When does your child with a fever need to see a doctor?

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When does my child with a fever need to go to the Emergency Room?

1. Your child is less than 3 months old and has a fever of any duration.

2. Your child is unvaccinated, has immune system problems, or other complex or chronic conditions and has a fever of any duration.

3. You have recently travelled to a malaria-endemic region. 

4. Your child has a fever for 5 days or more. 

5. You are worried about dehydration (dry lips/mouth or noticeably less urine output than usual).

6. Your child is inconsolable or very sleepy/difficult to wake.

7. Your child is struggling to breathe, has noisy breathing, or is breathing faster than usual.

8. Your child has pale, purple, or cool skin.

9. Your child is confused or has a seizure. 

10. Your caregiver intuition is telling you they need to be seen emergently.

You should take your child with a fever to see a family doctor/nurse practitioner (or walk-in-clinic/urgent care centre) within 24 hrs if:

1. Your child has a fever without any other symptoms at all. This might indicate the need for specific tests to try and determine the cause of the fever. 

2. Your child has a fever plus a new rash. 

3. Your child has ear pain. 

4. Your child is complaining of mild throat pain or painful swallowing. 

5. Your child develops a fever several days or weeks after the onset of a cold or flu (cough, runny nose, sore throat, sneezing, fever). This might indicate either a new viral infection or the development of a secondary bacterial infection like pneumonia or an ear infection.