Looking after a baby or child: find the right page

Something is happening right now

These are the site’s first-aid pages. They are not only about children.

• When someone is choking→Someone can’t breathe, cough or speak, a baby is choking, or they are coughing hard but still breathing. Keeps nothing.
• When it might be a poisoning→A child got into the pills or the cleaner, a double dose or the wrong medicine, two products mixed, something in an eye, a swallowed button battery, a snake bite, bad food. Keeps nothing.
• When someone is burned→A hand on the stove, a spilled coffee, a child in a hot bath, a cleaner on the skin, a shock from a cord, clothes that caught fire, a bad sunburn. Keeps nothing.
• When it might be a severe allergic reaction→A tight throat, a swollen tongue, hives all over or trouble breathing after a food, a sting or a medicine, yours or someone else’s; a first reaction; epinephrine you are afraid to use, or can’t afford; or a child with a serious allergy. Keeps nothing.
• When someone has a seizure→Someone near you is having a seizure, you had one for the first time or think you did, you live with epilepsy, or it is your child. Keeps nothing.
• After a hit to the head→You hit your head, or you haven’t felt right since a blow, a fall, a crash or a fight; it is your child; or it happened years ago and nobody ever looked at it. Keeps nothing.
• When someone is in trouble in the water→Someone struggling in the water right now, a person just pulled out, or getting ready before a day at the pool, the beach, the lake or the bath. Keeps nothing.
• When it’s hard to breathe→An asthma attack, yours or someone else’s; an inhaler that isn’t lasting, or that you can’t afford; you or your child have just been told it is asthma; or something at home, in the air or at work sets it off. Keeps nothing.
• First aid: what do you see?→One page to find the right first-aid page fast. Keeps nothing.

Fever, coughs, sore throats, pink eye, hand-foot-and-mouth, tummy, ears, UTIs, wet beds, head lice, eczema, chickenpox, scabies, flu, RSV, COVID-19, whooping cough and measles

• Fever in a baby or child: when to call, and what helps→For anyone looking after a baby or child with a fever, at any hour. Keeps nothing.
• Cough or cold in a baby or child: what helps, the medicine ages, and when to call→For anyone looking after a baby or child with a cough or a cold. Keeps nothing.
• Flu: the signs, early treatment, the emergency warning signs, and the flu vaccine→For anyone with flu symptoms, or caring for someone who has them. Keeps nothing.
• RSV: the signs in babies and adults, when to call, care at home, and the shots that protect→For anyone with a baby, a child or an older adult who has a cold that might be RSV. Keeps nothing.
• COVID-19: the emergency signs, testing, treatment within days, when to go back, and the vaccine→For anyone who has, or may have, COVID-19, or looks after someone who does. Keeps nothing.
• Whooping cough: the signs, early treatment, protecting babies, and the vaccines→For anyone worried about whooping cough (pertussis) in themselves, a baby or a child. Keeps nothing.
• Sore throat in a child: a virus or strep, what helps, and when to call→For anyone looking after a child with a sore throat. Keeps nothing.
• Pink eye in a baby or child: what the signs suggest, what helps, and when to call→For anyone looking after a child with a pink, red or sticky eye. Keeps nothing.
• Hand, foot, and mouth disease in a baby or child: the signs, what helps, and when to call→For anyone looking after a child with a fever, sores in the mouth, or a rash on the hands and feet. Keeps nothing.
• Vomiting and diarrhea in a baby or child: fluids, and when to call→For anyone looking after a baby or child who is throwing up or has diarrhea, at any hour. Keeps nothing.
• Constipation in a baby or child: what helps, and when to call→For anyone looking after a baby or child who may be constipated. Keeps nothing.
• Ear infection in a baby or child: what helps, and when to call→For anyone looking after a baby or child whose ear hurts. Keeps nothing.
• Urinary tract infection (UTI) in a baby or child: the signs, the urine test, what helps, and when to call→For anyone looking after a child who may have a bladder infection. Keeps nothing.
• Bedwetting: what helps, what doesn’t, and when to call→For anyone looking after a child who wets the bed. Keeps nothing.
• Head lice in a child: how to check, how to treat, and what school can ask→For anyone looking after a child who has head lice, or who came home with a note about them. Keeps nothing.
• Eczema in a baby or child: the signs, the daily skin routine, flares, and when to talk to a doctor→For anyone looking after a baby or child with eczema (atopic dermatitis), or with an itchy rash that may be it. Keeps nothing.
• Chickenpox in a baby or child: the signs, what helps at home, who can get very sick, and when to call→For anyone looking after a baby or child with chickenpox, or with an itchy, blistering rash that may be it. Keeps nothing.
• Scabies in a child or anyone at home: the signs, the treatment, who else is treated, what to wash, and when to call→For anyone with an itch that may be scabies, or looking after a child, a parent or a housemate who has it. Keeps nothing.
• Measles: the signs, what to do if you were near it, the vaccine, and when to get care→For anyone who thinks they or their child may have measles, or who was near someone who has it. Keeps nothing.

