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OT - Treating a sick kiddo.....doctor or not?

Raisin

Veteran

ETA - SORRY! I meant to put this in the OT forum....put it here by accident.

My 5 year old is super sick for probably the first or second time in his life. He's had sniffles here and there but this is the first time he's had a fever, and he vomitied earlier for the first time (other than once in Cuba). Lol, he's still traumatized by vomiting....

Anyway, is it pretty much useless to take him to the doctor? He has a very congested, barking, phlegmy cough. I know they don't recommend cold meds under 12. He is running a fever of at least 102F...he wouldn't really hold the thermometer in but that's what I got. I've never had to deal with sick before so I'm not sure what to do with him. I've given him Tylenol for the fever and he's sleeping but we are supposed to leave for my parents house tomorrow morning. So if I take him to the duty doc or hospital it will be a long wait, and I have to drag the baby along. Is it necessary or a waste of time? I was thinking to just keep up the Tylenol and maybe go to the pharmacy and ask the pharmacist to give me the dosage for cold medication for him. They don't recommend it but they will give you it. He seems very, very miserable, but then again, he is never sick so this is new for him.

General

23 replies

Latest reply was from Freckles

Sveta

(website)

Veteran

You are in Canada, right? Have you tried to call a special line to talk to a registered nurse? In Ontario it is 1-866-797-0000. She will ask you questions about symptoms and tells you if you need to see a doctor. If he has a fever it may put undue stress on him to go out and see a doctor and if it is just a cold or flu the doctor will not help him anyway.
However if vomiting continues or fever goes up I think you should take him to see a doctor. This helpline was really helpful for me when my mom had chest pain they even called the ambulance for her after asking all questions.
I would also reconsider traveling with a sick child. You all will be miserable and there is a danger of complications as well. You parents will understand surely.

Don't give him cold medicine! It is very bad even for adults. It has some components in it which suppress cough but they also affect the heart! Give him plenty of warm drink. I like to mix frozen raspberries with honey and hot water. They actually help to reduce fever as well.
Sending healing vibes to your baby!

krishnidoux

Veteran

Raisin, it is necessary. With this high fever, better not gamble. It indicates an infection and he might need antibiotics to get rid of it. There are some nasty things going around right now. What colour is his phlegm? Rusty is not good. Nausea + barky + phlegm make me think bronchitis. Antibiotics for this are very effective and fast. Plus if you are going to visit people, you don't want to pass it on, especially to elderly who are more vulnerable and take longer to recover.

I know it's a drag to wait in a clinic, especially with two little ones, especially in this busy Xmas season. But believe me, it is necessary in this case, it is the right thing to do.

Also, with the fever, your little guy is dehydrating. However, he might not be able to drink normally less vomiting, therefore feed him a little water often with a table spoon, or give him ice to chew on (melts slowly, lessens the risk of vomiting). I so understand the fear of vomiting thing, my boy was (and still is, at 16!) the exact same. It's his dread every time he's sick, which, like yours, is not often.

A cold bath lessens the fever. Fever is dangerous for little ones.

Hugs and hugs again,

From a mother to another mother.

PS: What luck you posted here, I would not have seen this in OT and I really think you need encouragement to go see a doc.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

It sounds like flu -- and the flu is a rough one this year. I would take him to the doctor if the fever has lasted unbroken for more than a few hours. (I guess if you are giving Tylenol you can't be 100% sure of that, but if he needs it, chances are it's flu and not a cold. )

I know it is an awful pain to go with the baby in tow....but Sveta's suggestion to phone first is a good one. I have not had such luck with the help line but I was able to phone my doc's office and the on-call doc asked all the right questions to determine if we should bring my young daughter in (when she had pneumonia.)

So sorry you are dealing with this. My kid has been sick over Christmas, too. It is no fun for them or for you.

Raisin

Veteran

Thanks for all the suggestions!

Sveta I found my local nurse hotline number, I didn't know we had one, but I called it. It's pretty nice because it's like getting a whole assessment without having to go to the doctor.
He seems more lively now, but definitely still feeling miserable. His fever is down, I guess due to the Tylenol, he's just below 100F now. He's eating some freezies and watching TV in bed. The nurse suggested that it would be fine to treat him at home as his phlegmy cough is good because it's moving out the mucous, and his fever is subsiding. He's also drinking water for me and eating freezies, and still peeing well. So I'm going to continue to monitor, and the clinic opens in a few hours, so if he feels worse by then I will definitely take him over.

