Why do people take their kids to the ER for a fever?

[stripe]

:banghead::banghead:

 

These parents take children to seek medical care for the same reason many thousands of other parents take their kids to other medical settings for the same reasons:

 

It's very frustrating that poor or uninformed parents are seen as somehow idiotic or irresponsible or loving to spend time at the ER. Hey, a lot of poor people work crap hours, and the doctors' offices aren't open then. No one mentioned that because, hey, poor people are all sponges, right? :glare:

 

My kids' pediatrician has a crack team of nurses who offer excellent advice over the phone, including home care and warning signs to bring the kid in. They also offer same day sick appointments and after hours urgent care! Very nice. But I know other doctors who will set an appt for two weeks from now when you call saying you are having breathing problems -- hey, this happened to me in 2002, and I am not kidding! The general urgent care center changed it's hours (the announcement flyer said something about convenience) and is now only open until 5 pm on the weekends, instead of the previous 9 pm.

 

That being said, I went on a meet and greet at a previous pediatricians' office for new parents, and one person asked, "So if my kid has a fever of 102, I should just take him to the ER, right?" to which they gave an emphatic no, and explained various criteria and urged the parent to call for advice. This was a middle class, white parent who spoke English well, and had insurance. A lot of people think fevers are dire emergencies.

[Joshin]

Munchausen by proxy syndrome is another reason. My DH is a victim of this thanks to my MIL. He is still dealing with the psychological fall out from being raised as a victim of this. This is when a parent, usually the mother, makes up illnesses or makes a bigger deal out of illnesses of her children to garner attention for her/himself. It affects the children horribly. My husband was in his 20's before he realized thanks to a good doctor that he wasn't about to die, did not suffer from epilepsy, strokes, raynaud's or an enlarged heart.

 

I have an acquaintance in my kids' circle of friends that has this, too. Her now college age daughter just broke all ties with her after realizing she isn't plagued by several diseases like she was raised to think. This girl almost didn't go to college because she thought she was so sick there would be no point. The mother has now transferred her issues to her young son and it's been sad to watch. The slightest fever means a trip to the ER. A bump on the head from a Koosh ball at a scout event somehow led to her telling everyone about his brain hemorrhage. Someone, supposedly a doctor, recently reported her to CPS, because it is considered a form of child abuse. These parents will go to any length to get a positive diagnosis. Some even poison or injure their kids to get medical professionals to believe they are sick.

 

I know not all parents that rush to the ER have MBP. I know many are loving, good parents or have children that require a bit more medical care. But my experiences with it as an outsider have made me a bit jaded and suspicious whenever I meet someone that over uses medical services. It is abuse and a disease, and it permanently damages those victimized by it.

[stripe]

I saw a doctor on the news who prescribed his teenaged patients some extreme drug, told them they had some awful disease, told them they would never have children, and it was all a lie. Horrifying stuff.

 

I think the more likely thing is people don't have insurance or a regular doctor.

[Gentlemommy]

I'm with you. I only medicate fevers if the child is really uncomfortable/in pain. My dd's have all gotten fevers up to 104, and they just sleep.

[mommymilkies]

I only do if it's a very high fever and they are very lethargic. I have a few times. Once my dd hit 104.6 and it dropped to 101 when we got there, so I looked crazy. :lol:

 

Not to mention we are rural and our docs keep crazy weird hours. There are no convenient cares within 60 miles and I'm not waiting 4 days or more if my kid has a fever and won't stop puking, etc.

 

I used to be an EMT and CNA. I worked ER, Med-Surg, etc. I'm normally ok with fevers, but my kids all run low (like me), so 103-104 is scary to me. I don't medicate fevers until 103 if they are uncomfortable.

Edited September 24, 2012 by mommymilkies

[LibraryLover]

Nobody wants to sit for hours in a ER waiting room. If one takes an infant to an ER, it's because of insurance issues, or dread/worry.

 

I don't judge anyone who takes their child to a place where they might feel safe, or safer.

[magnificent_baby]

Nobody wants to sit for hours in a ER waiting room. If one takes an infant to an ER, it's because of insurance issues, or dread/worry.

 

I don't judge anyone who takes their child to a place where they might feel safe, or safer.

 

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

 

As an ER nurse, I never got annoyed when children came in for a fever.

 

Parents that ignore signs of illness would annoy me more.

 

We triaged patients, so the more minor illnesses just waited or would quickly get moved to another room if something more urgent came in.

 

Where I live, we have a terrible lack of urgent cares.

[fraidycat]

I don't know. I do not even think to medicate for a fever unless it goes over 103 - and usually only to help them sleep. Is it just me, or does the fever usually climb at night?

 

DD did have a virus where her fever was sustained at over 106 for about 2.5 days. THAT was scary, but even the medication wouldn't bring it down. She had a lot of tepid baths and cool cloths for that one.

