Illness

If your child is sick please call Healthline, 0800 611 116, New Zealand's 24-hour telephone health advice service. All calls are answered by registered nurses.

In an emergency phone 111.

If you are unsure about whether your child is sick or not, it's better to be safe and take them to your doctor or hospital.

If you need help urgently, dial 111 for an ambulance.

It can be hard to decide if your baby is unwell and whether you need to go to the doctor. You know better than anyone what is unusual for your child. If you are worried, it is best to see the doctor.

When to see the doctor

Get help from a doctor quickly if your baby or young child shows any of the following signs:

Difficulty breathing

finds it hard to breathe
is breathing quickly
grunts when breathing
has a bad cough or wheezes
turns blue or stops breathing

Unresponsive

difficult to wake up or is unusually sleepy
unusually floppy or limp
pale and appears unwell

Crying

cries or screams and is unable to be settled or calmed
has an unusual cry for one hour or more
is in pain
cries, grizzles and pulls or rubs their ears
has a runny ear

Wees / passing urine

has no wet nappies for six hours, during the day, or 8 hours at night
a toilet-trained child doing wees less often than normal

Vomiting & diarrhoea

will not eat or drink normally
has trouble swallowing or uncontrolled dribbling
has vomiting and diarrhoea (smelly, runny poos) together
the vomit is green or has blood in it - these are very serious
keeps vomiting or it is severe
has been vomiting for more than 6 hours
has several runny, dirty nappies (diarrhoea) in 1 or 2 hours
has diarrhoea that lasts longer than 24 hours
has blood in their poo

Temperature

feels too hot or too cold (a baby under 2 months with a fever needs to see the doctor urgently)

Other

in pain
has a convulsion or fit
has a bulging fontanelle (soft spot on top of head) when not crying
has pale or blotchy skin, has rash-like pin pricks or bruising in the skin anywhere on their body
skin or eyes are a yellow colour (jaundice)
has swelling in their groin (the area above top of their leg) or swelling or redness of the testes (balls)
has been hurt, especially to their head
has a severe allergy to something (allergic reaction, swelling and rash with or without difficulty breathing)
has swallowed a poison or is choking