Do I Need to Change Pediatricians

I would definitely see another doctor for a second opinion at the very least. When a child is running a high fever with a runny nose and cough, it could be a secondary bacterial infection that resulted from the original viral infection.

Absolutely S.!!!! No child should be sick for that long. You need to find a practice that you feel more comfortable with and one that understands your baby & your needs!!! Get far away from your currentMD PLEASE!!!!! I have recommendations for peds in the Skokie & Lake in the Hills, IL area if you are interested.

D.

I can totally understand your situation. My son started a new daycare the month before, and last month started getting very sever asthma attacks during the night. I was treating my son with an inhaler in the night(this is the second winter he is getting the attacks), but when it started getting worse, I went to the clinic for a preventive (for the winter) and treatment. The first doctor said to wait and see if it gets worse. If it didn't get better in a few days to come back. I came back in a few days as it only got worse, and he was running a fever. The second doctor (it is a practice of 5 doctors who alternate in seeing patients), just looked at him for 2 seconds, said that he couldn't find anything, and left. I was on the verge of tears.

I immediately took my son to a family friend who is a Pediatrician. She prescibed a preventive inhaler, but we eventually had to give him a course of steroids as we had waited too long for treatment (the asthma stopped responding to the inhaler).

I went back to the practice to talk to the Manager and to say that I was not happy with the care given (though of course we were charged each time $180 and $109). She was considerate and even made the first doctor call us up for a follow up. I just listened to him, but I promised I would never go back there.

The summary-go to a doctor you are comfortable with. Cough medicine is usually avoided in kids so young (as it doesn't allow them to get the mucus out).

I agree with the others, but maybe also he needs to change daycare? Maybe they are not taking enough measures to be hygenic. Just my two cents worth...

I wouldn't walk to a new pediatrician, I would run...quickly

Always follow your gut. If you feel that there is something more going on and you are not getting results from his ped take him somewhere else. Maybe the next time take him to urgent care or ER before changing pediatricians. I do not know what area you are in but I have a fabulous ped in Plano. My oldest began getting ear infections at about 6 months old. He had tubes put in at 18 months and again at 2 1/2 as well as adenoids removed then. Every time he would get the sniffles he would get an ear infection. He was on antibiotics a lot. He very rarely developed a cough though. It sounds as if there is more going on. I would definitely see someone else. Good Luck.

You need to choose a doctor that you feel comfortable with. If you don't feel like yours are listening to you or taking the time to answer your questions you should complain or change.

That said, antibiotics don't do anything for colds- only for bacterial infection. The fear for giving antibiotics is that giving them too often will cause your body to develop bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics which can cause serious infections and require very strong medications.

Prescription cold medicines treat only symptoms and not the actual virus, just the same as over the counter remedies. Giving very young kids cough suppresants or decongesants can mask symptoms so it would be more difficult to tell if the cold has evolved into pneumonia or a sinus infection. They aren't able to easily tell us what is going on so it is important to read the symptoms.

The only medicines available to treat viruses are very expension and rarely given- for AIDS patients or people with depressed immune systems.

So, the most important thing you can do is keep your son's fever low with Tylenol or Motrin and watch the cold symptoms to make sure they don't get worse. I would ask your doctor to discuss their protocols for treatment with you- like for instance bronchitis is generally going to be bacterial so anitbiotics would be appropriate then, but not for a cold.

Hope some of this helps and good luck. It is so hard to find a doctor you have faith in.

Wanted to add that the current treatment protocol for ear infection is to wait 72 hours to treat unless there is a very high fever, the child is under 6 months old, or the child is immunocompromised.

going to a new ped might be the answer or might not. sometimes you end up with the same thing, but your doc should explain things to you and make you feel confident in what they're doing. Antibiotics are never recommended for something cause by a virus (all kinds of congestions and diarrhea usually is). Now, ear infections even get delayed from ABX for 5 days, a lot of times they clear up on their own. I would be hesitant to give my child ABX or cough medicine anyway.
Make sure he is eating healthy, staying plenty hydrated and WASHING HANDS!! check out the day care too. A new day care may be the answer.