MNsara

Veteran

Aww, poor little guy, and poor worried mommy! It sounds like you've got things heading in the right direction now.

Just wanted to add my sympthay - especially because these things always happened at our house during holidays too. When we had 'stuff' we HAD to do, and normal doctors offices were closed. Very stressful

Hope no one else gets it either.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

(We will move the thread to the OT section for you).

This sounds very stressful and I wish you and your little one strength. Feel better soon. xo

Amy

(website)

Veteran

Aww, poor baby. It's so scary when they're sick, isn't it?

I'm glad you got a hold of the nurse hotline. A professional assessment can help reduce the stress somewhat, so that's good. You're obviously taking really good care of your son...don't forget to take care of yourself too.

((hugs))

Anonymous

You can alternate between children's Tylenol and Motrin every two hours to bring a fever down, but if he seems lively, I wouldn't worry about it ... just future reference. I would question putting him in any contact with elderly people right now. I don't know how old your parents are ...

Sveta

(website)

Veteran

I am so glad you got a help from hotline! It is such a pain to drag a child with fever to the office and sit there for hours - and poor child is suffering the most!
The flu is awful this year but you cannot really treat it with medication. Rest, plenty of drink, chicken soup and citrus fruit - and time. It took me 3 weeks to recover from flu this yer but usually kids are more resilient.
I would still caution against traveling with such a sick child tomorrow. The worst about flu is that weakens the body and you can get pretty serious health complications. Travel is stressful in general but when the child is sick it is a real health hazard. Even when fever is gone he should stay in bed for a day or two to fully recover.
Good luck and hugs - I hope it will pass soon!

lyn*

(website)

Veteran

I'm not a paeds resident, but I'd suggest you take him to a walk in just for a once-over; if he gets lethargic, stops eating, continues to vomit, stops drinking, spikes a fever again, then definitely take him to the ER.

Good luck!

Janet

(website)

Veteran

Just wanted to say I hope he's feeling better!

Seems to be a lot of crud going around now. I've got something myself that has me zonked out in bed, coughing and weak. Here's hoping all of us are feeling better for Christmas!

Raisin

Veteran

Thanks again all. I should clarify his vomiting was earlier this week...Monday, and he hasn't vomited today. He just came down from bed actually and announced that he's all better! Haha, I'm guessing the Tylenol has something to do with that, but it's nice to see he does feel better. Kids snap back fast it seems. He was the same way Monday, he felt terrible, vomited, and was like a regular kid again. The fever is coming down nicely though, I was most worried about that, he's never actually had one!

I had to laugh because you guys were saying keep him away from elderly people which makes sense, and then I realized you meant my parents! LOL! My mom would have a heart attack if she read that, she's 52. Dads a little older, 58 but I think they would smack me if I called them elderly! Lol, but I just realized, yah of course you don't know their ages. I don't think I could keep my mom away from him at Christmas even if she was 102 and he had the plague, anyway! Haha.

Well he seems miraculously a lot better, but I will continue to keep an eye on him. He is better, but still doesn't feel like eating, and that's a HUGE sign for him, he eats like a horse usually.

Anonymous

So glad he is doing better. It's such a hard decision to make, whether to take them in or not. I felt your anguish! You're a good mom.

lyn*

(website)

Veteran

Yeah, you're a much better mom than me. I'd be one of those parents that freak out at everything and live next to the ER.

ironkurtin

Veteran

Glad to hear the peanut is better.

WIW, I go by my mom sense on these things. If something really seems off, then I go to the pediatrician, or at least call. Here in the states, you have to have one by law - they won't let you leave the hospital with the baby unless you're signed up!

Anyway, if your mom sense says your kiddo is fine, then he probably is. Exposing your folks to him is a different story. People are most contagious before they really get sick, but that doesn't really apply to the snot vectors that are small children.

Hang in there and hope you and the rest of your family escape unscathed!

