Update on My Daughter's Medical Issue

There is no need to freak out.
A culture needs a few days, the whole point of a culture is growing out the bacteria taken from your DD's skin. There is no way to make bacteria grow any faster than what they do for a regular culture. They will streak the swab out on a plate, put it in an incubator and let it grow. It takes a day or two plus the time needed to ship the specimen to the lab and evaluate and transmit the results back to the doctor.
I had mentioned on your previous post that a blood draw is not necessary to test for a bacterial skin infection. A culture is the way to go, a biopsy is more invasive and painful and you really don't want to cut into the skin if she indeed has a staph infection... that would just open up a way for the bacteria to get deeper into the tissue. It is something that they will do if there is no infection found to determine what else it may be.

I think you can take a deep breath and try to relax until you get the results. Until then I would just treat your household as if she had staph and start washing and sanitizing... that will give you something to do and will prevent spreading whatever it is to other members of your family.

You can always get a second opinion if you don't trust your doctor, but medically speaking I believe that her approach is standard of care. It is ok for doctors to not identify things like this on sight, especially if the presentation is not exactly typical - a good doctor would order a culture before prescribing strong antibiotics - and that is exactly what was done here.

Good luck!

I agree with Ina G. Putting STAT on a culture does nothing. It will not grow any quicker. Blood work would not help u less she had a fever. Sit tight and let us know what happens. Starting to sound like impetigo. Just be patient. No need to freak out about anything. Staph and impetigo are treatable.

Another doctor is just going to give you an educated guess. The test will hopefully provide you with an answer. I think it is excellent news that your son's issue has resolved itself. You should find comfort in that. Perhaps by Friday your daughter will even be better.

Please wait. Freaking out is of no help to you or your children. It's highly unlikely that this is anything serious. Kids get sores. It's also highly unlikely that another doctor is going to do anything differently. Practicing medicine is just that a practice. There are frequently no exact answers to some things. It's a matter of testing and trying out different solutions.

I suggest that the moms who insisted on a blood test are not doctors and have no medical training or experience with a variety of sores and causes. A blood test is not a cure all for all situations. Trust your doctor and the medical profession to find the answers and to know how to go about doing so.

S.:

I understand your stress. However, freaking out is not going to solve anything.

You need to stay calm and advocate for your children. I would hope that the doctor put a "STAT" on the culture so you don't have to wait 3 days.

Glad to hear that your son is better. And that you have postponed your daughter's surgery.

To get a second opinion? Yes, you can. If you feel you need to - do.

Good luck.

i dont think your kids are in severe danger from this condition. a dermatologist might have a better idea on what they have..

but cultures take time for the germ to grow.

my kid had a strep test sent to the lab.. it takes up to 8 days to get results..seems liek a long time.. but we dont know how to make bacteria grow faster than that.. just relax...

Definitely get a second opinion. Mom's overrule doctors and if they are not going to do what you request, then it sounds like they just want to charge for another office visit and drag it out.

Go with your gut feeling. It's always worked best for me.

My hope is they find out what is going on and soon.

Many blessings.

Marda's right, we aren't doctors. However, in your last post, you said that your daughter would be having surgery. Every time I have had any surgery, they have done bloodwork beforehand. That is why the ladies on that thread recommended that it be done in hopes of finding out what is wrong, before you submitted your child to surgery.

Now you aren't having surgery. They won't do bloodwork. Okay, well, she's doing a culture. So wait until the test results come back on this.

I would still clean as much as you can at home.

Let us know what happens!
Dawn