Edited September 24, 2012 by fraidycat

[TeenagerMom]

I live in an area where using the ER as a Dr's office is so prevalent that you now must pay a deposit if it is not deemed an Emergency in Triage. That is at BOTH local hospitals, including the one that is a Non-Profit. They recently started imposing a $150 co-pay for all Emergency room visits if you don't have insurance and it is not a life threatening emergency to try to cut down on the abuse.

 

I rarely take my kids to the ER unless it is an injury that needs immediate treatment. For a "normal" illness, I only go on the advice of our Pediatrician. We have Urgent Care clinics available until 7-9 p.m. here and no pharmacies open after midnight, so going in the middle of the night for something like strep throat isn't going to do any good anyway because you can't get antibiotics until the next day. Respiratory distress and uncontrollable fevers (spiking after medication) are pretty much the only illness type things we go for.

[Danestress]

I'm a nurse and I would never take my kid to the ER for a fever like that...in fact my general rule is you must have uncontrolled bleeding, broken bones, need stitches etc to warrant a trip to the ER!

 

While it's true that a UTI or strep throat may not be a medical emergency, if you don't have access to Urgent Care and it's a Saturday afternoon, it's hard to think about watching your child suffer until Monday when you can get an appointment with the Pediatrician.

 

I understand what you are saying. And I know these things may not be what ER was meant for. But doctors are getting strict about not calling in antibiotic prescriptions for patients who aren't in the office. Mine simply won't do it. So if I had a child with a high fever and a very sore throat, horrible cough, or pain urination, I might just head in. Having had a number of UTI's and a couple of kidney infections, I think I know how much one can suffer without having a broken bone or gushing blood.

 

I am lucky because I have UC access and kids who rarely get fevers. But I am trying to put myself in someone else's shoes.

[NASDAQ]

Because people are not well-educated and/or not confident about sifting worrisome symptoms from not worrisome ones.

 

Because we've created a culture of CYA and over-reaction where many people have been told by doctors or nurses or other well-meaning health professionals that they should do something "just in case."

 

Because it's getting harder and harder to get a hold of a doctor off-hours or by phone, so people can't make a ten-minute call that would reassure them rather than book off the night to the ER.

 

In an ideal world, the parent with the child with the mild fever would be referred back to her own doctor to follow up, and the child's primary care doctor would pass on information about the best way to address a mild fever. But that rarely happens.

[Crimson Wife]

I haven't read the full thread, but I took my 2nd to the ER one time with a high fever because he looked dehydrated to me and I couldn't get him to drink anything. It was after the urgent care center was closed for the night but our pediatrician's office wouldn't open for several more hours. DS needed 1 1/2 bags of IV fluid so he really was dehydrated.

[Jyniffrec]

My dd4 has been admitted through the ER 25+ times. We have struggled to get front desk staff to take us seriously because they see so many people who shouldn't be there that they have a hard time making the right call. We have sat next to kids with runny noses while our daughter was heading toward a coma and organ failure. I'm not mad at those people, either the staff or the parents, but it does make my heart drop when we rush into a full ER.

[Grover]

This interests me... I was recently hassled by a few people IRL for not taking my DD to the emergency room when she had the flu - she was feverish, lethargic and generally unwell, and I was worried enough to move her into my bed and keep an eye on her all night, but felt that I could handle it for the night. By morning she was a lot better and continued to improve - the number of people who said they would have been at the ER really surprised me. I figured warm, comfortable, resting and settled at home was much better than out in a cold waiting room for goodness knows how long.

[Catwoman]

My dd4 has been admitted through the ER 25+ times. We have struggled to get front desk staff to take us seriously because they see so many people who shouldn't be there that they have a hard time making the right call. We have sat next to kids with runny noses while our daughter was heading toward a coma and organ failure. I'm not mad at those people, either the staff or the parents, but it does make my heart drop when we rush into a full ER.

 

I don't know if this is the case where you live, but in our area, if a family member is ill and you want (or need) to bypass the long wait to be seen in the ER, call 911 and have the ambulance bring him or her to the hospital. Many emergency rooms give priority to patients arriving via ambulance.

 

Hopefully, you'll never need to visit another ER ever again with your dd, but just in case, I thought I'd mention the ambulance idea, because it sounds like your dd has been extremely ill. :grouphug:

[weddell]

When DS had just turned one I took him to the ER for croup. He'd been "barking" all night and we were trying steam, cool air, etc but by 6 am his breathing was really terrible so I took him in. I knew he had a fever as I'd taken it a couple times and it was around 101. I don't treat fevers until they are a little higher than that since they are helpful to the body. He was pretty bad by the time we got to the ER and they had to give him epinephrine, oxygen, steroids, etc.

