Does Your Kids Dr. Do This?

It is ok to wait it out. She will be fine. I and my ped are firm believers in waiting it out. They can't giver her meds for something she doesn't have yet. It will only help build up her immunity by letting her body fight it off. It is necessary in some cases to need antibiotics but the reason why we are having issues with these superbugs is because over the decades doctors have over prescribed antibiotics.
Her coughing all night is definitely frustrating but that comes with having kiddos:)

I've learned to wait it out before I see a doctor.
Doctors listen much better if you can say she's already had this a week or two rather than she came down with it 3 days ago.
A fever has to be high (> 103) and/or doesn't come down with Tylenol, and lingers more than a week is reason to see a doctor.
I also learned it's often the trying to dry things out which thickens the mucus and the thickened mucus is much more likely to clog up ears/sinuses and gives a chance for bacteria to grow.
Keep up with the humidifier, have her drink plenty of fluids - soup, herbal tea - chamomile is good at any age but herbal because there's no caffeine), juice, water (back off on dairy/milk since it sometimes can thicken mucus) and use a neti pot with tepid saline to rinse her nose out as often as you need to.
You can certainly change doctors if you want to, but jumping the gun with any doctor will get you the same results.

Yes, our pediatrician likes for our children to wait it out for about a week, then will usually call in a prescription if they aren't better. This is because most of the illnesses going around are caused from several different viruses and using antibiotics will not make your child better.

It sounds as if your doctor is actually very smart and if I were you, I would not switch. Now if he was quick to give your child a presription even if there were no other signs of ear infection or other bacterial infection, you might consider switching.

I agree that when your child is kept up at night coughing, she might need antibiotics. At this point she may indeed have an ear or sinus infection.

Good luck.

Hi.
So sorry for what you are going through.
from my short career as a mom -- 3 years -- my dr waits it out when she/he thinks it may be viral and thus not need antibiotic. They will wait a few days to see if it becomes bacterial or not so as not to OD on antibioticsw. Does that make sense?

I know this can be frustrating, especially when our LOs are suffering. There is a balance i guess between the OD on antibiotics and allowing a bit more pain....

different drs have different approaches to this balance. i would perhaps raise the issue with my dr before changing drs....if you prefer to take antibiotics earlier, i would share this point of view and maybe lessen the wait to 2 rather than 3 days.

hope this helps

your dr is following the current recommendations. Antibiotics are over prescribed and are loosing their effectiveness. If we keep giving kids antibiotics everytime they get a bit sick.. then the drugs will not work when they get really sick.

my dr does the same thing. even for ear infections we have to do watchful waiting.. letting the childs body fight the infection. however.. some infectins they treat quickly.. my daughter had a certain type of ear infection that caused blisters on her eardrum they gave antibiotics immediately.. my son had a skin infection and he was prescribed antibiotics.. but for coughs and respiratory things.. they watch and wait and see if the child will get better.

Yes, my doctor waits it out and I'm soooooo glad. I do not want to give any more medicine than necessary, and every time your daughter's body fights off a big sickness, she's that much stronger for the future. So if you feel you can trust him to identify a problem that needs meds (sounds liek you can't), I'd be happy. But if you want one who is a little more quick to prescribe, since he has allowed your other daughter to escalate into worse illnesses, definitely switch. Although, that's a pain. If I were you, I might just tell him, "You know what, I really want to give her something for this. Please prescribe something." I'm always refusing my doctor's advice. He thinks I'm crazy, but in the end they will accommodate usually.

I'd rather have your doctor than some of the ones we have been blessed with. Some docs just throw drugs at the ailment. We have been prescribed the wrong medication. We have been misdiagnosed. I learned with the oldest, now I wait it out. I also look up meds before I give them to my children, except amoxicillin for strep.

I agree with your doc to wait it out. So many over prescribe antibiotics and now we have a problem of them not working anymore. I know it is frustrating to have a sick child but that is also a part of being a parent.
I take my daughter to the chiropractor when she has a runny nose or cough. She gets an adjustment to help her sinus’s drain and this prevents ear and sinus infections. My daughter is 5 and has never needed or taken antibiotics.

The most important thing now is to loosen and thin the mucus. There are a variety of OTC meds that will do this. You should give her some cough medicine and a decongestant before she goes to bed to make her more comfortable. And lots and lots of liquids and rest during the day. If you aren't helping to relieve the symptoms, the mucus will get thick and "stuck" and that's when it starts to get infected.

I think most doctors have you wait it out now. They used to over prescribe, and now, they have you wait it out because of all of the antibiotic resistant infections. The more antibiotics that are given, the more likely a bug will become drug resistant.

My pediatrician does the same and my BIL and SIL (nurse practitioners) wish that more doctors did the same! Most infections truly do run their course naturally, even ear infections. If he can tell definitively "what it is", then he may prescribe something, but very often he will tell us to come back in 3 days if the symptoms aren't improving or if the fever doesn't break. Otherwise, rest... liquids... and quiet time.

Just as with most replies, I would wait it out. We took our DD to the ER recently for a fever and she was shaking, I feared a seizure as I never seen her act like this and it was an ear infection. Even the ER doc said treat the fever at home first, wait 72 hours and if it hasn't broke on it's own, then go to the drs. Personally, I would be hesitant to use herbal stuff on my child, but that is me and I am sure others have seen success. I think your Doctor is right though on waiting. Our Primary Care physician that my husband and I see says the same thing, "Don't bother coming in unless it has been at the very least 7 days!" Sorry she is missing preschool but I think the doc is doing the same as most would. I would be concerned if they were prescribing meds so quick. Best of luck and hope for restfull nights sleep.

