My son, who is a wild 12 year old, has been to the emergency room (ER) too many times to count. Some of the time he has a clear problem that has to be fixed, like a clear broken bone, but other times we just go, and they watch him for a while and just send him home. Is there a list of clear cut problems that require an ER visit for children? I have no medical training, other than him, and I’m always confused about this.
It can be difficult to decide, and many people struggle with the same issue. They want to take the best care of their child, but don’t want to have time consuming, expensive trips to the ER if it is not necessary. For injuries, if your child has significant deformity in the area of the injury, or major swelling, or the inability to use that arm or leg, this requires a ER visit. In addition, if there is any head trauma, or any head or neck injury, an ER visit is also necessary. For other problems, a call to your regular doctor can be sufficient in many cases.
To learn more about when to take your child to the ER, watch this video from VideoMD.com.
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