 

We first saw the triage nurse who took his temperature and then gave me a stern/nasty lecture about "how could I not have treated his fever?" She went on and on about how babies can feel things (who doesn't think babies can feel things :confused:?) and my "poor baby must have felt so bad" and why didn't I try and bring his fever down. I was like :001_huh:. I brought him in because he wasn't breathing, not because he had a not-that-high fever. It was obviously croup, probably from some virus and I wouldn't normally even bring a kid in for croup except that home treatments weren't helping and he was clearly really struggling by very early morning. I just thought her fever lecture was very different from other medical advice I'd heard about fevers and kids.

[GWOB]

You shouldn't judge people who bring their kids to the ER with fevers.

 

We live very rural. Like, unless you live in farm country rural, you shouldn't judge rural. The first time I took a kid to the ER with a fever, it was a Friday at 3:00pm. My <2yo woke up lethargic from a nap with a 104+ fever. I called the local clinic, which closed at 5:00pm, and tried to get her in. The local doctors were not available. The nearest urgent care clinic is over 65 miles away. They told me to take her to the ER since it was attached to the local clinic.

 

The second time I took the same child to the ER with a fever was the same thing. She was <3, had a fever that wouldn't go down, even when alternating Tylenol and Motrin. Her doctor told me to take her to the local ER since she was lethargic and not urinating. We have great insurance, FTR and TYVM.

 

So yep, I totally take my kids into the ER if they are running a high fever and are lethargic. Some of us aren't lucky enough to live anywhere near urgent care clinics or have pediatricians who don't leave to play golf after 3:00pm. And we have insurance, least you think only poor people bring their kids into ERs.

[Donna]

You shouldn't judge people who bring their kids to the ER with fevers.

 

There are a number of reasons why someone would take a child to the ER with a fever. Not everyone knows the difference between a virus and something more serious that needs antibiotics like strep or an ear infection. Maybe they have been treating something for a few days and the child isn't getting better or has gotten a little worse. If they don't have access to a pediatrician due to lack of insurance or late night/weekend illness, the ER may be the only place they can go to have their child checked out.

 

A very high fever alone or with a headache with no other symptoms concerns me more than one with other symptoms that lets me know what is wrong. I have seen a number of kids in my line of work with residual damage from meningitis so I always have that in the back of my mind even though I know it is not very likely.

[amo_mea_filiis.]

It's not always just the parents. When my son was under 2, he was in daycare while i worked. Very rarely would they call me during the day, but they would tell me when i picked him up that he had x, y, or z going on. They required dr's notes to return for the dumbest things; "fever" of 99.9 but otherwise normal, bad diaper rash, belly rash, etc. I had no chouce but to take him to the ER. Nothing else was open, and i never would have lasted as long at that job as i did if i stayed home with him for every little thing.

 

One day i picked him up and his teacher said she thought she heard a wheeze (her son has asthma) and he should be seen. I took him to the ER, and not 5 minutes after seeing the nurse, there were 2 drs and a respiratory therapist waiting for him!

 

During ds's first few years, the daycare really screwed up my view of what things needed to be seen vs little kid stuff. Every time i questioned the need to bring him in, i remembered that one time he was rushed back (true emergency) but still looked fine to me.

 

It took years to get past that "run to the dr or ER" mentality the daycare pushed. I now have a much better grasp of what needs to be seen (experience and EMT training).

[stripe]

While it's true that a UTI or strep throat may not be a medical emergency, if you don't have access to Urgent Care and it's a Saturday afternoon, it's hard to think about watching your child suffer until Monday when you can get an appointment with the Pediatrician.

 

I also firmly believe, from experience, that not all doctors have appointments the same or next day. My mother sees a doctor who is in practice by himself; he never has appointments and always just tells her to go to urgent care for any problems. It's ridiculous.

 

Because we've created a culture of CYA and over-reaction where many people have been told by doctors or nurses or other well-meaning health professionals that they should do something "just in case."

 

Yep. I called the doctor's office about something (doesn't really matter what) at 7:30 pm and was told to give my child a medicine and go to the ER. I thought I could avoid sitting in the ER, since the treatment they advised appeared to work immediately and just have it checked out at the urgent care. After checking in at the urgent care with a FULL description of what happened and sitting in the waiting area for 20+ minutes, a nurse came out and screamed at me that a) she hadn't gotten to me first because she was doing triage [implication: my child's problem was NOT the most serious], and b) go to the ER immediately. I honestly felt like going home -- my child was now fine. But I went to the ER, where we had to wait probably two hours, were looked at (nothing more was done than examining), kept for another hour, and then sent home. I took the child to the regular pediatrician the next day, who said going to the ER was unnecessary and was basically a CYA move. I have had the same thing happen again and did not go to the ER. I advised a specialist I consulted of what happened, and he concurred that an ER visit was not necessary. However, I don't regret it, because I had never dealt with that problem before. But I could have used treatment at the urgent care. Instead of helping me, they refused to, because they didn't have all the equipment of an ER. So it was somehow better to have me driving around with my kid (with NO medical equipment) than actually seen by anyone in a place with a small amount of medical equipment. Inane and insane.

