During the outpatient visit today, your child received a sedative or strong pain reliever.
Your child may be sleepy but is ready to go home. Although your child may be acting normal, your child should not do anything alone for the next few hours after sedation. Simple things, like playing with certain toys for example, can be dangerous, if the child is left alone.
Some things that can be expected after sedation are: your child can be sleepy, clumsy, dizzy, can see blurry or have double vision, can be agitated/irritable, may have bad dreams and rarely, some children even hallucinate(see things that are not there).
Monitor your child closely for the next 24 hours. Monitor your child in the bath or shower for the next 24 hours. Make sure your child does not:
- Walk without help for 4 hours
- Ride a bike, tricycle, scooter, skateboard, roller skate or swim for next 24 hours.
- Drive any motorized vehicle for next 24 hours.
- Have someone watch your child on the way home in the car. If your child falls asleep anytime in the next 6 hours, watch him/her all the time to make sure that your child has no difficulty breathing.
Follow any other instructions given today and see your regular healthcare provider for further care.
Call 911 or us immediately if:
- Your child cannot sit or walk.
- Your child still seems sleepy after 4-6 hours.
- It is hard to wake your child up.
- Your child is having a hard time breathing, or if they are breathing very fast or very slow.
- Your child looks dusky or blue.
- Your child is vomiting or unable to keep down small amounts of clear liquids.
- You have any questions or concerns.
