When should I call the doctor about my child’s cough?

 Call 911 or your local ambulance service right away if your child:

• Is so tired and weak that he hardly responds to you

• Is working very hard to breathe or finds it hard to take a breath

• Grunts when he breathes

• Chest retractions (skin pulling in around the ribs when breathing)

• Has a blue or dark purple color to the nail beds, lips or gums.

• Stops breathing for more than 10 seconds

• Cannot speak while trying to breathe

• Has any breathing problem that needs care right away.

Call your child’s doctor if your child has:

• A cough and does not smile or show interest in play for at least a few minutes during any four-hour period

• A new fever since being seen by the doctor (temperature over 100.3°F)

• New symptoms such as chest pain, wheezing or stomach pain

• Problems taking the medicine ordered by his doctor

• A cough that often wakes him up at night