns often get mildjaundicethat goes away in a few days. During the initial days of life, theliverdoesn’t always function up to its full potential, so it can’t break down a substance in the blood calledbilirubin. If jaundice persists for more than two weeks, consult the doctor immediately.

Rash

If the baby has tiny red dots on their chest, back, arms or legs that don’t fade when pressed, go to the doctor. Such arashmay indicate a severe infection, such asmeningitisor blood vessel disease.

How to identify if the baby is healthy or sick

The table summarizes important signs that a parent should look out for in a child to determine if their child is sick.

Table. List of signs commonly used to distinguish a healthy or sick child

Characteristics

Reassuring signs Worrisome signs Signs indicating serious illness
Appearance Appears bright-eyed and alert. Appears sleepy with dull eyes and little expression on their face.

Stares “blankly” and has a “glassy-eyed” look.

Appears unconscious.

Cry Cries in an usual way at usual things.

The cry sounds whiny.

The child is difficult to comfort and whimpers off and on.

The child’s cry sounds weak.

The child continues to cry or moan even while being comforted.

Activity level The child plays and sleeps normally. The child is fussy when awake and sleeps more than usual. The child is hard to awaken and has little or no interest in playing.
Appetite The child asks for favorite foods and liquids. Also, eats and drinks the requested foods and liquids. The child takes liquids or food if offered, but only takes a few sips of liquid or a few bites of food. The child pushes away or refuses all food and liquids.
Urination The child’s urine is light yellow with the usual frequency. The child voids dark yellow urine less frequently than usual. The child has little saliva (spit) or less tears than usual when they cry and very little urine.

References
WebMD: "7 Serious Symptoms in Babies and Toddlers." https://www.webmd.com/children/features/serious-symptoms-babies-toddlers

Riley Children's Health: "Sick Child Basics." https://www.rileychildrens.org/health-info/sick-child-basics