Ask them for a referral to an allergist or ENT. Sometimes they cannot offer to refer you (depends on your insurance,) you have to actually ASK to be referred. Insurance these days and the possibility of lawsuits, etc. has made healthcare just IMPOSSIBLE in my opinion!
My daughter went through the same situation at a later age and after I *asked* to be referred to an allergist and she did a physical and allergy testing, it was determined that my daughter had VERY enlarged tonsils (some enlargement is normal in children) and she referred her to an ENT who confirmed and lasered her tonsils.
I would exhaust options before a tonsillectomy at this age though because it is EXTREMELY dangerous for a small child to undergo general anesthesia- so do your homework online and in the library, as well as second opinions.
If you feel like you should change Peds- go with your heart and your gut. Moms have instincts for a reason! Trust yourself!
Hope this helps,
Amanda

It seems like different doctors and different practices have different philosophies. So although their way may be perfectly valid (it's really hard to get antibiotics in Europe for kids, from what I've heard) it may not work well for your family. In any case, if you don't feel heard or that your concerns are being answered, yes, I'd find another ped. I am so happy we switched pediatricians when my older son was 3. Night and day, in every way! You'll be seeing a lot of these people, and it doesn't sound like you have a lot of trust in them. Even if they are medically correct, you also should feel comfortable. I would look into switching.

I know how frustrated you must feel. I think you should find a new doctor. Keep switching until you find one you like. Your child is worth it. If I were you, the next time your son gets a fever or even for the bad cough I would take him to the ER (check with your insurance company in case there are "rules"). They will be able to do more tests there right away. I always feel like more gets done at the hospital. I would also look for another daycare or talk to the other parents and see if other children are sick too.

previous posts have dealt with a lot of the issues you raised, but I'm going to throw in my 2 cents. As moms, we want to give our kids relief and sometimes that seems like getting antibiotics. In truth, it usually isn't the answer. Yes, your son is getting sick because he's started day care. It's possible that the center you're using isn't following good protocol, but it's also possible that it's the nature of day care that kids get sick more often. Some thoughts on this...model good protocol yourself. Wash yours and your kids hands every time you come into the classroom and ask that that become standard for everyone coming in. This will go A LONG way towards preventing spread. Ask the center management and the classroom teachers about their philosophy on pacifiers in the classroom...if kids are walking around with their paci's in their mouths, inevitably someone's going to grab it and pop it in their mouth...great way to spread germs. Same with mouthing toys. At this age, they're ready to start learning that it's not an appropriate way to play with toys. In my twins' center, the kids all know that if a teacher sees them put a toy in their mouth, they'll be told to take it to the bleach bucket and drop it in (it's not full of bleach, but a bucket that is used to clean toys with bleach solution at the end of the day). Finally, know that it does settle down and that numerous studies have shown that day care kids have far fewer illnesses when they start school than kids that have been home until school starts. In other words, it either happens now or later. Everyone has to be exposed to these viruses and bugs in order to build their immune system, it's just a question of when.
The bottom line on your ped is that regardless of whether they are right in not giving your son antibiotics (and cold medicine never happens, although we've gotten steroids for a croupy cough), you should feel like you're being heard and responded to with respect.

Hi,

I know working moms need daycare. I was a lucky one and had family able to care for my girls when they were younger. Daycares are known for spreading germs fast. Look for a cleaner daycare. One that uses precautions, disinfects all the time and uses gloves when changing children. My sister works at a Childrens World and I have seen the ways that they have and do with to protect each child. One thing that they press upon if a child is sick keep them home. So many children just keep passing on the same illness through the entire winter season.

Make sure the daycare is not sharing your things with the other children keep tract on how often you have to replenish your wipes, diapers and ointments.

Hope this helps.

