(Please remember once again, we are not doctors or at all related to the medical profession or even play one on TV. We just have lots of experience dealing with illness and doctors. Always consult your physician.)
Our family recently recovered from the illness of the month. This time it was strep. But it always seems to be something--stomach issues, fevers, congestion, sore throats.
While the remedies for all that ails us ranges from prescription meds to "wait it out," one thing is for certain--it sucks to see your kids sick and in pain.
Because of this, I think as parents we sometimes tend to leap before we look. And it never fails to surprise me that year after year, the more experienced (one would think) I get with illness, I still leap too soon.
In reflection on this past bout of sickness, I'd like to share some wisdom I've gained over the past few years to save some of you the hassle of leaping before you look, observe and consult. And my hope is that many of you will chime in as well, since this is collective knowledge.
1) Not all fevers are bad. Thanks to a very helpful nurse very early on, I was reassured that fevers are a sign of fighting infection. A high fever (even up to 104 in toddlers) while a sign of sickness doesn't usually warrant the response I usually have. Which is something like "Oh my God. My kid's brain is going to bake." Apparently, that's not true. My latest doctor told me it bakes around 108. Always good knowledge to have.
2) Tylenol and Motrin is a 'fever reducer' not a 'fever go-awayer.' I believed for many years that once you gave a kid meds the fever would disappear. Again if you have a 103 degree fever, chances are medicine isn't going to make it go away, but it will make it go down so your child can feel better. Whew!
3) Not all ear infections need prescription meds. This once shocked me as well. An ENT in Sweden informed me when my daughter had her second ear infection. The first she was four months old and had a ruptured ear drum and he thought that definitely called for antibiotics. However, four months later when she was struck with pain again, he assured me we had too many antibiotics in our community and that most were viral anyway and to wait it out. Floored by this response, I was surprised that four days later she was better. Now come to find out, doctors here in the states are following suit with a similar recommendation.
4) Strep throat is only the cause of approximately 30% of sore throats.* I learned this little fact from the nice nurse at the CVS Minute Clinic. (By the way, if you don't know these, check them out!) For any of you who have taken your preschooler to get one of these strep tests, you know that it sucks for them and you. So look before you leap on this one.
An added note on this: After you've had strep in your house a few times, you'll recognize the pungent smell that comes from it. Stick your child in a room for 5 minutes and come back, if it reeks of some awful bad breath smell, chances are it's strep.
5) Croup sounds scarier than it is. We are veterans of croup. But I am happy to say that after four years of annual croup visits, it has been a long time since that cough has resurfaced in our house. I promise you will panic the first time you hear this cough, and you might even make it to the doctor or ER for this one. But keeping your child calm and comfortable seems to be about the best medicine. There are the cases where you should take them if they can't breathe, obviously. We did have one of our trips to the ER that was semi-warranted, but they assured us that we probably could have gotten him calmed down enough to breathe regularly. 'Probably' wasn't good enough so we went. But that was our last trip to the ER for croup even though we had many more visits from the cough.
6) You'll only make one high-fever ER run. Again, like croup, a fever of 104 in the middle of the night will scare the bejeebers out of you. You'll pack up and fly out the door to the hospital only to be welcomed with a slew of blood work and tests that will make everyone upset and exhausted the following day. Yep, we did it and you will too. We guarantee you'll only do it once. Chalk it up as a learning experience and one to pass along to other moms.
And while cold and flu season is over now, we're positive, something will show up in your house in the future. Remember to stay calm and observe before you leap or sprint to the ER. After all, you probably have another child or two to drag along with you.
*This number was quoted from the nurse.
As far as fever goes, it's not always the number on the thermometer that matters, but the way the child is acting. If the thermometer reads 100, but they are lethargic and not acting normal, it might be a more serious fever than if the thermometer read 104 and they are active. Also, it's important to note that a fever is the body's way of fighting off infection. So giving Motrin/Tylenol shouldn't always be the first line of action. Talk to your doctor about what would work best for your kid.
Posted by: Laura | Apr 14, 2011 at 12:08 PM
While I'm new to baby bunching, with a 7 week old and a 21 month old, I've been a doctor for 13 years. I specialize in treating without medication. You are exactly right about the fever. It is not as much a sign if how sick your child is, but how hard their immune system is working to fight off the illness. Also, viruses tend to cause higher fevers than bacterial infections, so antibiotics for a very high fever are typically useless!
That said, there's never anything wrong with getting reassurance if you are unsure about an illness. I do have a few parents though, who just don't accept the fact that watchful waiting, good nutrition an hydration are all that's necessary. For them, I'm sure there are plenty of other docs who are happy to give them something!
Posted by: Beverly | Apr 14, 2011 at 12:52 PM
I have a small bone to pick with #3...we were told the same thing, by a doc here in the US, for my now-2 yr old, who got ear infections EVERY time she got a tooth. My super-smart Ped was the one who told us that they'd probably stop when teething did (he was right) and that unless they continued into age 3 tubes weren't warranted. HOWEVER...the information you were given in Europe is another incidence of misinformation by necessity. Its true, in Europe (and I'm sure elsewhere in the world, owing to causes other than what I'm about to go over, like availability of antibiotics) they have begun recommending that children do not receive antibiotics for most, if not all ear infections. The however part is that they do this because antibiotics were SO overprescribed/readily available in Europe throughout the past 20ish years. The accessibility of health care (and the relative price of medical/rx) helped this along, and now they have MUCH higher rates of drug-resistant infections like MRSA. The only way to begin to bring MRSA-like problems under control is to reduce the type, and amount of antibiotics, in the general population so that in years to come the infection will have mutated to once again react to the antibiotics. Thus, for "low grade" infections, like ear infections, they're taking away antibiotics- not because its the best course of treatment for the child, but because its the only way they can control life-threatening things for sicker patients.
There are several news articles out there from the past several years (i'll repost when I have time to look for them) about this issue, but my information came from my two Doctors Without Borders friends, a family friend doc in Norway, and an RN (equivalent) in France when we got ear infection #7 while on vacation.
So if your doc tells you its the newest treatment and what they're doing in Europe, well, he's right, but they're not doing it because its the best course of action for the child, but because its the only course of action they have for much sicker/more susceptible patients....at least based on the info I was given by some "in the know" friends.
Posted by: Audrey | Apr 14, 2011 at 09:04 PM
Here's a couple of those links:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34633137/ns/health-infectious_diseases/
http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/health/blog/dailydose/2011/01/antibiotics_do.html
Posted by: Audrey | Apr 14, 2011 at 09:21 PM
I definitely agree with the comment about how important it is to observe how your child is acting if s/he has a fever. My son had a fever-induced seizure last summer with a fever around 103 and I had to call an ambulance (and we never found the cause for the fever, either). It all depends on the kid. If they're acting loopy, take 'em to the doc!
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