‘Parental concern’ is a genuine warning sign of serious illness

‘Parental concern’ that something is wrong with their child should be taken seriously by doctors, according to new research published in the Lancet.

As parents have plenty of prior experience nursing their children through more trivial illnesses, they know best when something is not right or different.

Rapid breathing, blue tinged skin, rashes and temperatures higher than 40 degrees were some of the other ‘red flag’ warnings signs for serious infection.

Doctors were also advised to trust their own instincts when it came to judging whether a child has something sinister rather than just a cold.