 

I had a friend who was told to go the ER for her problem. She had a couple day range to go. I watched her kids while she went. It was not an "emergency" in terms of being life threatening, but no one else was able to handle it promptly. She spent hours and hours there. I don't know why it couldn't have been handled at an office visit, but her doctor just sent her to the ER. It is a way of rounding up specialists or treatment, in some cases, that you'd need a complicated round of referrals for, maybe? I thought it was dumb, though.

 

My only guess is because they don't know any better. Or they have insurance that doesn't cost them a million dollars.

Or their kids mean a lot to them.

Edited September 24, 2012 by stripe

[Joanne]

My kids mean a lot to me too despite the fact I don't rush them to the ER for everything.

 

Of course. That's part of the point; you can't accurately assume anything about the parents who are in the ER with kids with a fever.

 

There are many reasons explaining why parents bring sick kids to an ER, even if YOU don't.

 

I'm baffled that people don't get it. I became informed about fevers, colds, bacterial issues and virus. I don't assume it's common knowledge or a lack of conscientiousness on the part of other choices.

[Murphy101]

And yet, it seems like I am always "in trouble" with the doctor if I make a call after a cold or fever has lasted longer than expected. I wouldn't personally go to the ER, and I luckily haven't experienced this with my children. But every time I happen to not call the doctor for a case of the sniffles, I get the "and you're only coming in now?" if it turns into something more a few days later. I could easily see a parent with my same experiences but less confidence decide that every cold or fever needed some sort of immediate documentation.

 

Then find another doctor pronto bc that's ridiculous. I love our pediatrician bc he respects my judgement too.

 

It's very frustrating that poor or uninformed parents are seen as somehow idiotic or irresponsible or loving to spend time at the ER. Hey, a lot of poor people work crap hours, and the doctors' offices aren't open then. No one mentioned that because, hey, poor people are all sponges, right?

 

Oh bull. I don't care if they go to the ER and no one was saying anything awful about their parenting, but if it really is just for the average kid cold symptoms - then yes, that is uninformed and pointless.

 

Obviously if it is more than that, then it doesn't pertain to the conversation we are having and if the ER is the only or best option they have, then they should of course use it in those situations.

[momofkhm]

Not a newborn (because that is a good reason to go to the ER) but normal children without other health issues? I know someone who posts on fb every so often about taking her child to the ER with fevers in the 102-103 range. :confused: I'm a nurse and I would never take my kid to the ER for a fever like that...in fact my general rule is you must have uncontrolled bleeding, broken bones, need stitches etc to warrant a trip to the ER!

 

I'm like you. But a friend at church takes her kids in for seemingly anything. For her it's urgent care on Sundays though. Things that if it were my kids, I'd wait until Monday morning. But there may have been an issue with one of the kids when they were very small that she missed? And the kids are both adopted so maybe there was something in the birth mom's medical record that means you need to take them in?

 

But then this weekend, she takes the kids in for the slightest cold related thing but had her daughter at church after twisting her ankle really bad on Saturday. Not on crutches, just walking. And they hadn't been any where to get it x-rayed. :confused: Just the inconsistency.

[Parrothead]

I don't know if this is the case where you live, but in our area, if a family member is ill and you want (or need) to bypass the long wait to be seen in the ER, call 911 and have the ambulance bring him or her to the hospital. Many emergency rooms give priority to patients arriving via ambulance.

 

Hopefully, you'll never need to visit another ER ever again with your dd, but just in case, I thought I'd mention the ambulance idea, because it sounds like your dd has been extremely ill. :grouphug:

Yeah, mostly the same people who take their kids to the ER for minor illnesses have already figured that out. And have for years. It is not a good thing. The other night both ambulances were out for "stubbed toe" situations and they paged out the FD to a person having heart attack. It is a hell of a thing to be having a heart attack and find there are no ALS crews available.

 

I remember years ago going to back up an EMS call to find the little old lady sitting on her front porch with her handbag in hand, front door already locked up. She walked straight out to the truck and was helped in by the EMT. She didn't feel well. Before my shift ended the crew brought her back home. :glare:

Edited September 24, 2012 by Parrothead

[Parrothead]

You shouldn't judge people who bring their kids to the ER with fevers.

 

We live very rural. Like, unless you live in farm country rural, you shouldn't judge rural. The first time I took a kid to the ER with a fever, it was a Friday at 3:00pm. My <2yo woke up lethargic from a nap with a 104+ fever. I called the local clinic, which closed at 5:00pm, and tried to get her in. The local doctors were not available. The nearest urgent care clinic is over 65 miles away. They told me to take her to the ER since it was attached to the local clinic.

