When Is It Really the Time to Take a Kid to the Doctor?

I don't run to the doc for every little thing. Fevers below 104, coughs, stuffy nose, puking, diahrrea...... none of it. Unless it's ongoing and uncontrollable with OTC meds. Kids catch "stuff." Now, if it lasts like more than a week and has made no attempt to get better or respond to meds, I'll go.

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If he isn't running a fever he should be ok. But if after 7-10 days there is no improvement a trip to the pediatrician is probably a good thing. keep watching him.

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You know your child better than anyone else.

I am not one to run to the Dr. for every cough, low fever or sore throat. Fortunately we have a very healthy child and have not had to have many Dr. visits or be on many antibiotics throughout her 16 yrs.

HOWEVER, I can look at my daughter and know if she is sick and needs to go to the Dr. I think antibiotics are over prescribed and we try to get better naturally but of course, I'll have her at the Dr. in a heartbeat if she needs to go.

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A cough that's gone on for three days is worth a trip to the doctor. I wouldn't automatically medicate for a cough when you don't know what's causing the cough. This may be a case of treating a symptom versus treating an illness.

At the very least, call the pediatrician/family practitioner/nurse practitioner. This has absolutely nothing to do with your problems with your husband. He's just trying to be a concerned, proactive father for his son. Be happy about that instead of taking it like a personal attack or trying to discredit his parenting because he's a crappy husband.

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I wouldn't take him for that, though I might call and talk with the nurse in the office just to double check my gut feeling. Yeah, going to the doctor might not cost you anything, BUT your son could swap the cough he's halfway over for some fun new bug he'll pick up from some other sick kid in the waiting room....

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I am like you...I don't take my kids at the first sniffle. Like you said it totally depends on the situation, of course. I have my own personal "guidelines" if you will...dependent on symptoms... on how long I will let something go on before taking them to the doctor. I

If I were in your shoes, I'd maybe go a day or two more and then consider going. Does he have allergies...from your post you seem to think he does? You may want to try some childrens claritin and see if it helps. If it's allergies cough medicine won't help much anyway.

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give him benadryl. We don't use cough meds even for a cold we use benadryl its actually dries up the sinus' unlike the cold meds. After a day or two see if he is better. No I don't take my kids to the dr over a runny nose or cough.

Usually I wait until my daughter has a fever. But I took her on Wednesday cause she told me that he ears and throat hurt. Good thing I did cause she was starting to get a ear infection. Caught it early this time around. Plus I didn't like that everytime she tried to talk she had to clear her throat first. I usually do wait cause a couple of times I took her and all they said was she had a cold and then 2 days later she was back with a fever and a ear infection. Something just told me to take her this time and I was right. She satrts back in daycare on Tuesday and I want her better before she goes.

Where is the harm in taking him to the Doctor? I am with your husband. It is better to be safe than sorry.
Your Doctor should be able to get him in sooner. If they can't get you in until Tuesday they really are not very accomodating. I would never tolerate that from my Doctor. Alot can progress before Tuesday that could be totally avoidable.
Sounds like your letting your animosity for your husband get in the way of your decision making. Seems like no matter what you do not want him to be right.
Just go to the Doctor. I seriously do not get where the harm is in having him checked out.

Do not ever medicate or give Benadryl without talking to a Doctor. The Doctor is the professional let them decide what is best. No one out here can make a diagnosis.

I think that would be silly to take him to the Dr. just for a cough. Kids get colds and there is nothing a Dr. can do to fix it. I always like by the rule that if my child has a fever for more than 2 days I take them to the doctor. Or of course if that act like they are breathing heavily. If they just have a virus with no fever I think it is a waste of time to go. Good luck!

If it is just a little cough (not a really deep or wet cough) and he is not acting sick, I would wait. It is most likely allergies (it is that time of the year) or a minor cold. If it continues past 7-10 days or worsens, that is when you need to take him to the doc to make sure that there is nothing else going on.

if your son is not running a fever with the cough - it is most likely allergies.

if the mucus coming from his nose (if he has any) is clear or if he is coughing CLEAR mucus - it is allergies. If it is yellow, brown or green - it's a virus or something like the flu. If the cough is "wet" sounding - then yes - that could be bronchitis or walking pneumonia...i'm not a doctor and I don't have a stethoscope to listen to his lungs...

Just because you aren't paying for it doesn't mean to take advantage of it. If he is not running a fever and has clear mucus - he most likely has allergies...try giving him Children's Claritin and if that works - then you know you don't need to rush to the doctor.

I would have him checked for allergies but there is no need to get him in within 5 mintues...I would try and give him claritin and see if that stops the nasal drainage till you get to the drs.

You and your soon-to-be-ex-husband disagreeing about this has nothing to do with the cough, so don't react to that. That's a whole other question!

My take on the symptom business is that if the child has a temperature of 101 or higher, or has a temp lasting more than 36 hours, or is not acting like himself, or looks sick (pale, green, etc.). call the doctor's office and ask if this is worth bringing him in for. You don't mention how old your boy is; an infant needs to be looked after sooner than an older child because you can probably make some educated guesses with an older one, who can communicate with you a little better.

As I recall, if any of my children were going to get sick, it was *always* at 5:05 p.m. on Friday afternoon, just after the doctor's office had closed for the weekend. So I had to check the symptoms and see if we could wait until the next Monday. Sometimes everything was fine by Monday! If not, I would call and ask questions.

What is the severity of the cough? If it's just a little one, and your son doesn't seem to be bothered by it, I might watchfully wait a day or so, but if it goes on much longer I would call. If he's "coughing his guts up," as the inelegant phrase goes, I would think of calling right away. Doctor's staffs usually know if an allergy or anything else is going around.

I wouldn't take him for a cough of 3 days, as long as everything else is normal...you can always put in phone call and see what they say without bringing him in. I did that once, when I knew my daughter was having constipation issues and I just wanted to know how much Miralax to give. Simple colds and coughs I will ride out because most of them end up being viruses and all you can do is rest, fluids, and maybe OTC meds to keep them comfortable. Also, if she happens to throw up once or twice, I keep her home - if she were to have vomiting and diarrhea and it was persistent, then I would be concerned about her getting dehydrated (hasn't happened yet).

What I have taken my daughter in for has been times when I suspected she might need antibiotics - once for what ended up being an ear infection and once for what looked like strep throat (but strep test was negative) - because just OTC meds alone were not helping. And once when she was 15 months old and she got this crazy rash all of a sudden all over her body, which they said was probably, again, related to the cold virus that she had just had the week before. Just because we have the health insurance to cover medical expenses is still not a reason to run to the doctor for every little thing - you could take him in but they will probably just tell you what you already know. And God knows what else he could pick up in the waiting room from some other sick kid that's also there.

if my kids have fever we go. Other than that, probably nit unless they were acting weird.

Cough + fever, wait about 3-4 days, depending on the temp and if he's reacting to a fever reducer (like tylenol).

Depending on the age and temp and the reaction to meds is everything. In a 6 month old, I'd wait maybe 2-3 days (babies can't regulate body temps like we can)... in my 6 and 7 year old, I'd wait about a week.

If it's a cough and ONLY a cough, a regular, not wet or too dry cough, no gasping or wheezing or stridor, I'd try a humidifier (barking cough, stuck their head in the freezer)... anything bringing up too much mucus sees a doc...

It's never as simple as 'just a cough', sometimes, is it? ;)

If you'd like, PM the nitty gritty details, and I can give a better answer :)

Hope your little one feels better soon!!