Do doctors mind seeing children?
Discussion
I ask because it's often hard to know if they actually need a doctor or not. Having done our months with the children in hospital over the years, the general attitude appears to be - we never mind - better be safe than sorry.
But I am not convinced. I am not one for dragging a child to a doctor unless its serious and acute or chronic and causing ongoing problems. The latest issue resulted in seeing a GP after 3 months, now we have seen a consultant today and it's clearly a trivial waste of time - apparently boringly common. I certainly don't think we'll waste any more time by going to the follow up and having more tests done and just hope it self limits as they hope it will.
Its not as if I take the children for small things - I have dealt with all sorts with the aid of a pharmacy.
I am really put off going to see a doctor with them again unless we're pretty desperate.
But I am not convinced. I am not one for dragging a child to a doctor unless its serious and acute or chronic and causing ongoing problems. The latest issue resulted in seeing a GP after 3 months, now we have seen a consultant today and it's clearly a trivial waste of time - apparently boringly common. I certainly don't think we'll waste any more time by going to the follow up and having more tests done and just hope it self limits as they hope it will.
Its not as if I take the children for small things - I have dealt with all sorts with the aid of a pharmacy.
I am really put off going to see a doctor with them again unless we're pretty desperate.
jagracer said:
Supposing it wasn't trivial or boringly common, you would never forgive yourself or your GP if something serious happened to your child and it was ignored.
That used to be my thought but I think this is what I've seen many doctors tell people through gritted teeth. We've done trivial but rare before and everyone wanted a look which is understandable. This time we have day to day problems which the GP can't deal with but are too boring for the specialist! Edited by Coco H on Friday 14th September 17:36
Coco H said:
jagracer said:
Supposing it wasn't trivial or boringly common, you would never forgive yourself or your GP if something serious happened to your child and it was ignored.
That used to be my thought but I think this is what I've seen many doctors tell people through gritted teeth. We've done trivial but rare before and everyone wanted a look which is understandable. This time we have day to day problems which the GP can't deal with but are too boring for the specialist! Coco H said:
The latest issue resulted in seeing a GP after 3 months, now we have seen a consultant today and it's clearly a trivial waste of time - apparently boringly common. I certainly don't think we'll waste any more time by going to the follow up and having more tests done and just hope it self limits as they hope it will.
Sorry, I think I missed it, is this sarcasm?Surely a GP wouldn't refer them if they thought it was trivial? It was clearly important enough that they felt they didn't have the ability to deal with it. I would be more inclined to ask for a referral to a different consultant to be honest.
I'm sure most GPs don't mind. There is nothing wrong with a little hypochondria, this is human life we are talking about and it pays to err on the side of caution. On the other hand, if there is nothing wrong (and in this instance there obviously is something amiss) and the patient returns every few days, then I can see why they would be annoyed.
I'm sure most GPs don't mind. There is nothing wrong with a little hypochondria, this is human life we are talking about and it pays to err on the side of caution. On the other hand, if there is nothing wrong (and in this instance there obviously is something amiss) and the patient returns every few days, then I can see why they would be annoyed.
Sorry I was being a bit sarky. I am rather fed up of appointments right now. The consultant who thought the problem was boring thinks we probably need to be referred on to a slightly different specialist. I do think he's right and annoyingly after the appointment I thought of a key piece of information that would support the diagnosis - a previous incarnation of the same issue. But you can see how any future visit will pan out!
Our little girl has suffered from urine infections from around the time we started potty training. This apparently "is all too common in girls"
Anyway, a year or so later, after several infections and ignoring our local GP we pressed for an appointment with a specialist. It transpired last week that she has a duplex kidney (two kidneys joined together) on one side and a normal one on the other.
This can be serious and she needs further checks/scans at hospital to ascertain how severe any kidney scarring from previous infections are and what treatment she requires. The specialist was amazed that it went on this long and that the GP had not referred her sooner.
GPs must see a lot of timewasters and I imagine can get a little complacent and potentially ignore a serious case when it comes along. They do a difficult job but are human afterall.
We now use our parental/gut instinct with our boy and girl and will push for a specialist if it's serious and we see the need.
Trust your gut feeling and go with it. You'll kick yourself if you don't and miss something.
Anyway, a year or so later, after several infections and ignoring our local GP we pressed for an appointment with a specialist. It transpired last week that she has a duplex kidney (two kidneys joined together) on one side and a normal one on the other.
This can be serious and she needs further checks/scans at hospital to ascertain how severe any kidney scarring from previous infections are and what treatment she requires. The specialist was amazed that it went on this long and that the GP had not referred her sooner.
GPs must see a lot of timewasters and I imagine can get a little complacent and potentially ignore a serious case when it comes along. They do a difficult job but are human afterall.
We now use our parental/gut instinct with our boy and girl and will push for a specialist if it's serious and we see the need.
Trust your gut feeling and go with it. You'll kick yourself if you don't and miss something.
Never had an issue when our two were very young. Local GPs were always very understanding and often told us to come back if we were ever unsure. It helped that a number of the Docs had kids the same sort of age.
Consultant referals were also never a problem. We paid for a couple privately so this gauranteed the Consultant was delighted to see us. The NHS referal was also very good.
pp
Consultant referals were also never a problem. We paid for a couple privately so this gauranteed the Consultant was delighted to see us. The NHS referal was also very good.
pp
Some kids don't complain when they have things wrong with them. My wife took our eldest (who is 4) along with her to the Doctors when she had a check up 6 weeks after giving birth to our youngest (who is now 4 months). Our 4 year old had had a bit of a runny nose but was bright enough and kept telling us he felt fine. The Dr had a quick look at him at my wife's behest and found he had a pretty bad ear infection. Bad enough to require antibiotics to shift it. He'd displayed no signs of having an infection or had any discomfort (so he says). Made us think twice about dimissing minor ailments.
Gassing Station | Health Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff