Pediatrician pop quiz: When to go to the emergency room during flu season

Quebec's emergency rooms are seeing a boom inpatients,thanks in part to an early flu season, along with people in close quarters, spreading both holiday cheer and germs.

Some ERs in Quebec have become soovercrowded that wait times are crawling upwards of 12 hours.

At the Montreal Children's Hospital,more than half of the 300 or so patients who arrive daily during the holidaysjust have a cold or a flu,according to pediatrician Dr. DominicChalut, who specializes in emergency care.

When should a child be brought to the hospital? Chalut answered our popquiz about it.

• Children are bearing the brunt of this year's flu season, health officials say

Do I bring achild with the flu who also has shortness of breath or difficulty breathing?

"You should probably come ... Especially if the child is telling you, 'I've got significant difficulty breathing.'

The challenge,though, is some kids may not know exactly what difficulty breathing means.They may have a runny or stuffy nose, and they're going to say it's congested.

If it's just a congestion, a regular cough and a bit of a fever, don't [come]. But if there's significant difficulty breathing, thekid should be seen."

The child hasa headache and a stuffy nose

"I will say,don't come. That's very common.

Mostkids right now have a cold. They may complain of a bit of a headache,a majority of them have a stuffy nose. They will have cough and they may have fever.

You can give themhot water, time,Tylenol for fever and also for headaches or ibuprofen and eventually, it will subside."

What about a headache, stuffy nose anda fever for4 days?

"I will say, maybe.

Ifthe kid is active, playful ... he's probably okay to be observed at home. I may keep him an extra two to three days extra. If in two or three days, he still has a fever that persists, he should get checked.

If he is complaining about unusual symptoms, he should be seen.

But if it's just a cough, runny nose and a fever, you can probably wait."