Bitten, stung, or a rash from a plant

These pages are for anyone, not only children.

• After a tick bite: taking it off, what to watch for, and Lyme disease→For anyone who just found a tick on themselves, a child or someone they look after, or who is heading out to a yard, a park or a trail. Keeps nothing.
• Bee, wasp and fire ant stings, and scorpions: first aid and the signs→For anyone who was just stung by a bee, a wasp, a hornet, fire ants or a scorpion, or is looking after someone who was. Keeps nothing.
• Spider bites: first aid, the signs, and when to get care→For anyone who was just bitten by a spider, is looking after someone who was, or is about to clean out a shed, a garage or a woodpile. Keeps nothing.
• Animal bites: dogs, cats, bats, and rabies→For anyone who was just bitten or scratched by a dog, a cat, a bat or a wild animal, or is looking after someone who was. Keeps nothing.
• Snakebite: what to do right away, what not to do, and the signs→For anyone who was just bitten by a snake, is with someone who was, or will be working or walking where snakes live. Keeps nothing.
• Poison ivy, oak and sumac: first aid, the rash, and when to get care→For anyone who touched poison ivy, poison oak or poison sumac, has the itchy rash, or breathed the smoke of burning plants, or is looking after someone who did. Keeps nothing.

A health problem that lasts: a child’s joints (juvenile arthritis)

For a child whose joints hurt, swell or stay stiff for weeks, and for a family just told it is juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

• Juvenile arthritis (JIA): the signs in a child, the types, getting a diagnosis, treatment, and living with it→For a parent or caregiver whose child limps in the morning or has a swollen, stiff knee or ankle, a child with a fever every day and a rash that comes and goes, anyone just told their child has juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), and young people who have it. Keeps nothing.

A health problem that lasts: a child’s back that curves (scoliosis)

For a family who has noticed uneven shoulders or hips, got a note from a school screening, or was just told it is scoliosis.

• Scoliosis: the signs in a child, who gets it, getting a diagnosis, treatment, and living with it→For a parent or caregiver who has noticed a child’s uneven shoulders or hips, a shoulder blade that sticks out, or one side of the rib cage higher when the child bends forward; a family with a note from a school screening; and anyone just told their child has scoliosis, needs a brace, or may need surgery. Keeps nothing.

A health problem that lasts: a child’s weak bones (juvenile osteoporosis)

For a family just told it is juvenile osteoporosis, a child who keeps breaking bones, or a child who takes a medicine that can weaken bones.

• Juvenile osteoporosis: the signs, what causes it, the bone density test, treatment, and when no cause is found→For parents of a child or teen just told it is juvenile osteoporosis, for teens themselves, and for families whose child takes a medicine that can weaken bones. Keeps nothing.

A health problem that lasts: a child’s kidneys (kidney disease)

For a family just told a child has kidney disease, or who sees swelling, foamy or pink urine, or a child who wets the bed again; and for a baby whose kidney was found swollen on an ultrasound (hydronephrosis).

• Kidney disease in children: the signs, the causes, the treatment, and school→For anyone looking after a child who was just told they have kidney disease, or whose child has swelling, foamy or pink urine, pees much more or less, or wets the bed again. Keeps nothing.
• Nephrotic syndrome: in adults and in children→For anyone, or the parent of any child, with swelling and protein in the urine, or who was told they have nephrotic syndrome, a sign the kidneys are not working properly. Keeps nothing.
• Polycystic kidney disease (PKD): the types, the signs, the tests, and slowing it down→For anyone told they have polycystic kidney disease (PKD), anyone with PKD in the family, and the parents of a baby who may have it. Keeps nothing.
• Hydronephrosis in newborns (a swollen kidney in a baby): the causes, the tests, and the treatment→For anyone looking after a child, or expecting one, told on an ultrasound or after the birth that a baby’s kidney is swollen (hydronephrosis). Keeps nothing.

A health problem that lasts: a child’s acid reflux (heartburn, GERD)

For a family whose child or teen has heartburn, food or a sour taste coming back up, or a cough that won’t go away, or was told it may be GERD.

