Online doctor, children
An Online Doctor for Your Child While you are away.
A child running a temperature in an unfamiliar hotel room is a long night. Pomodoc's terms let a parent or legal guardian book a video consultation for their child, so you can talk it through with an English-speaking doctor from where you are, for a fixed €40, and find out whether this needs someone in the room tonight.
Some things in children do not wait, and they are listed below before anything else on this page. If any of them fit, stop reading and call your local emergency number.
- €40
- per consultation
- No insurance
- or local registration needed
English-speaking doctors, licensed to treat you where you are.
When a Child Falls Ill Abroad
Travel gives children the same illnesses they get at home, on a worse schedule: an ear that hurts on the descent, a stomach upset from food nobody recognises, a fever on the second night of a two-week trip. What changes abroad is not the medicine. It is that you do not know where to go, who speaks English, or whether this is the kind of thing that can wait until morning.
Pomodoc's Terms of Use allow an adult to book an appointment for their own child or for anyone they are legal guardian to. You describe what is happening, the doctor asks the questions a doctor would ask, and you get a clear answer about what to do next.
- Consult securely by video
- Avoid unnecessary travel and waiting rooms
- Get clear guidance about your child's symptoms
- Access care while travelling or living abroad
Can a Video Doctor Help With a Child?
For some of what happens to children on holiday, yes, and a conversation saves you a taxi ride you did not need. For the rest it tells you to go, which is the answer you wanted anyway.
A consultation may be a useful first step when
- you are weighing whether this can wait until morning or until you are home
- a rash, a bite or a skin reaction can be shown to the camera
- there is an earache after a flight or a week in the pool, and you want to know how urgent it is
- a stomach upset is settling but you are unsure about fluids
- you want to know what to watch for overnight, and what would change the plan
A doctor can take a history, ask the questions that sort ordinary from serious, look at whatever a camera carries properly, and tell you plainly what to do next. Any prescription is a clinical judgement subject to local rules, and is never decided in advance.
Go to a doctor or hospital in person when
- anything on the emergency list above applies
- a baby is under 3 months old with a temperature of 38C or higher
- a baby is 3 to 6 months old with a temperature of 39C or higher
- there are signs of dehydration, or a young child is not keeping fluids down
- a newborn under 30 days old has red or sticky eyes
Pomodoc connects you with an English-speaking doctor by video, licensed to treat you where you are, for €40 per consultation. Fixed price, no surprises.
Being told to take your child to a clinic is a good outcome for €40, not a wasted one. Knowing at 1am rather than at 8am is most of what you were buying.
Your consultation runs on Air Doctor's ISO‑certified platform (ISO/IEC 27001 & ISO 27799 for health data). See our security & certifications.
How It Works
Medical advice by video in three simple steps
Start online
Tell us which country you are in and what is going on. It is a short form, not an appointment request.
Join by video
See your English-speaking doctor using your phone, tablet or computer, with your child beside you.
Get clear guidance
Discuss the symptoms and receive advice about your next steps.
Why Use Pomodoc?
Explain it in English
Describe what your child is doing and ask questions in English, instead of translating a toddler's symptoms at a pharmacy counter.
Nobody has to be moved
A sleeping child who is finally comfortable does not have to be dressed and driven anywhere to be assessed.
Useful at the hour it usually happens
Children get worse in the evening. A consultation from the room is a realistic option at a time when finding a clinic is not.
Understand what to do next
A doctor can help you decide whether this needs treatment, an in-person appointment, or watching overnight.
Travellers who needed a doctor abroad
I was very happy to find this service
I was very happy to find this service! I was able to get a video visit with a physician promptly and get care.
Easy, competent, nice
Doctor was very nice and adequately thorough, explained everything very well. The whole process was far easier than expected.
Reliable and efficient
Reliable and efficient, able to provide medical support while you're away from home.
Reviews of Air Doctor, our medical partner, published on Trustpilot.
More About Children Falling Ill Away From Home
The temperature thresholds worth knowing before you travel
NHS guidance puts a high temperature at 38C or more, and attaches two age-specific thresholds that matter more than any other numbers on this page: a baby under 3 months with a temperature of 38C or higher, and a baby 3 to 6 months old at 39C or higher, should be assessed urgently rather than watched.
Above that age the thresholds give way to judgement, which is harder. NHS lists a high temperature lasting 5 days or more, other signs of illness alongside it, a child who does not want to eat or is not their usual self, and dehydration signs including nappies that are not very wet, sunken eyes and no tears when crying.
What a doctor can and cannot assess in a child over video
A history is most of a paediatric assessment and it travels down a video call intact: what happened, when, how it changed, what they have eaten and drunk, how much they have passed, how they are behaving compared with normal. A camera also carries skin properly, which is why a rash or a bite is one of the better things to bring to a consultation.
What cannot happen remotely is an examination: no eardrum, no chest, no abdomen, no throat swab, and no measuring an actual temperature. A doctor can tell you that one of those is needed, which is often the most valuable sentence in the call.
