During cold season, children are often sick with a wide range of symptoms, such as congestion, sore throat, coughing, and even fever. It is often difficult for parents to know whether home-care measures and rest are sufficient or whether they need to seek medical help. In the winter months, the emergency department of the University Children’s Hospital of Basel (UKBB) and many pediatricians’ practices in the Basel region are overwhelmed with a high volume of patients. In addition, working parents are often faced with the problem of childcare with a sick child.

The health departments of the cantons of Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft have a campaign entitled “Mein Kind ist krank — was tun?” (My child is sick — what should I do?) that aims to provide good support to parents of sick children and relieve the burden on the healthcare system. The campaign offers parents practical tools, and a flyer summarizes the essentials in simple language and uses QR codes to link to a website with additional content. All audio (and written) content is available in 16 languages (including English) ​​and answers the most important questions, including:

• When is a visit to the doctor necessary? Pharmacies are now included as an additional point of contact. Pharmacies are particularly easy to access and can provide parents with low-threshold advice on questions and concerns about their children’s health. They provide information on general health issues and can also assess whether a consultation at a doctor’s office is necessary. No appointment is necessary, and they often can provide help in several languages. You can also call the parent counselling service where advisors are medically trained and speak various languages. The telephone numbers and addresses of the parent counselling service can be found at https://meinkindistkrank.ch/anlaufstellen/.
• What should you do if your child has a fever or cough? Here you will find tips on what to do if your child has a fever or cough, as well as the situation in which you should consult a doctor.
• Where can you get help? The site lists various centers available for sick children in Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft. The materials help parents to choose the right place to go when their child is ill, and at the same time support specialists in providing advice.
• What can you do with a sick child if you need to work? The information provided informs on how to deal with illness in daycare centers and schools and with rights at work. The material also lists possible contact points for childcare and thus relieves the burden on parents. 

To read or listen to the audio recordings on all of these topics in English, go to https://meinkindistkrank.ch/informationen/englisch/. For other languages, go to https://meinkindistkrank.ch/informationen/ and select your language of choice.

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