When is the right time to bring your child to the hospital?
By jazel_juan
@jazel_juan (15745)
Philippines
April 20, 2012 11:49pm CST
As a parent, there will always be instances where you have to rush you kids to the hospital. Many will agree here and i as a parent do shed money so we can make sure our children are all healthy.
But i have seen this episode, i am not sure if that was in Ask the doctor or Rachel Ray, where they said that there are times when parents exaggerate ( i do agree i do that too but i cannot help it emotions come in play) that they rush it immediately even though it is "just" a fever. But as a parent, i can reason out that even though that that is "just" a fever we do not know the reasons why she / he is having the fever.. plus there are times we cannot determine the cause and what medicine to use.
so what do you think is the right time to bring you child to the hospital? how often? when your kids are having fever, how many days or even hours do you wait before you bring her/him to the hospital or the pediatrician? on my case, if the fever didn't stop after 2 days i would bring my child to the doctor. do you administer your own medicines? keep old prescriptions of your kids? try to determine alone on what she/he is going through?
1 person likes this
10 responses
@momof3kids (1894)
• Singapore
22 Apr 12
so what do you think is the right time to bring you child to the hospital? how often?
If I can help it, I will bring them to the local clinic first and the doctor will advise if I should send them to the hospital.
[i]
when your kids are having fever, how many days or even hours do you wait before you bring her/him to the hospital or the pediatrician? on my case, if the fever didn't stop after 2 days i would bring my child to the doctor. [/i]
Keep a thermometer handy. The simple one to put under the armpit is enough for me. Anything going pass 39 degrees celsius is quite dangerous. Monitor closely. Doesnt matter how long it lasts. Do everything to keep the fever down.
If the fever didn't stop after 2 days a trip to the doctor is definitely necessary.
do you administer your own medicines? keep old prescriptions of your kids? try to determine alone on what she/he is going through?
I have old medicines around for fever and cough. My husband will throw out the expired ones. I asked a doctor once why the paracetemol work sometimes and dont work at times. She says it will mostly work when the child takes the meds after eating.
For my two fussy children before giving them the meds I give them milk which will work also.
A long time ago my firstborn is diagnosed with bronchitis. There was once when his breathing got difficult. For this we brought him to the hospital immediately and the nurse brought us to the front of the queue. Like one of your responses just pay attention to your guts on this issue.
For me, about the children I havent gone through anything alone. I will consult my husband so that if anything goes wrong, I wont bear it alone.
1 person likes this
@jazel_juan (15745)
• Philippines
23 Apr 12
That is quite clear momo, thank you 
Like you i do consult my husband with all decisions when it comes to my children's health and welfare. Yes i also keep a thermometer in hand and monitors their fever..and we keep prescriptions and see if the medicines are expired or not.
But learning about the paracetamol giving before or after, that is new, now i know what to do.
Like you i do consult my husband with all decisions when it comes to my children's health and welfare. Yes i also keep a thermometer in hand and monitors their fever..and we keep prescriptions and see if the medicines are expired or not.
But learning about the paracetamol giving before or after, that is new, now i know what to do.
@momof3kids (1894)
• Singapore
24 Apr 12
Yes about the paracetamol, it was enlightening to me too.
Thanks for the BR, appreciate it
@ShyBear88 (59342)
• Sterling, Virginia
22 Apr 12
As a mom I have never freaked out about my daughters health and she is 14 months old and you would think me as a new mom and soon to be second time mom would have freaked out at one time or another but I haven't.
I do know if my daughter has a fever that is less then 103 to not go to the hospital to first try to lower it myself and call her doctor and see if they want us to come in or not. Most of the time they don't want you to come in unless of course your child isn't eating or drinking. So I never freak out why my daughter has a fever. I figure she is either sick or teething since she doesn't have all of her baby teeth yet. This week she had the stomach bug and I had other parents telling me to take her to her doctor or the er because she was really sick and she wasn't. I was correct with what was wrong with her and on the 3rd day I took her to her doctor and he told me she was fine and to keep what I was doing and it would past.