J.
www.noahbyjodi.com

Hi S.,

I agree with some of what the mom's said - viral has to be waited out & bacterial infections can be treated with antibiotics. However, you should be able to treat some of viral SYMPTOMS (like congestion) with meds to make your little one more comfortable. It won't necessarily make the viral infection go away faster but he may feel better. Obviously, check the meds to use with your doctor or pharmacist. Also, you are your child's advocate. If you don't feel you/he is not getting the best care or needs a 2nd opinion, then go to another doctor. I can recommend my friend's pediatrician that she takes her 14 month old daughter to. She really likes him. His name Dr David Brotman in Arlington Heights - ###-###-####. Also, Dr Lori Hochberg, I don't have her number, but she has offices in Highland Park & Vernon Hills. My friend is the nurse manager there as well as I used to babysit for Dr Hochberg's friends. Good Luck!

The same thing happened to my son when he started daycare at 15 mos. Our doctor would say the same thing that it is viral (becasue he went to daycare) and just make him comfortable. I think we saw every doctor in the practice until we found two that said we have to do something about this (Yeah) Dr. Pervos, and Dr. Salvino. The problem was that because of it my son was getting fluid on the ear so then the doctor gave antibiotics, now they do not hesitate. I keep on them, I would say he is so sick this can't be normal. It took 4mos to clear it up with off and on antibiotics (6 week coarse) My son goes to a ear nose and throat specialist now because when he gets a cold it turns into a sinus infection (you can tell by the green mucus). We go to Sanders in Arlington Height on Rand for his doctor, they are all nice and the ear nose and throat in the same building (Dr. Ziffra).

Keep on the doctor if he is getting ear infections and can't fight them they should give you antibiotics. They only give prescription cough med's when it is so bad the the child is throwing up, and you don't want to stuff up his nose keep it running. Try saline spray a few times a day and get out that old blub suringe.

It does get better - once he gets that immune system up it won't be as bad. The problem is everytime a new kid comes in the class everyone gets sick.
If you need my doctors phone numbers let me know.

If they give him antibiotic he might get diarria, which our son did, his system couldn't handle them. The doctor told us to give him florasor, you get it at the pharmacy but you don't need a prescription.

R.

I have 3 kids and work full-time 50 minutes away from my sitter and have taken my kids many times to the Ped thinking it was an ear infection, when in fact it was not. I agree with the philosophy of not overusing antibiotics and my Ped is too. That said, there is no way for a Ped to be able to predict that cold symptoms will turn into an infection. However, it is my understanding the after so many ear infections (not sure of the number) that alternatives need to be explored, like tubes in the ears. If you are reminding the Ped that he has had x number of ear infections and they still are not taking you seriously, then I would change as well. Addtionally, they should be telling you what things would warrant a follow up visit, fever of x degrees for x days, etc. My Ped is in Batavia, I can get you the number if that location is convenient for you.

In regards to the coughing, my Ped is also reluctant to even suggest over the counter measures for children under 2. The only one he has offered up is Dimetapp, all the others have too much decongestant in them for small children.

If I were in your situation, I would be running from the daycare your child is in. If it is a large group daycare, are they strict in their sick child policies? My sitter only watches 1 other families children, so unless my kids have the flu, she is fine with sick kids because she can control the hand washing and other contact. Maybe a home daycare is a better alternative.

I hope you get some relief.

S.,
The doctors are probably correct that your child is sick so often because of viruses contracted at his daycare. You do not want to give antibiotics unnecessarily. This leads to other problems. You might want to switch doctors to feel you are being heard, but switching to get a different answer when you have consulted so many doctors in that practice probably would be pointless.
A lifesaver of a book for me is The Baby Book by Dr. William Sears. This is a clearly written book that basically tells a lot about child development and when and when not to worry about your child. There also is a section on daycare.
It's not easy but, based on medical advice I have received for my kids, it sounds like these doctors are correct in not prescribing antibiotics. Also, I swear by natural remedies--especially to relieve coughs and sore throats. Your son will become stronger after more time in daycare.
Amy