Know when to call the doctor in these common medical emergencies.

Breathing difficulties

Call the doctor if you see these signs

• Flaring of nose
• Grunting
• Breathing fast consistently
• Sucking in the skin above the collar bone or between or below the ribs
• Whistling , coughing or cracking sounds on  inhale and exhale

Call 911 if

• Child is turning blue around the mouth or takes more than 60 breaths per minute

Poisoning

Call 911

• Child is unconscious, unresponsiveness or extremely sleepy
• Child is having convulsions
• Child is turning blue around the mouth and takes more than 60 breaths per minute
• Child has burns on the lips or mouth

What you need to do

• Get the rest of whatever the child swallowed away from her
• Do not try to make the baby vomit
• Try to make the baby spit out whatever is left in the mouth
• Keep a sample unless you have the container
• Call poison control on  (800-222-1222). They can access the situation and tell you what to do

Vomiting

Call the doctor if your baby  has these symptoms

• Vomits for more than 24 hours
• A little blood in vomit
• Six hours without a wet diaper, dry lips and mouth, crying without tears if he’s more than 3 weeks old, unusual sleepiness, dark yellow urine, sunken fontanels (the soft spots on the head)
• Forceful, persistent vomiting within half an hour after eating

Take the baby to the emergency room in the following situations

• Vomit looks green, black or green . You should bring a sample in a plastic bag.
• Child has a hard lump or swelling in the abdomen which is painful to touch.
• The child is crying unconsolably and alternately pulling and extending legs  and arching back in pain
• Child vomits more than once after a head injury

Call 911

• If the child is unresponsive

Diarrhea

Call your doctor if you see the following symptoms in your baby

• Baby younger than 3 months develops diarrhea
• Diarrhea doesn’t improve after 24 hours
• Black stool or blood in stool
• Six hours without a diaper, dry lips and mouth, crying without tears if he’s more than 3 weeks old, unusual sleepiness, dark yellow urine, sunken fontanels (the soft spots on the head)

Call 911 if the child

•  is unresponsive