Now if my daughter was bleeding from the head at this age I would take her to the hospital and get checked out or even call her doctor if they where open. Serious bleeding from certain parts of the body I would want her check out like if she was vomiting blood, or peeing blood. Of course if she was eating or drinking at all or hasn't gone to the bathroom at all for 2 days then I would do the same take her to her doctor or the hospital. Certain things I know which is normal for a child to experiences and what isn't normal at all. If I couldn't wake her or if she, seemed odd out side of her norm then I would see a doctor.
I just never really worry about it. I don't know why besides that I have to be clam as a mom or she will freak out and not rest easy. If I ever have a question I know to ask my husbands mom or even my own mom.
1 person likes this
@jazel_juan (15745)
• Philippines
23 Apr 12
Like you i did that too, if she has fever, we would try our best to sponge bath her till it goes down and give her paracetamol..and if it does not subside that is when we take her to hospital.
Often times, i panic, i mean it is them who are in danger right but through the years i have learned to keep my head above waters so i know what to do.
As for bleeding, well i learned my lesson in that as well. My daughter was playing with my middle son and she hit the edge of a tile and it hit her skull and it had an open wound that you can see the white part of the skull. It was pretty scary it was one of those moments that i knew i paled. REALLY WHITE. I didn't even bother to put on enough clothes i was in a night dress 
and i rushed her to the hospital in those clothes. It was the most painful event with her, her being stitched and shouting and i could not help but cry with her.. but i learned a lot..
i also really learn to be calm on times when my child frets.
and i rushed her to the hospital in those clothes. It was the most painful event with her, her being stitched and shouting and i could not help but cry with her.. but i learned a lot..
i also really learn to be calm on times when my child frets.@ShyBear88 (59342)
• Sterling, Virginia
23 Apr 12
Its the best thing possible is to always try to stay calm no matter what happens to your kids if you have to take them or not normally if your calm your child is calm. I know its scary for a lot of first time moms or even experiences mom when there kids get hurt or sick can freak out. We are human we live off of our instincts still too.
When it comes to the hospital its a judgement call on the part of either both parents if they are together or one parent.
When I was little I went to the hospital 2 that I remember. One was when I walked into the car side mirror and cut my ear really bad that I had to have stitches to put it back on my head the right way. Every little skin was holding on the back but my parents tried to stay calm got ice put me in the car and went to the hospital leaving my brothers at home alone but they are good few years older then me so they where okay by themselves. So there was a far amount of blood but head wounds tend to bleed a lot or look like a lot but then it isn't. But indeed the hospital was need for that and my dad was trained in medical field so he was the big guy to choice if it was time to go or not to the hospital.
The second time I went I was a teenager and had my ears re-pierced at the mall at Clairs and the women didn't clean the back of my ear ring every well and it go infected even though it was cleaned every day. It was just one of my ears but the ear ring the diamond part got stuck in the hole and the dr at the hospital had to get it out. He took him and a nurse to do one holding the ear ring and one pulling the back off. Finally the back came off and the hole didn't clothes up. But after that I didn't got back to that store again to get my ears pierced when I got my double piercing. My mom took me to the hospital good thing I didn't miss much of school that day.
@bing28 (3795)
• Philippines
22 Apr 12
I don't rush my kids to the hospital for a light fever. Should there's fever as long as not high I would give them paracetamol or medicine for fever. Should the fever don't go down I would consult them to a physician nearby. It's also not advisable to bring the children immediately to the hospital for slight fever. My sister in law's siblings two of them grew abnormally, the other is deaf and the other one can't speak clearly, I heard all of these happened as a result of frequent hospitalization as for just a little head ache or cold they were being rushed to the hospital sinced they were infants. According to some they were overdozed with medication.
