Vital Statistics for an Emergency Phone Call
This list will prepare you to provide a doctor with necessary information during an emergency phone call.
Vital Statistics for an Emergency Phone Call
When it's four a.m. and you've been up all night with a vomiting child, things can get a little blurry. To help the doctor determine what is wrong when you call, be prepared to provide the following information:
- Your name.
- Your child's name (and age and weight, if you don't see the doctor often).
- Your child's ailment, or what you think it might be.
- Your child's temperature. Take it before you place the call.
- The length of time your child has been ill.
- The symptoms—be as precise as possible. If your child has been vomiting or having diarrhea, how frequently? For example, how many times has it happened in the past 12 hours?
- A brief history: Are the symptoms getting better, worse, or holding steady? How much have they varied over the past 12 hours?
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