Beyond the yearly checkups that you take your kids to the pediatrician to, you will want to keep in mind that there are going to be various other times when you may need to leave work early or pull your child out of school for an appointment with their pediatrician. It can be hard to decide if a trip to the doctor is needed or if your child would be okay to skip out on an appointment and simply stay home while they rest to get better. Here are some of the times when you really want to make sure that you are taking your child in for pediatric services.
Your Child Has A High Fever
While it is true that a fever can be dangerous, it has to be a high fever. If your little one only has a slightly elevated fever, there is no need to run to the doctor's office unless there are additional concerns that are concerning you. However, if your child's fever is approaching 103 degrees, you will want to be seen by the pediatrician right away. If they are not able to give you an immediate appointment, it may be best to take your child to the local emergency department in order to get the fever under control before it gets too high.
Your Child Keeps Complaining About Their Ear
Older children may vocalize that they are experiencing pain within their ear. This could be a sign of an ear infection, and your child may need antibiotics in order to heal the infection. Younger children who are too young to speak or older children that are non-verbal may pull at their ear or rub it a lot while also exhibiting signs of distress. This is not something that you want to allow to go on for too long, as their level of pain is likely to increase. The sooner they begin the medication their pediatrician can prescribe, the sooner they will be out of pain.
With those few points in mind, you should find that you are going to be lot more confident when it comes to deciding whether you need to make an appointment with the pediatrician or if your child would be fine to simply stay home to rest. Should you find that you come across a situation that you are unsure of, you will want to go ahead and give the doctor's office a call. They should have a nurse on staff that can get on the phone with you to discuss just what it is that is going on. The nurse can then let you know if you should bring your child in or what you can do at home to help them feel better.