Child Health Advice: Skin
These guidelines (topics) are intended to help you determine how sick your child is and if you need to call your child's doctor. Their second purpose is to help you treat your child at home when it is safe to do so.
IMPORTANT! Your doctor's advice and your good judgment should always take precedence over information in these guidelines.
- Animal or Human Bites
- Animal or human bites usually need to be seen because all of them are contaminated with saliva and prone to wound infection.
- Bee Stings (or Yellow Jacket)
- The child was stung by a honeybee, bumblebee, hornet, paper wasp or yellow jacket.
- Burns
- A burn is a heat injury to the skin.
- Chickenpox
- Rash is on all body surfaces, but usually starts on the head and back.
- Cuts, Scrapes and Bruises
- Any cut that is split open or gaping probably needs sutures.
- Diaper Rash
- Any rash in the skin area covered by a diaper.
- Hives
- Raised pink bumps with pale centers (welts).
- Immunization Reactions
- You believe your child is having a reaction to an immunization.
- Infected Sores (Impetigo)
- Superficial bacterial infections of small breaks in the skin.
- Injury
- Cuts, lacerations, gashes and tears.
- Insect Bites
- Bites of mosquitoes, chiggers (harvest mites), fleas, and bedbugs usually cause itchy, red bumps.
- Jaundiced Newborn
- The skin and whites of the eyes are yellow.
- Poison Ivy, Oak or Sumac
- Localized redness, swelling, and weeping blisters.
- Puncture Wound
- The skin is punctured by a narrow, sharp object.
- Rashes, Localized
- Rash on one part of the body (localized or clustered).
- Rashes, Newborn
- Common questions asked by parents about normal skin rashes and normal birthmarks.
- Rashes, Widespread
- Rash over most of the body (widespread or generalized).
- Ringworm
- A fungus infection of the skin transmitted from puppies or kittens who have it, or from the soil.
- Spider Bite
- Bite from a spider seen on the skin.
- Splinter or Sliver
- A splinter or sliver is a foreign body embedded in the skin.
- Sunburn
- Most sunburn is a first-degree burn which turns the skin pink or red.
- Suture Questions
- Common questions about sutures or stitches.
- Tick Bite
- A tick (small brown bug) is attached to the skin or was recently removed from the skin.
- Wound Infection
- A break in the skin or a sutured wound shows signs of infection.