Dr. Michelle Karina Hughes, D.O.

Yes – if you are not having a panic attack, you should be seen immediately.

If your pain is bad enough, you should go to the Emergency department. The physicians can treat your pain, as well as the need for fluids to help your kidneys.
If you are worried - definitely go.

There can be many reasons for a fever at this age. If he is otherwise acting okay, it may just be a simple virus, and he may have symptoms in a day or two. However, if he has a fever every day for more than 5 days, please take him to his pediatrician or the ED for some bloodwork. Then the problem could be bacterial, such as pneumonia or an ear infection, and he would require antibiotics.
I hope he gets better soon.

Michelle K. Arzubi-Hughes, D.O., FAAP

There can be many reasons for chest pain in a 9-year-old. If he has any respiratory issues like asthma, wheezing or a cold that may make him use his accessory respiratory muscles more - that can cause chest pain. If he has a fever, we would consider Pneumonia. If he is active and may have overused his muscles or was hit in the chest - this may be due to trauma. Heart causes are very rare, but not unheard of. Often, a baseline EKG will be done to ensure that the heart is in a good state of health. Old viruses can cause some heart muscle damage, and an EKG and X-ray may show that. Please follow up with his physician for a thorough and complete exam.

Sincerely,

Michelle K. Arzubi-Hughes, D.O., FAAP

When the pain is unbearable, or you have frank blood in the vomit, or dark blood in the stool. Those may be a sign of a bleeding ulcer.

Michelle K. Arzubi-Hughes, D.O., FAAP

If you feel that you cannot control your anxiety, and feel like you need help, the ER is the better place to go.
Good luck.

Michelle K. Arzubi-Hughes, D.O., FAAP

It depends - if your son is otherwise healthy, and has a random test with a blood sugar in the high 100s or low 200s, he may have signs of diabetes. However, if he has blood sugars in the 500s +, and he is acidotic, he may be in DKA, and start seizing, if untreated for a long time, he may die. If you have any concerns about diabetes in your child, please take him to his pediatrician, or to the emergency department.


Michelle K. Arzubi-Hughes, D.O., FAAP
Children's Hospital of the Kings' Daughters
Pediatric Emergency Medicine Attending
Chair of Resuscitation Outcomes Committee
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Eastern Virginia Medical School, Department of Pediatrics

Michelle.Arzubi-Hughes@chkd.org
757-668-8739

If your son has wheezing which does not improve with coughing, or is breathing fast, or “pulling” at his neck or below his belly, then he needs to come into the ED right away. If he is unresponsive, then call 911.

Michelle K. Arzubi-Hughes, D.O., FAAP

Fever of 103F is high, but if your child is still drinking well, has good energy (though less that he/she usually) does, and is easy to wake up, then giving Motrin or Tylenol (sometimes both, if the fever does not go down within 45 minutes). It would be good for him/her to be seen by his/her pediatrician, but not necessarily the ED. The times I suggest to go to the ER, is if they are difficult to wake up, are not making sense with their words, have difficulty breathing, and is not drinking well, having less urine over a 24 hours period.

I always suggest to look at your child, the number may or may not reflect the way your child feels. I have seen kids look great with 103F, and kids look miserable with 99F... it all depends what the underlying illness is.

I hope this helps.

That is a great question.

1. Yes, you should be concerned, this challenge can be deadly.

2. If you have noticed that your son, or anyone, has ingested anything concerning:

a. Call Poison Control 1-800-222-1222

b. Call EMS/take them to the closest ED (unless poison control states otherwise)

Sincerely,

Dr. Arzubi-Hughes

The best and safest thing to do is to go to the ED and get it removed immediately. If your pediatrician can see you within the same time frame, that works as well. However, it is always important to make sure nothing else has been out in the nose or any other orifices, which doctors should check out.

Sincerely,

Michelle K. Arzubi-Hughes, D.O., FAAP

That is a great question. If your child vomits only once or twice and feels better afterwards, my suggestion is to slowly introduce fluids, and keep him/her hydrated. However, if your child vomits multiple times, there are many serious causes for this vomiting and it is important that he/she is evaluated in the emergency department. Also, the age is a big factor: Younger children can become dehydrated much faster than older children, so IV fluids are imperative.

You did the right thing in taking your daughter to the ER.


Sincerely,

Michelle K. Arzubi-Hughes, D.O., FAAP