When to seek medical advice
How can you tell if your child is less
active than normal?
Common Illnesses That Can Cause Your
Child to Be Less Active
Home treatment
When to seek medical advice
Sometimes the way your child behaves or how he responds to things in his
environment is different than normal. He may not have his usual energy, mood, or
curiosity. However, there are several signs to look for that will tell you to
call your doctor or 911 immediately.
See the doctor immediately or call 911 if:
Your child is unable to respond to verbal commands or is acting in a bizarre
manner.
Your child has a stiff neck, rashes, unexplained pains or high fever.
Your child appears to be dehydrated and is not getting enough fluid. Either
diarrhea or vomiting can rapidly deplete the fluids in a small child.
The child's general condition deteriorates. This also applies if a doctor has
already seen the child earlier on in the development of the illness. In the
early phase of even a serious illness, a child may be acting normally.
Therefore, do not hesitate to contact the doctor again if you believe your child
has become more ill.
How can you tell if your child is less active than normal?
As a parent, you are the expert on your child and you are best equipped to
notice if something just isn't right. You can usually tell if your child
isn't behaving normally, or sometimes you can just sense that something's
not right. He may not have his usual energy, mood, or curiosity. Perhaps he is
less active than other days; or has a smaller appetite than normal. Maybe he is
less talkative, or complains about feeling "yucky."
If you're not sure what this may look like, click the links for the the two
videos below to compare a sick child in normal activity to a child that is not
behaving normally.
Common Illnesses That Can Cause Your Child to Be Less Active
- Infection
Infection is the most common cause of less active behavior. When this is the
case, you need to make sure that the your child does not have one of the
more serious infections, like meningitis,
sepsis,
epiglottitis,
pneumonia
and urinary
tract infection.
Click on each of the links above for more information about each infection.
A test for meningitis:
- Dehydration
Dehydration can cause a child to become less active. If you can, give your
child fluids to drink, but this may be difficult if your child is vomiting
or has a sore throat. Also, if your child has diarrhea and is vomiting, he
may not be able to drink enough with the fluid loss.
Videos:
See Dehydration
for more information on treatment.
- Poisoning
Poisoning can also cause a child to be less active. In these cases, there
will often signs that your child has ingested something harmful, such as
medicines, poisonous plants, or household cleansers. Even over-the-counter
medicines, such as acetaminophen, aspirin, or vitamins can be very dangerous
for children, if taken in large doses.
If you suspect that your child has been poisoned, call your local Poison
Control Center immediately!
See Poisoning
for more information.
- Allergic Reaction
If your child has had an allergic reaction to something, it may cause him to
become less active. With an allergic reaction, your child will often have
additional symptoms such as rashes, swelling to the face, breathing
difficulties or nausea.
- Psychological Conditions
Psychological illnesses, such as depression, anxiety, or eating disorders,
can also cause a child to be less active.
- Other Conditions
Other illnesses that can cause your child to be less active include chronic
diseases, anemia
or surgical conditions, such as appendicitis.
Home treatment
- If your child is less active than normal, try to identify the reason for
this.
- Take the child's temperature to check whether he has a fever, since fever,
even without other symptoms, can cause a child to be less active.
For infants, you can take your child's temperatire rectally:
Video: How
to measure fever in older children
- If your child has a fever, try giving him some fever-reducing medicine
to see whether he responds to this. His condition may improve simply
when the fever is treated with medication.
- However, a response to fever-reducing medication does NOT rule out the
possibility of a serious infection. You will need to continue to monitor
your child and his fever.
- Give your child some liquids to drink if you think he is becoming
dehydrated. Children who have been vomiting should drink small quantities of
a balanced electrolyte solution (such as Pedialyte) to avoid further
vomiting.
- If you are worried about your child and you cannot establish why your
child's is less active than normal, talk to your doctor.
