Text-only safety guides
These pages load on slow connections and old devices, and work without JavaScript. They carry the same emergency warning signs as the main AfiyaAfrica site.
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Emergency numbers for your country
- Difficulty breathing, gasping, or blue lips/face
- Chest pain, or sudden weakness, drooping face or slurred speech
- Heavy bleeding that will not stop, or bleeding in pregnancy
- Fits/convulsions, fainting, confusion, or someone cannot be woken
- A child who is floppy, not feeding, or has sunken eyes and no urine
- Fever with a stiff neck, a rash that does not fade, or repeated vomiting
Symptom guides
- Difficulty breathing — Trouble breathing can become dangerous quickly. If you are not sure how bad it is, treat it as an emergency and get help now.
- Fever — Most fevers settle, but some are caused by serious infections such as malaria, pneumonia or meningitis. Use the signs below to decide how fast to act.
- Cough — A cough is often a simple infection, but it can also be a sign of pneumonia, TB, asthma or a heart problem.
- Headache — Most headaches are not dangerous, but a few need help immediately. The signs below matter more than how painful it feels.
- Tiredness (fatigue) — Feeling very tired can come from poor sleep or stress, but it can also be caused by anaemia, infection, diabetes, thyroid problems or heart disease.
- Nausea and vomiting — Vomiting is often short-lived, but dehydration and some serious causes need fast attention — especially in babies, older people and pregnancy.
- Diarrhoea — Diarrhoea itself is common; the danger is dehydration. Children and older people can become seriously unwell within hours.
- Stomach (abdominal) pain — Stomach pain has many causes. Some, like appendicitis or a pregnancy problem, need surgery or urgent care within hours.
- Joint pain — Joint pain is often from injury or arthritis, but a hot, swollen joint with fever can be a joint infection, which is an emergency.
- Rash — Most rashes are mild, but a few point to a serious infection or a severe allergic reaction that needs help within minutes.
What these pages are
General health information, not a diagnosis. AfiyaAfrica's AI provides non-diagnostic triage only; a licensed clinician decides on any diagnosis, prescription or referral. AfiyaAfrica is not an emergency service.