 

The second time I took the same child to the ER with a fever was the same thing. She was <3, had a fever that wouldn't go down, even when alternating Tylenol and Motrin. Her doctor told me to take her to the local ER since she was lethargic and not urinating. We have great insurance, FTR and TYVM.

 

So yep, I totally take my kids into the ER if they are running a high fever and are lethargic. Some of us aren't lucky enough to live anywhere near urgent care clinics or have pediatricians who don't leave to play golf after 3:00pm. And we have insurance, least you think only poor people bring their kids into ERs.

It is pretty standard in a lot of rural areas for the doctor's offices to tell the patients to go to the ER. I've even called the doctor's office and been told they don't have openings to go to the ER.

 

About two years ago we got an urgent care clinic. There is a push to get people to go there for minor illness/injury but the idea of going to the ER is so ingrained that it is difficult to get the people to change.

[Jyniffrec]

I don't know if this is the case where you live, but in our area, if a family member is ill and you want (or need) to bypass the long wait to be seen in the ER, call 911 and have the ambulance bring him or her to the hospital. Many emergency rooms give priority to patients arriving via ambulance.

 

Hopefully, you'll never need to visit another ER ever again with your dd, but just in case, I thought I'd mention the ambulance idea, because it sounds like your dd has been extremely ill. :grouphug:

 

We did this once when we were in a rural area because my daughter was extremely ill and she needed a glucose IV right away (she has a genetic disorder). The ambulance workers only saw a kid throwing up. They tried to get an IV in but gave up. They didn't even turn on the lights or speed to the hospital. I was lectured the whole way about how "some people" shouldn't call the ambulance. I kept turning around and asking if they had gotten the IV in. Dd's GI doctor was livid when he found out. He thinks it may have caused some brain damage.

 

So, the question is, why wasn't it taken seriously? Well, probably partly because of what Parrothead posted below. They have seen so much misuse of ambulances that they were blind to a real emergency.

 

Yeah, mostly the same people who take their kids to the ER for minor illnesses have already figured that out. And have for years. It is not a good thing. The other night both ambulances were out for "stubbed toe" situations and they paged out the FD to a person having heart attack. It is a hell of a thing to be having a heart attack and find there are no ALS crews available.

 

I remember years ago going to back up an EMS call to find the little old lady sitting on her front porch with her handbag in hand, front door already locked up. She walked straight out to the truck and was helped in by the EMT. She didn't feel well. Before my shift ended the crew brought her back home. :glare:

 

When I lived in West Philadelphia, people used to use ambulances to hitch rides places. They would get in acting sick and then jump out of the ambulance when they got where they wanted to be.

 

I do believe that there are many, many situations where there are no other choices for the families or that it is merely a matter of being misinformed. But I also know that there is a lot of abuse of the system. The different opinions that have been stated before me can all be true and probably are.

[stripe]

Oh bull. I don't care if they go to the ER and no one was saying anything awful about their parenting, but if it really is just for the average kid cold symptoms - then yes, that is uninformed and pointless.

Frankly, my kids' pediatrician's office won't schedule them to see a doctor for regular cold symptoms, either. The nurse will advise about home care, though. I think there is a lack of a support system such as qualified nurses who will advise you, in a lot of communities or doctors' offices. Or, in the case of an uninsured person, there is no doctor or nurse on call, and the symptoms seem alarming, so off to the ER they go, because they can't be turned away.

 

My husband has met a lot of people whose kids don't have insurance, who take their kids to the ER. Some of it is financial and rather complicated. Some of it I personally don't agree with and involves issues of child support (not getting it meaning Medicaid is denied). So it can be a very complicated issue that could possibly be avoided on many levels.

 

But I think we can all agree that there should be more places to take a sick person, and get medical advice, than the ER. Some communities have doctors who take sick people that day. Some communities have urgent care centers. Some just don't. That, I think, is a big part of the problem in some cases.

[Parrothead]

Frankly, my kids' pediatrician's office won't schedule them to see a doctor for regular cold symptoms, either. The nurse will advise about home care, though. I think there is a lack of a support system such as qualified nurses who will advise you, in a lot of communities or doctors' offices. Or, in the case of an uninsured person, there is no doctor or nurse on call, and the symptoms seem alarming, so off to the ER they go, because they can't be turned away.

 

I saw less and less of this as me moved away from the southeast. The advice was to bring the kid in or to go to the ER. I've often thought it was a CYA thing in our lawsuit happy times.

[Nestof3]

I don't know. A friend of mine, who had no insurance for a while, just got her kids on state health insurance. The mom had pneumonia (so many people around here had a touch of pneumonia last month including us).

