I'm a nanny with 15 years experience of working in the UK. I've recently started working in Luxembourg, my first overseas job.
In the past few weeks I've had to take each of my three charges to the paediatrician with clear runny noses, little bit of a nighttime cough, no temp, still eating well, well enough to go to school and generally running amok around the waiting room. In my opinion there is nothing wrong with them that a couple of early nights, calpol and cough linctus or honey and lemon wouldn't sort out.
However being a professional nanny, if mum has concerns about their health then I take them to the appointments she arranges. What really shocks me is each time we have come out of the doctors with prescriptions for two different kinds of nose drops, a saline spray to squirt up their nose, anti-mucus medicine, cough medicine and antibiotics.
For the two year old the antibiotics meant a couple of days of diarrhoea and a really sore bum, which I felt was worse than the cold they were treating.
I wouldn't have even considered booking a gp appt in the uk, let alone have expected to get antibiotics for such a minor cold.
Is this normal, what European parents expect with regards to child health care? Are parents and kids in the UK more stoic, i.e. do we consider runny noses to be a normal part of childhood to be put up with rather than cured?
It just seems to me to be really over the top, as well as potentially harmful (in terms of developing resistance) to be giving "well" kids antibiotics
Please or to access all these features
Please
or
to access all these features
Whether you're considering emigrating or an expat abroad, you'll find likeminds on this forum.
Living overseas
Is this normal "child health care" in Europe? (Luxembourg specifically)
124 replies
NannyR · 31/01/2012 19:17
OP posts:
HereIGo ·
31/01/2012 19:35
This reply has been deleted
Message withdrawn at poster's request.
Don’t want to miss threads like this?
Weekly
Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox!
Log in to update your newsletter preferences.
You've subscribed!
Please create an account
To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.