Caring for your sick child
As a parent, having a sick child can be a scary time, and it can be hard to know what to do, or where to get help.
If your child is sick or injured
1. Always call Triple Zero (000) if your child needs urgent medical care
2. COVID symptoms – get them tested
3. Mild symptoms, like cough and runny nose - rest and care at home
4. Contact your GP or paediatrician if you’re worried or your child isn’t getting better
5. If you don’t know what to do, or need access to a list of local GPs visit the Healthdirect website or call 1800 022 222 for 24/7 advice
Severely unwell children
If your child is severely unwell, with symptoms like difficulty breathing, call 000 immediately.
Moderately unwell children
Test your child for COVID-19 if your child has mild symptoms including:
- a slight fever
- cough
- sore throat
- runny nose
- stomach ache
- constipation
- vomiting and/or diarrhoea
Keep your child comfortable at home with paracetamol or ibuprofen, plenty of fluids and rest.
- Steam inhalation is not the answer - read our warning on how the common cold and flu remedy is causing a spike in children's burns injuries.
Concerned parents
If your child isn’t getting better or you’re concerned:
- Contact your GP or paediatrician - in person or virtually. They know your child best.
- If your regular GP is unavailable, you can use Healthdirect’s health service finder to find the nearest GP service open now.
- You can also call Healthdirect 24/7 on 1800 022 222 to get trusted, expert advice from a nurse over the phone. It’s free, quick and easy.
If you’re still worried, visit your local emergency department.
Please be patient with staff. The sickest people are seen first, so you may need to wait.
COVID-19 information
COVID-19 continues to circulate in the community.
Everyone in NSW is being asked to ensure they are up to date with their COVID-19 vaccinations and to practice COVID-safe behaviours.
If you are vaccinated with three COVID-19 vaccine doses, you have 65 per cent greater protection against hospitalisation or death from Omicron than two vaccine doses alone affords, according to data from the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance.
Useful factsheets
It’s important to understand how to best care for your sick child, and when to seek medical attention.
A new general fact sheet on respiratory viruses has been developed by NSW Health.
Some helpful fact sheets include:
- Fever
- Croup
- Viral induced wheeze
- Influenza
- Bronchiolitis
- RSV
- RSV (NSW Health)
- Caring for low risk COVID-19 positive children
- Sore throat
- Headaches in children
- Nappy rash
- Eczema
- Hives (urticaria)
- Urinary tract infection in children
- Abdominal pain (stomach ache)
- Constipation
- Gastroenteritis (vomiting and diarrhoea)
- Reflux
- Crying baby
- Recognition of serious illness in children
Can't find what you're looking for? A full list of kids health fact sheets are available here.
You can also visit Healthdirect's colds and flu page for practical tips and advice on managing cold and flu symptoms.
Translated resources
- Resources on COVID-19 and other health topics are available in multiple languages on the Multicultural Health Communication Service website.
- An audio explainer on Keeping children safe this winter has been released by NSW Health in partnership with The National Ethnic and Multicultural Broadcasters’ Council:
- This covers the importance of vaccinating your child against COVID and flu, age guidelines, and how to book a vaccination for your child. Links to all audio clips are available here in Arabic, Bosnian, Cantonese, Croatian, Dinka, Greek, Hindi, Italian, Macedonian, Maltese, Mandarin, Punjabi, Serbian, Sinhala, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, Tamil, Tongan, Turkish, Urdu and Vietnamese.