• Acid reflux in children and teens (heartburn, regurgitation, GER and GERD): the signs, the tests, and the treatment→For a parent or caregiver of a child or teen (1 to 18) with heartburn, food or a sour taste coming back up, chest or belly pain, a cough or hoarse voice that won’t go away, or who was told it may be GERD. Keeps nothing.

A health problem that lasts: a child’s bowels (Hirschsprung disease)

For a family whose newborn has not had a first bowel movement or has green vomit and a swollen belly, whose child’s constipation laxatives don’t help, or who was told it is Hirschsprung disease.

• Hirschsprung disease (a birth defect of the intestine): the signs, the tests, surgery, and after→For a parent or caregiver of a newborn who has not pooped or has green vomit and a swollen belly, of a baby or child with constipation that laxatives don’t help, or of a child just told it is Hirschsprung disease. Keeps nothing.

A health problem that lasts: a child’s liver (fatty liver disease, NAFLD or NASH)

For a family just told a child has fatty liver disease, or whose child had a blood test with high liver enzymes (ALT or AST). It is usually silent, and no one is to blame.

• Fatty liver disease in children: NAFLD and NASH, the signs, the tests, treatment, and food→For a parent or caretaker whose child was told they have fatty liver disease (NAFLD, MASLD or NASH). Keeps nothing.

Eating well, moving more and screen time

The first is for parents and anyone who cares for a child: healthy habits to practice together, what to eat and drink, snacks, how much to move at each age, and screen time. The second is for teenagers themselves: what to eat and drink, what to have less of, moving, sleep, and worries about weight. Both are about health, not the size of a body.

• Helping your child eat well and move more: healthy habits, what to eat and drink, snacks, staying active, screen time, and weight→For parents and anyone who cares for a child. Keeps nothing.
• Take charge of your health, for teens: what to eat and drink, what to have less of, moving more, sleep, and weight→What NIDDK says in its guide for teenagers. Keeps nothing.

The first year with a baby

• Crying baby: when the crying won’t stop→For anyone looking after a baby who will not stop crying, at any hour, and for the people beside them. Keeps nothing.
• Reflux in babies (spitting up, GER and GERD): what is normal, the warning signs, and the treatment→For anyone looking after a baby who spits up a lot, arches, gags or fusses at feeds, or was told it may be reflux (GER) or GERD. Keeps nothing.
• Breastfeeding: when it hurts, or you’re not sure it’s working→For anyone who is breastfeeding or trying to, in the first days or months in, and for the people beside them. Keeps nothing.
• Baby log: feeds, diapers, sleep and crying, kept on your own device→For the first weeks with a baby, when nobody remembers at three in the morning when the last feed was, and the doctor asks how many wet diapers there were. What you type is kept only in this browser.
• Pregnant, or with a new baby→Pregnant, or home with a baby under one, anywhere in the US, and for the people beside you. Keeps nothing.
• Postpartum depression: when the baby blues don’t lift→For anyone who is pregnant or had a baby in the last year and does not feel like themselves, and for the people who love them. Keeps nothing.

At school

• Help at school for your child→Your child is struggling at school, or learns, moves, speaks or behaves differently. Keeps nothing.
• Letters to your child’s school→Five short letters from a parent or guardian, with blanks to fill in. Keeps nothing.
• When it’s bullying→For a young person who is being bullied, a parent who thinks their child is, someone who saw it happen, and the family of a child who is doing it. Keeps nothing.

Child care, custody and keeping a child safe

• If a child is being hurt→Worried about a child, just told something by one, a kid or teen who is being hurt, a parent afraid of what you might do, or an adult it happened to long ago. Keeps nothing.
• Lead poisoning: protecting children, the blood lead test, and lead at home→For parents and anyone raising or looking after a young child. Keeps nothing.
• When you need child care→For any parent or guardian who needs child care and can’t find a place, can’t pay for one, or isn’t sure a place is safe. Keeps nothing.
• When you’re raising a relative’s child→For grandparents, aunts, uncles, older brothers and sisters and close family friends raising a child whose parents cannot (kinship care). Keeps nothing.
• When it’s about child support→For either side of a child support order. Keeps nothing.

Before you call or go in

These three are for anyone’s appointment or call. They were not made only for children.

• Symptom diary: write it down, show your doctor→Write down what you notice when it happens, with your own number from 0 to 10. What you type is kept only in this browser.
• Get ready for your appointment→Ten minutes before you go: what has been happening, your medicines, your questions and what helps you, on one page to hand to your doctor, therapist or psychiatrist, with room to write down the plan. What you type is kept only in this browser.
• Call script: know what you will say before you dial→A phone call you keep putting off? Write who you are calling, the sentence that says what you want, what to have ready and what to ask. What you type is kept only in this browser.