Calling for help is a natural impulse when your child is sick. This site was launched in 1997 as a service to the patients in my pediatric practice, at El Camino Pediatrics.

This information is designed to give guidelines to common pediatric illnesses and what to do to treat them. 

One of the hardest thing for any parent to figure out, is when to call the doctor, especially in the middle of the night.

What is serious enough that a call or a visit to the doctor is necessary immediately?

• What can wait until office hours?
• What can I do now to help my child?
• What problems do I need to watch out for?

Of course, this site or any internet search, is no substitute for a doctor’s care or advice, but hopefully, after searching this site, you may be better equipped to understand your child’s illness and be better prepared to talk to the physician, if necessary.

This is not a guideline for life-threatening emergencies that require a 911 call

Best Wishes,

Dr. Christine Wood
El Camino Pediatrics
Encinitas, CA 92024

The site is set up with  5 sections for each symptom

Defines the problem or symptom.

Tidbits about causes of the symptom, typical course, contagiousness and other associated problems.

These are symptoms which are considered an urgent problem and the doctor should be contacted immediately. During office hours, a nurse or doctor should be contacted to decide if the patient should be seen urgently in the office. In most cases, an after-hours emergency call to a physician will mean that your child may need to be prepared to be seen urgently in an emergency room setting.

These problems can wait until the office is open. You will need to call for an appointment or to at least discuss the problem by phone with a nurse of physician in the office. During a day when the office is not open, it is best to contact the doctor on call in the morning to decide if special arrangements need to be made to have the child seen or the child can wait one more day when the office is open.

This section offers treatments that may be tried at home and talks about other treatments that may be prescribed by your physician.