The problem is that now a lot of OTC meds are not recommended for kids under 4 or 6. So you have to wait it out. There's not as much they can do. I would bring her back and have a discussion with the dr. about your child's regular health. My husband had to fight with his doctor about his re-occuring sinus infections. He'd be well, and four to six weeks later, bam! Finally he got an MRI or CAT scan and they discovered a pocket of infection the short term ABs can't reach. Sometimes you need to push back. My mom was often frustrated with my sister's doctors because by the time Mom brought her in, it was walking pneumonia and they wouldn't believe D was fine 2 days prior. I remember her fighting with the doctor about how "you always make me wait! I know my kid!"

My son just got over a cold that was the same thing. Doc said she's seen several cases of it. Flu-like symptoms. Fever started Friday night and not back to school until Thursday, but still coughing a little. He was very tired, caughing keeping him up at night. It was a wait it out bug unfortunately. I got the same thing. We did give him some Delsym which I think helped a little. I am not a big fan of just prescribing antibiotics. My son got C.Dif (kills good bacteria in your system) once from antibiotics and I am paranoid now. It was very difficult to get through as the medicine to treat it is HORRIBLE. So I won't give antibiotics unless they are sure and then make sure he takes probiotics and yogurt. Some kids bodies just react differently. I know when I get sick, 99% of the time I end up with a sinus infection (like now!).

They waited a month with the cough business before they prescribed singular. The cough was bothersome and got worse through the day. Singular helped and we had her on the regiment about 3 months before taking her off of it.

Your doctor probably thinks is might be viral. There are some things you can try to treat the symptoms and make her feel better though. A spoon full of honey has been found to be just as effective as cough syrup as a cough suppressant for instance, and I know that chamomile tea always helps my children's coughs (and my own), though it also makes them sleepy so I usually reserve it for naptime or night time, unless they're feeling so sick that more sleep is called for. And, of course, there's tylenol or ibuprofen for the fever. It could be that she does have allergies, and then cought a cold on top of it. I would definitely trust your instincts though -- if you think she needs to be seen again, take her back. Maybe even try to see a different doctor in the practice for a second opinion?

My Dr. waits it out as well, which is fine w/ me most of the time. Its hard when no one is getting any sleep, though! My son had a horrible cough two weeks ago, ped said "viral" and to give Mucinex and Benadryl, use humidifier and Vicks vapo rub. It was gone about 4 days later.

Go to the health food store or wherever they sell herbal tinctures. Get Ribus Nigrum (latin name). It's black current in a tincture. This will ease her cough if you give it 4x a day. It's very helpful in allergic reactions to pets and it helps with keeping infections away. It'll cure one you can't tell you have.

My 5 yr old child had this same exact thing. The Dr prescribed a medicated inhaler. It was really expensive, but my son only needed to use it twice a day (morning and night) for a week before his cough totally cleared up. Sounds like your Dr is waiting and seeing a bit too long since the cough has been going on for 2 weeks.

Waiting it out is appropriate. Most illnesses will clear up on their own. If your child has a virus, you can't give her an antibiotic anyway. You can only treat the symptoms. If she had a bacterial infection then an antibiotic might help.

A fever is merely a sign that her body is fighting an infection. That's a good thing, actually, as it means her body is doing its job. As long as it's not a sustained high fever and can be controlled with Children's Motrin or Children's Tylenol then she'll be fine. Just let her get a lot of rest and fluids and don't let her overdo things physically until she's no longer getting the fevers.

Coughs can linger for several weeks. As long as the cough doesn't get worse and/or doesn't linger for months it's normal. A sinus infection would be apparent if the mucus coming out of her turns green or yellow, thick, gooey, and opaque rather than clear and runny.

I think they have you wait because if it's not an infection it will go away on it's own in 7-10 days. You do everything you can for her during that time (and it sounds like you are - humidifier, etc) and if her body doesn't fight it off thats when you go to the dr. My son, in the past, has had a fever for 24-36 hrs and then it was gone! No reason why, just figured his body was fighting off the germs. That being said, if it's something beyond that - super high fever, crazy rash, highly irritable, anything more than typical cold symptoms then of course don't wait to bring her to the dr. Just a thought...does your humidifier have settings? Maybe there's too much moisture in the air in her room. Maybe a lower setting would help. Also, should be cleaning humidifier once a week with white vinegar and hot water. Bacteria builds up fast in them! Good luck :)

Get a second opinion. She could need nebulizer treatments or as you said antibiotics. I am with you and I own a preschool. So many of my parents take their children to the doctor and are told it's nothing and they are back 3 times before they give them medication. In the meantime I have these poor children sick and spreading the illness. I have had 3 cases of pneumonia just this week. When originally they were told it was allergies. I would get a second opinion. If you can't find a doc right away go to the ER they can do a chest xray right then and there . If she does need nebulizer treatments they will do that as well. I know doctors do not want to over treat with antibiotics but sometimes medication is needed. If she has had the cough that long and now is running a fever it has to be something. I don't see why waiting any longer is going to make it go away. Keep us posted!!