When to take you child to the doctor?

I'm a mother of 4 and no I don't take my kids in to the doc for every little thing. Sore throats I don't unless it turns into strep. Throwing up I don't unless they are deathly dehydrated. My rule is that I don't take them in unless I think there's a medicine that could be perscribed to help them, like antibiotics. If we went for every little thing, we'd be there every week and I'd have a mountain of bills. I've found that most of the time when the kids get sick TLC does far more than a doctor visit can.

If I took my children to the doctor every time they had a cold or threw up...I would have a doctor appointment too often. LOL Not saying that my kids are sickly...because they actually are pretty healthy kids! But my daughter had a headache so bad the other night, she threw up. Migraine run in my family and I started when I was 7 years old. So, this is nothing new to me. I do what I know works best for me. Give her some meds, have her take a nice hot shower, and put her to bed. Colds...I will let their immune system fight it out mostly. I think the more their immune system learns to fight it, the better it is for them. They do not become reliant on medication to help them through it. When I do take them to a doctor though is when I know that I can not help them. If they have a fever that lasts for more than 3 days and or can not be controlled with medication...they are going to the doctor. My youngest was a very sick baby. But we later found out why....but I will stick to the point of when to take them to the doctor. My youngest got fevers often and we didn't know why. But most often, could be controlled with meds. However, there were a few times that I could not control his temp and it lasted for a few days. I would often sleep on the couch with him when he was that ill or take him to bed with us. And one night, I could not keep his fever down at all! Nor could he hold any fluids down. Worried, my partner and I took him to the hospital! The hospital was freaked because he was so dehydrated and his temp was 103..running close to 104! They give him an IV of fluids and more medication. But they found nothing to cause it! So, it has become my rule that if I can not control the pain, fever, illness and it lasts for 3 days or more...that is when I take them to the doctor. And trust me...with 7 kids, I have already had my share of doctor visits...I do not want to make any for something that is not really necessary.

My first criteria is fever and throwing up. Kids are easy to catch cold. All you have to watch is fever. If you know your child, you know when is sick.

I take my son to the doctor after I try and treat the illness at home and he doesn't get better. I would say with colds you can usually treat at home...but if they aren't better in the a couple of days...then I would take them.

I think parents should see the danger signs and symptoms such as persistent symptoms not relieved by the standard over-the-counter medications like phenylpropanolamine for colds, or paracetamol for fever. If the child's fever has already reached 40 degrees celsius or even 39, and not curable by paracetamol and home remedies such as water baths or sponge baths, then he must bring the child to the hospital. If parents are also seeing unusual signs and symptoms such as appearance of rashes, discoloration, acute respiratory distress, cyanosis, extreme pain, and other dangerous signs, they should bring the child to the hospital.

im really anal about taking my son to the dr.. he has actually only been to the dr twice other then his usual check ups (he is almost 3).. one time was because he was running a 102 fever and it wasnt breaking with tylenol or the like and he was under a year old.. i rushed him to the ER (thats what all the parenting books say to do!) only to have them tell me i didnt need to bring him in, that they wouldnt run any tests on him ect.. and just to alternate ibuprofen and tylenol to bring down the fever! the second time was because he had chicken pox.. and well i had to take him in because of his day care.. oh and wait i forgot.. i also took him in when we cought broncitus (again the drs wouldnt do anything for him).. we recently were really sick with some type of flu.. and i thought about taking him in because he had been sick for almost a week.. but he was hydrated enough and had no fever after the first day or two.. i find it rediculous when parents run their kids to the dr for every little cough or scratch! most of the time the dr will just send them back home anyways..

When my son was small I used a rule of thumb if he was running a temp and throwing up or had upset sotmach for more than one day I would take him. Children are touch, but their immune system is not. They have not been around enough germs to build up an immunity so it is best to take them when things are not healing well. They are like the elderly, you have to treat them as if every little thing may kill them. So always take them when it has been over 24 hours and things are not getting better.

i take my baby to the doctor if he has fever,or having a hard time breathing.. whenever he has cough,because untreated cough will leads to bronchitis and bronco pneunomia. i am so careful about that. as of now that is the only problem i have encountered with my baby boy... goodluck happy parenting

You could also get advice from a family member that has had experience in raising kids, like your mother. ;-)

I take kids to the doctoris say they are vomiting for about 3 or 4 days straight and not keeping any fluids down Also I go with my motherly instinct.If its nothing when i take them to the Doctor then it was better to have taken them than to have been somethng serious.My son had the flu about a month and a half ago and I took him to the doctor because he wasnt keeping anything down not even pedialyte in a 3 day period.And I knew he wasnt his self because he would lay on the floor or bed and not want to play.

if my daugher just has a cold i usually don't take her in, unless she gets a very high fever that won't go down in 24 hours then i will. if she is throwing up and it's just the flu i won't take her in, unless that lasts more than 24 hours. you can usually tell when it's not too bad but if your kid starts acting differently than usuall, i'd take them in. meaning if your kid has a fever but is still playing and doesn't seem to really bother them, they'll be fine but if they lie on the couch or in bed for 2 days then i'd get them checked out.

Last week our daughter got her first high fever and I was ready to jump in the Jeep and head down to the doctors. My wife told me to wait and keep an eye on her for a little while and in twenty minutes her fever went down and she was off to sleep. I found that the Tylenol cold would only be effective for about 4 hours and then her fever would start to rise, the recommended dose was every 6-8 hours. I guess we would go to the doctor if she had a sustained fever and the medicine wasn't working, excessive vomiting and not drinking, or blood in vomit or poop, and signs of an earache.

Some parents (especially new parents) take there child to the doctor for every little thing....I swear with my first child I should have had my own parking spot at the ER entrance, He was a croopy baby and that deep cough worried me deeply. But with my second, I hardly ever take her. If she has a cold or something minor, She still has her personality shining through, but if something is seriously wrong, you just know it. Her personality screams it, and your heart just knows it time to call.

I uaully don't take them for a cold. Unless they are running a fever for more than 4 days. If they are vomiting I only take them if they have been unable to go to the bathroom for more thatn 8 hours because chances are they are dehydrated.

Sometimes more then symptoms, but their behavior is more important factor in determining whether your child needs to see a doctor. If my kiddos are inactive, or "limp" then I get really concerned. I also check for how they're breathing, if I can see that they're really laboring to breath then I get concerned. Our oldest daughter gets bronchitis a lot so I watch her carefully with colds. Or if they are crying and cannot be consoled, then I worry about ear infections. We have runny noses around here almost constantly, so that does not warrant a trip to the doctor. Sorry to hear that my nephew is sick! When it's safe give him a hug and kiss from me! I've had the flu all weekend too, so I know it's not fun to be sick.

Being an nurse, I was never one to rush my children to the doctor. Due to my training and experience, I can tell when the illness is going past just a 'cold' or 'gut virus' into something worse like sinus infection or dehydration. Most pediatrician's offices now have a nurse who takes calls and speaks with parents about symptoms so that they can keep from taking the child into the office yet be doing the right thing at home! If your pediatrician does not offer this service, talk to another parent who has perhaps raised several children and can remember what signs and symptoms to watch for! Also, do you have any friends who are nurses? Pick their brain! Do know that we are taught to always say, "If you are really worried you should see your doctor" in order to protect ourselves!