The three things that put children in front of a doctor abroad
Ears, stomachs and skin. Pressure changes on a flight and water in the ear can both be part of an earache story, food and water are a familiar route to a stomach upset, and sun, insects and heat are all possible causes of a rash. Each has its own page on this site with the detail this one does not repeat.
Dehydration is the thread running through the second of those. NHS guidance says babies, children and older adults are more at risk of dehydration, which is why the fluid questions come up early in any consultation about a child with a stomach upset.
What to put in the bag before you go
Oral rehydration sachets, infant paracetamol or ibuprofen in the form your child will actually take (age and weight limits vary by country and product, so follow the local pack and ask a pharmacist; in the UK, NHS advises no paracetamol under 2 months; no ibuprofen under 3 months, under 5kg, with chickenpox, if dehydrated, or with asthma unless a doctor has recommended it; do not alternate the two unless a health professional tells you to), a thermometer you trust, and any regular medication in its original box with enough for the trip plus a few days.
None of that is exciting and all of it is worth more at 2am than anything you can buy on the way home from a beach. A thermometer in particular: every threshold on this page is a number, and without one you are guessing at the input.
Good things to know.
Can I book a Pomodoc consultation for my child?
Yes. Pomodoc's Terms of Use state that the account holder must be 18 or older, and that you are allowed to make appointments for your children, including under the age of 18, and for anyone you are legal guardian to. You are on the call with them.
Is this a paediatrician?
No, and it is worth being clear about it. Pomodoc connects you with a doctor by video; nothing in what we can promise says that doctor is a paediatric specialist. If your child needs a specialist, or an examination, the useful outcome of a consultation is being told so and knowing what to ask for locally.
My child has a temperature abroad. Do I need a doctor?
Whether a child's temperature needs a doctor depends on their age and on how they are in themselves. NHS guidance treats a baby under 3 months at 38C or higher, or 3 to 6 months at 39C or higher, as needing urgent assessment. So do a temperature lasting 5 days or more, dehydration signs, or a child who is not their usual self. A fever after being somewhere with malaria also needs medical advice quickly, NHS says, without waiting to get home. A stiff neck, a rash that does not fade under pressure, difficulty breathing, drowsiness that is hard to rouse, or a first seizure are emergencies: call your local emergency number.
What can the doctor actually see over video?
Skin, breathing effort, and how your child is behaving, which together carry a lot. The history you give carries more. What cannot be done remotely is an examination: ears, chest, abdomen and throat all need someone in the room, and a doctor will tell you if that is what is needed.
Can a doctor prescribe something for my child by video?
A doctor may issue a prescription when it is clinically appropriate and local rules permit, and neither is decided in advance. Some medicines cannot be prescribed remotely at all. Medication you buy at a pharmacy is not included in the €40.
My child's ears hurt after the flight. Is that worth a consultation?
Ear pain after a flight is a reasonable thing to ask about. NHS says most earaches get better on their own, and to get medical help if symptoms do not improve within 2 to 3 days, or sooner if you are worried about other symptoms such as a high temperature or fluid leaking from the ear. Our ear infection page covers what tends to happen after flying and swimming, and what the warning signs are. A consultation can help you judge how urgent it is, though an eardrum needs looking at in person if the doctor thinks that is necessary.
Sources
- High temperature (fever) in childrenNHSThat a high temperature is 38C or more; the urgent thresholds of under 3 months at 38C or higher and 3 to 6 months at 39C or higher; a temperature lasting 5 days or more; other signs of illness such as a rash; a child not eating or not being their usual self; the dehydration signs of nappies that are not very wet, sunken eyes and no tears when crying; and the full emergency list including stiff neck, a rash that does not fade under pressure, sensitivity to light, a first febrile seizure, unusually cold hands and feet, blue, grey, pale or blotchy skin, drowsiness that is hard to rouse, extreme agitation or confusion, difficulty breathing, and not responding normally.; and the medicine cautions: no paracetamol under 2 months, no ibuprofen under 3 months, under 5kg, with chickenpox or if dehydrated, no ibuprofen with asthma unless a doctor recommends it, and not alternating the two unless a health professional advises it
- ConjunctivitisNHSThat a baby less than 30 days old with red, sticky eyes needs urgent attention.
- MalariaNHSThat anyone with malaria symptoms while travelling should get medical advice quickly and not wait to get home before seeking advice.
- DehydrationNHSThat babies, children and older adults are more at risk of dehydration.
- EaracheNHSThat most earaches get better on their own but medical help should be sought if symptoms do not improve within 2 to 3 days, and sooner for other worrying symptoms such as a high temperature or fluid leaking from the ear.
Worried About Your Child?
Speak to an English-speaking doctor by video and get guidance from wherever you are staying.
- €40, fixed price
- English-speaking doctors
- No waiting room
- Prescriptions where available
Video consultations are for suitable non-emergency medical concerns. If a child has a stiff neck, a rash that does not fade under pressure, difficulty breathing, is drowsy and hard to wake, or has a first seizure, call your local emergency number, or 112 from any phone in the EU. This page is general information, not medical advice about your own child.