 

I took my boys down the street to an urgent care center run by the same hospital system. The doctors are great. I then followed up with my pediatrician. Even though we have insurance (that we pay $600 a month for), we would still have to pay for an entire emergency room visit until we reach our $5,000 deductible. So, I am very selective when I choose the ER -- for after hours serious issues and emergencies. Urgent care is about 25% of what ER visits are for us.

 

This mom (who lives near me) went to the ER for her pneumonia symptoms. Then, when her kids started having similar symptoms, she took them to the ER. I'm not sure in her case how much of that had to do with the fact that it wouldn't cost her anything. I know with my parents being on Medicare, they think nothing of popping in the ER -- usually because they don't make an appt with their doctor when they are concerned about something, and then when they get really concerned, they pop in. They have always had government insurance, though, and have never had to consider how much a medical bill would cost them.

 

I do know it's very annoying when you do have an urgent situation and you are sitting in a waiting room with people just coughing and urgent care centers are still open.

[Nestof3]

I saw less and less of this as me moved away from the southeast. The advice was to bring the kid in or to go to the ER. I've often thought it was a CYA thing in our lawsuit happy times.

 

Yes, my friend actually called her pediatrician who advised her to take the kids to the ER. What the heck is the pediatrician for? The ER did exactly what any other doctor would have done -- listened to lungs and prescribed an antibiotic.

 

I was advised by the on-call nurse to take my son to the ER to determine if the antibiotic he was given was the cause of the hives he broke out in right after taking the antibiotic. No thanks. Really? A $1,500 bill to confirm a rash. Perhaps these doctors should start paying for these recommendations. :tongue_smilie:

[LMA]

Yes, my friend actually called her pediatrician who advised her to take the kids to the ER. What the heck is the pediatrician for? The ER did exactly what any other doctor would have done -- listened to lungs and prescribed an antibiotic.

 

I was advised by the on-call nurse to take my son to the ER to determine if the antibiotic he was given was the cause of the hives he broke out in right after taking the antibiotic. No thanks. Really? A $1,500 bill to confirm a rash. Perhaps these doctors should start paying for these recommendations. :tongue_smilie:

 

I have asked the pediatrician about the phone line and they say they cannot give any medical diagnosis over the phone. The purpose of the phone line is to help you determine if you can wait until morning or to advise you to seek medical attention somewhere. They will not prescribe drugs over the phone.

[Serenade]

 

Because we've created a culture of CYA and over-reaction where many people have been told by doctors or nurses or other well-meaning health professionals that they should do something "just in case."

 

I've often thought it was a CYA thing in our lawsuit happy times.

 

 

I really think this is it. Doctors and medical facilities need to make sure they are not open to lawsuits. Parents are afraid that CPS is going to take their children away if they do anything wrong -- this has created a culture of going to the doctor or experts for any little thing, just to make sure you're covered.

[Nestof3]

That's why I am glad we have urgent care centers that are open to 8:00 pm and on weekends. They all operate within the hospital's system. I cannot imagine paying $1,200 or so every time my kids had a sore throat.

 

There is only one time when any of my kids had a high fever and I did not bring the kid in. That was my middle kid and I thought she had WEst Nile Fever and just gave her medications. We were travelling and not near a hospital and she got her fever reduced and pain reduced by the medication.

 

All the other times, my kids always had other symptoms that were concerning- ear pain, throat pain, breathing issues, something. I would go into the ped with them but if it was a weekend, we would go to the miltary ER dept. That was what we were supposed to do. The one time I had someone tell me it was a virus, and she kept getting sicker, so I kept bringing her in, on the third visit, they finally did a chest xray and found that she had mycoplasmic pneumonia. Unfortuntately, by this time, everyone else in the family got it too. All five of us with pneumonia. It was a miserable time.

 

So in those days, I would bring a child in and it would be an ear infection or a strep throat or a pneumonia. With my youngest, it would often be bronchitis that needed, at a minimum, prednisone and breathing treatments.

 

Now my youngest did develop three types of less common viruses, each of which had fever as a major component, but again, some other symptoms too. Each occurred when we lived in VA, always in the summer, and a different one each summer. She was living there from age 12-14 and for two of the diseases, it was not the typical age for them- fifth disease and hand, foot and mouth disease. The third was more typical of her age, mono. None of my others ever had these. I also didn't take her to the ER but rather to her pediatrician.

 

I am very happy I was so pro-active in my kids' health. I never let any of them have a sore throat and a fever without it being checked. Yes, it was a virus often but each has had at least three bouts with strep too. My oldest had many, many bouts with strep. I was very happy that I did this when my middle's cardiologist explained why we had to do an expensive test. It seems that he sees a lot of kids who ended up having minor heart issues complicated because they had untreated strep in the past. She did not have that problem because I always made sure whether a sore throat was strep or not, and if it was strep, she had antibiotics.