Raisin

Veteran

IK - here we only see Ped's if our family doctor refers us to them. So there's no real "calling in" I would take him to a walk in clinic or the ER if needed. Although calling the nurse hotline was a big help. She did mention that the contagious period should be over once his fever breaks. I sure hope the rest of us don't get it, especially not the baby, but we can't do much about it now! My mom mentioned that they all had the flu over there earlier this week, so hopefully it was the same thing and we don't swap flus! I'm embarrassed to say my mom sense is usually lagging on these things because he honestly gets sick so rarely, that when he does I'm just sort or stunned. And by the time I think it might be worth seeing the doctor for, it seems like he's on the mend and feeling much better, so I'm like what's the point?

Funny story, in Cuba last year was the first time ever that he vomited or was really sick at all. We flew there with the same family that lives 4 hours away, about 20 of us and they alllll had a 24 hour flu bug that week. All were fine by the time we left except the groom's mother who had just got over it that morning. So of course we 3 picked it up. And DS got sick first, but it came on fast again....he never really says anything until its urgent. And so he was like, my stomach hurts, one night in bed. And I took him to the washroom, thought he might have diarrhea, and sat him down. I sat in front of him and he barfed all over me....then got into bed, barfed all over the bed....and then he was fine. To this day he's still a bit traumatized though, he says "remember that time the pink was coming out of my mouth?" hahaha...that's all the juice slushies he drank there. And of course then I got sick, then DH and worse than him. But anyway, that's what he's like, before I even have time to think about what to do he goes crazy sick, and then he's like new! Kids! I'm always worried one day he'll get seriously sick and I won't realize because I just assume he never gets sick, or when he does it's over almost as fast as it starts.

ironkurtin

Veteran

Yeah kids pop scary fast sick and then boing right back. And then WE get it for WEEKS. Part of the joy of parenting.

lyn*

(website)

Veteran

@ Rae - Yeah; peds is a consult-service out this way too; the only real place it's not a consult service is actually Winnipeg, Manitoba, where it's set up in the states and there's direct access. Weird, huh?

Fun fact!

Freckles

Veteran

Actually in Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg and the province of Quebec it is common for children to see a ped for their routine care.
When I was pregnant it was advised that I choose my child's doctor, which I did through a referral by a nurse at the hospital whose sister-in-law had a fantastic one. When I was admitted to deliver my son I was immediately asked who his doctor was.

My son's doc is the most excellent doc that I've ever run across and he saw him until he started uni. Yes, think of Ross in Seinfeld... He hasn't seen a doc in the last 3.5 years as has interviewed them and not found anyone good enough... HE NEEDS A DOC, EGADS!!!

Edit: So sorry to hear that your son was under the weather. My ped always stressed that he was never upset if you came and nothing was wrong but got really mad when a very ill child was presented when he could have been mildly ill if he saw a doc earlier.

While my ped did have a private after hours clinic that he shared with other colleagues I'm not sure that is the norm. Doesn't hurt that we have a sick kids hospital and other teaching hospitals here and a recognized uni for medical.

lyn*

(website)

Veteran

I haven't seen a doctor in 5 years because I think they are all lame.

Raisin

Veteran

Thanks for all the great advice. I think he is on the mend now. He woke up at 4am because he was hungry, which I thought was good, since he didn't eat much yesterday. His nose is running and he's coughing a lot at night, but he's up now jumping around and singing.....such a difference in half a day! I'm still giving him a dose of Tylenol here and there to keep any fever away and to help his throat, but I feel pretty good now that he will be almost new in a day or two. Now....fingers crossed it was just him and the rest of us are not sick for Christmas! I know I won't get over it like that in 24 hours! Haha!

Mona

Veteran

Good to hear that he is doing well!

Freckles

Veteran

Lyn* it's really hard to find a good doc that suits our personalities, comfort zone and expectations...

When my endo retired I couldn't find one that I liked and went through too long a period of going without or using one I didn't agree with. I finally phoned around talking to the nurses and found an excellent one. It was funny as I said that I had been seeing doc so and so most of my life and wanted one as similar as possible. Every nurse said basically the same thing...oh...long pause...he's an icon, they just don't exist anymore until one said..well the same thing but she added try so and so as he has this and that and really will listen to what it is that you want. She was right.

I do believe my son should do the same thing for his doc.