@jazel_juan (15745)
• Philippines
23 Apr 12
oh.. but then hospitalize does not overdose right? they would give the right prescription... maybe the mother gave the wrong dose..
the only time i take them to the hospital is when during weekends especially nights as the pediatrician isn't available at nights..but during weekdays i go straight to the pedia
@Cutie18f (9546)
• Philippines
22 Apr 12
After three days when the fever does not subside, bring the child to the doctor. Some parents rush to the hospital on the first day of fever. No. Wait for three days. Persistent cough should also make one go to the doctor. For LBM or loose bowel movement, especially when it is accompanied by vomiting, don't wait for a day, rush the baby or kid to the doctor.
@SIMPLYD (90717)
• Philippines
21 Apr 12
When our daughter was just a kid, i always keep her medical record , where all her doctor's prescription are there. I have some notes as to what are the exactly for, the symptoms etc.
That way, whenever our daughter have same symptoms,we give her same medicine. BUt just like you, if the fever doesn't go away for 2 days already and it's a high fever, we would already bring her her to the doctor.
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@jazel_juan (15745)
• Philippines
23 Apr 12
glad i am doing the right thing then...from a veteran mother 
as much as possible i really keep all those even medical bills
as much as possible i really keep all those even medical bills @rewardsinlife (1132)
• United States
22 Apr 12
I am not a mom, but from what my mom has said, and being a teacher you can just 'tell' when your child is sick. My mom had different ways to tell when my brother or I were sick. For instance, she could always tell when my brother had a fever because his ears would turn bright red. I was a little harder to tell , but she somehow knew when it was bad enough to go in. If the child is not interested in anything..or has a vancant look in their eyes that is a good indicator something serious is wrong. I would always say to go to peditrician first if the fever last's more than 12 hrs with already giving a fever reducing over the counter medication. Obviously, as well if it is over a certain number I would drop everything and take them in. Hospitals take too long, go to peditrician or extended care, and if the child is serious enough they will have you take them to the hospital from there. I should have gone one time as a teenager, I had a temp of 105...don't remember much of that day, and lost some hearing in my right ear as well from it.
1 person likes this
@jazel_juan (15745)
• Philippines
23 Apr 12
As a parent, we do kind of tell when our kids are sick..since we know them, for my eldest daughter i do know when she is sick when she would begin asking for water..as she herself knows what to do.. for me second son, we know he is sick as he will become less playful and would end up just sitting and we would know it much as he is the one who gets sick most of the time and as for my little guy, my 2 year old, he is the hardest to tell as he is still so much vibrant even though he is sick!
@jazel_juan (15745)
• Philippines
23 Apr 12
we all get that feeling ifa, i also do not want to loose any of my children so i kinda rush them to when i get feeling that i need to bring them to the hospital
@myfb2009 (8296)
• Malaysia
23 Apr 12
Jazel, i usually keep some children's medicines at home. But, i always make sure that they are not expired yet. I will give him some fever medicine when i first discovered that he is having fever. Only when i discovered that his fever is not coming down and he is complaining of pain, i will rush him to the nearest children clinic for a check. Only if the doctor said that my son would need to go further check and the hospital, then i will bring him there. Because hospital is full of people of many types of sickness. So, i won't want to bring him there just because of a small matter, which a child's doctor able to cure.
@jazel_juan (15745)
• Philippines
23 Apr 12
yes i do that as well, if we can administer it at home we would, but there are times when the fever won't go down that is when we need doctor's help.
@atprudente6 (673)
• Philippines
12 May 12
it is only natural that we, as a parent, are concern with our child's welfare. We should not give care to what others will say. For me, even though iw ill spend too much money, I will see to it that my child is in good health. Besides money can be earned again, but lost health is hard to regain.
@beloved39 (66)
•
21 Apr 12
Forget what others say. You're concerned about your child's health and safety. The moment you feel you should take your kid to the hospital follow your gut feeling. I also suggest to err on the right side. By taking your child a few minutes or a day earlier, you may lose some money. What is most important is your child's health. I am a father of two and my children are now well in their forties, and I have always erred on the right side.
@jazel_juan (15745)
• Philippines
21 Apr 12
How do you know it is the right side?
Yes i do have that gut feeling everytime and glad that those gut feelings are mostly right.