[Stratford]

I ask myself this every time at work and 95% of our patients are cold symptoms.... heaven forbid we get a STEMI or trauma and they have to wait too......

 

:glare:

 

Ditto. The 16 hours I spent working in triage this weekend confirm my theory that at least 80% of people in an ER waiting room at any given time do not need to be there.

[Nestof3]

I have asked the pediatrician about the phone line and they say they cannot give any medical diagnosis over the phone. The purpose of the phone line is to help you determine if you can wait until morning or to advise you to seek medical attention somewhere. They will not prescribe drugs over the phone.

 

Right. I get that. The instructions say, though, that if any of the symptoms on the list of side effects appear, to call the doctor. Clearly, someone should be able to be phoned in this situation. You shouldn't have to take your child to an emergency room over it.

[jennynd]

I have asked the pediatrician about the phone line and they say they cannot give any medical diagnosis over the phone. The purpose of the phone line is to help you determine if you can wait until morning or to advise you to seek medical attention somewhere. They will not prescribe drugs over the phone.

 

I think it varies state by state.

When I live in IN, they had no problem to give advises (not prescription) what to do with a fever, but I can't get same advise in NY. When I just moved to NY, I actually called my IN Dr ask for advise when my Hubby got a high fever.

[Nestof3]

I have depended on the Dr. Sears website for my kids, and I think he gives great advice on when to seek medical attention, how to address fevers, etc..

 

http://www.askdrsears.com/

[Nestof3]

I don't know if this is the case where you live, but in our area, if a family member is ill and you want (or need) to bypass the long wait to be seen in the ER, call 911 and have the ambulance bring him or her to the hospital. Many emergency rooms give priority to patients arriving via ambulance.

 

Hopefully, you'll never need to visit another ER ever again with your dd, but just in case, I thought I'd mention the ambulance idea, because it sounds like your dd has been extremely ill. :grouphug:

 

Our area seems to have caught on to this because my mom tried it and she was still triaged and made to wait.

[LMA]

I think it varies state by state.

When I live in IN, they had no problem to give advises (not prescription) what to do with a fever, but I can't get same advise in NY. When I just moved to NY, I actually called my IN Dr ask for advise when my Hubby got a high fever.

 

They give advice with a fever or such but no official diagnosis whether you have a cold or pneumonia or strep or a virus, for example, or if you need antibiotics. The advice is just to make the patient more comfortable such as take Tylenol or Advil for a fever.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I have asked the pediatrician about the phone line and they say they cannot give any medical diagnosis over the phone. The purpose of the phone line is to help you determine if you can wait until morning or to advise you to seek medical attention somewhere. They will not prescribe drugs over the phone.

 

Not totally true. My doctor will prescribe drugs for conditions that he had already diagnosed over the phone - either a refill or sometimes a change in medication due to a reaction to the first prescribed medication.

 

Our pediatrician has a triage nurse. The purpose of the nurse is to triage the patient over the phone. That cannot possibly mean to tell every single person who calls to go to the ER. And in my case, she hasn't. She's gone over home treatments with me to make sure that I am following them with the child.

 

From the stories told on this board however, (and may I say that these stories have come from multiple countries), I am very fortunate to live in an area that usually has very good medical care and options. (We had a bad situation trying to get the MRI for our daughter but that was extremely unusual here.)

 

Also, one more thing that has nothing to do with the person I quoted, there are multiple times that someone has posted a "Dr. Hive" question on this board and I've said that I would wait it out and at least 10 other people have said to go to the ER. And to my knowledge, all updates have come back with the person going to the ER to be told it was a virus or given some OTC medication. (I have agreed in certain cases like the recent thread where someone's dh had very high bp, to go to the ER.) Which probably proves nothing. That we can't diagnose things off of the internet? And that different people have different experiences and tolerance for waiting things out?

[teeniebeenie6]

My ped has told us to go a couple of times. I trusted him as he is a Dr. We don't go now. I find the atmosphere at an ER's is often very rude and incompetent. A few year ago my newborn started bleeding anally. They wouldn't use the diaper I brought for testing, made us wait until he went to the bathroom again and then said that there was an error with testing and sent us home with no answers. We had been there like 6 hours. It was horrid.

[mommymilkies]

I'm seeing a lot of judgement here. You don't know all the facts behind these visits. Not to mention a lot of people who can't understand why one would go in for a fever do not live in rural areas. Most alternatives just are not possible rurally.

 

Like saying that ear infections or UTIs aren't ER worthy, I disagree if you are rural. My oldest went from fine to peeing black blood writhing in pain at 4 pm on a Friday. I've had enough kidney infections to know that I shouldn't make her wait that out. I went to the ER once for a busted toe. I was about to head out of town and my doc didn't have openings for weeks. It was quite frankly disgusting and oozing and horribly infected. I would rather have gone to urgent care, but there is no such thing here!

Edited September 24, 2012 by mommymilkies

[Dobela]

My ped has told us to go a couple of times. I trusted him as he is a Dr. We don't go now. I find the atmosphere at an ER's is often very rude and incompetent. A few year ago my newborn started bleeding anally. They wouldn't use the diaper I brought for testing, made us wait until he went to the bathroom again and then said that there was an error with testing and sent us home with no answers. We had been there like 6 hours. It was horrid.

My son did that as a toddler. We went to our regular pediatrician though who saw us right away. They couldn't use the regular disposible diaper though because of the chemicals in it. They actually wrapped his rear in plastic wrap, put on a cloth diaper (so it wouldn't soak up too much fluid) and waited until he went again to run the test.

[Nestof3]

When we took Ben in for vomitting a day after a car injury, we were not even given a doctor. He was about 23 years old and had a different title. All he did was the stuff I've seen people on TV do -- checked pupils, had him push up on arms, down on arms, and check balance. Cost = $800. The man was in the room for five minutes.

[teeniebeenie6]

When we took Ben in for vomitting a day after a car injury, we were not even given a doctor. He was about 23 years old and had a different title. All he did was the stuff I've seen people on TV do -- checked pupils, had him push up on arms, down on arms, and check balance. Cost = $800. The man was in the room for five minutes.

 

Wow, that is terrible! Robbery in my opinion.

[Nestof3]

I'm seeing a lot of judgement here. You don't know all the facts behind these visits. Not to mention a lot of people who can't understand why one would go in for a fever do not live in rural areas. Most alternatives just are not possible rurally.

 

Like saying that ear infections or UTIs aren't ER worthy, I disagree if you are rural. My oldest went from fine to peeing black blood writhing in pain at 4 pm on a Friday. I've had enough kidney infections to know that I shouldn't make her wait that out. I went to the ER once for a busted toe. I was about to head out of town and my doc didn't have openings for weeks. It was quite frankly disgusting and oozing and horribly infected. I would rather have gone to urgent care, but there is no such thing here!

 

If I am correct, each of us is speaking about people in our own community since they are in our own ERs. The people I refer to are people who live in a region abundant with urgent care centers and about five overcrowded hospitals.

[beaners]

Then find another doctor pronto bc that's ridiculous. I love our pediatrician bc he respects my judgement too.

 

For the most part, I haven't had trouble with any of the pediatricians we've used in multiple states. It's been my own doctors (and especially nurses) who scold me for not coming in sooner when I only had a slight cough a couple days ago. I'm confident enough in my own judgment to internally roll my eyes and thank them for running a strep test or whatever. The fact is though, many people put a lot more stock into what that nurse or doctor has to say.

[Jenny in Florida]

I did take my son into the ER once for a fever, because the pediatrician told me to do so.

 

It was quite high (over 104, as I recall) and not coming down with OTC meds.

 

The funny thing was that we ended up with a parade of doctors coming into the exam room to look him over and try to figure out what was happening. Finally, in exasperation, one doctor told me my son was the healthiest child they'd ever seen . . . . if it weren't for the darned fever.

 

We ended up alternating ibuprophen and acetominophen for a day or so, until the fever passed. We went to the pediatrician the next day for follow up, and they never did figure out what caused the fever.

[Murphy101]

I will say I don't think most of it is insurance or ignorance.

 

The majority of people I know who frequent the ER for stuff they likely don't need it for are people who:

 

Need a note to miss work the next day.

Need a note to miss school the next day.

 

If the kid has a fever they either have to medicate the symptoms and take them to school/daycare anyways (very very common) or sit in the ER getting a note excusing them from work to watch them. And often that doesn't always work either.

 

I don't think that's a sign of being uncaring or ignorant as much as yet another sign of how anti family work standards suck.

[Jenny in Florida]

I will say I don't think most of it is insurance or ignorance.

 

 

I do think a lot of it is insurance related, actually.

 

I know when we have gone through periods of not having medical insurance (because employers didn't provide it or we couldn't afford the cost), it was difficult to even find a doctor willing to see us. We were asked over the phone about our insurance before we were allowed to make appointments, and most practices refused to see us at all if we were uninsured.

 

My brother-in-law found the same thing. He had a variety of chronic health problems and could not afford to maintain a regular relationship with a doctor. When he got too sick to function, he'd go to the ER. They'd patch him up enough to make him mobile and transfer him to the county hospital. He'd rack up bills there was no way he'd ever be able to pay, but it was the only way he'd be seen at all.

 

For folks living without insurance, an ER is often the only place to get care, because they have to treat people who show up there.