Doctor miss diagnosed hfm

[Mmmbacon]

Ds I think has hand foot and mouth, was is with doctor yesterday, he said sore throat and perscribed antibiotic, today ds has blisters on his hands and feet,

Waiting for a call back, but internet seems to say he would have had blisters in his mouth yesterday, as they come up two ish days before blisters on hands and feet,

I am a bit annoyed, there is hfm going do gp should have been aware it was possibility, even if no blisters surely I should have been told about possibility of hfm, what to look out for and how to treat,

I don't like giving antibiotics unnessesarily and again internet says no need for antib just pain relief, so now ds is on antib that he may not need, but I am giving anyway as doc hasn't rang back,

Aibu to be annoyed, it wasnt regular gp and I am cross due to sick child lack of sleep etc anyway

so now ds is on antib that he may not need,

So he will only have been on them for 1 or 2 days if it is hfm? Won't kill him.

Doctor's are NOT Gods - they sometimes get things wrong. What would you have done differently if he HAD diagnosed hfm?

I am a bit annoyed, there is hfm going do gp should have been aware it was possibility, even if no blisters surely I should have been told about possibility of hfm, what to look out for and how to treat

I think this is a little unreasonable. A sore throat can be part and parcel of a lot of illnesses and you can't seriously expect a rundown of all the possibilities, plus extra symptoms to watch for in every case?

Had you waited until today, I would strongly suspect that the GP would have made a more specific (and correct) diagnosis.

I am cross due to sick child lack of sleep

This is blinkering you

Am faintly surprised that the GP gave antibiotics for a sore throat with no other symptoms (at the time) though. Does your son have any compounding medical issues?

Maybe he does actually need antibiotics for the sore throat? They don't hand them out willy nilly nowadays.

It's just been on the News that we are heading towards "Super Bugs" and these are going to prove fatal, unless we stop over using Anti Biotics and create new ones.

Looks like they need to make sure GP's get the memo.

Maybe he does actually need antibiotics for the sore throat?

Which is why I asked whether the OP's son had any compounding medical issues that would prompt immediate prescription of antibiotics. It was just an observation/conversation, which was entirely tangential to the main point...

So your issue is that there wasn't a specific or probable diagnosis of hand, foot and mouth? But antibiotics were prescribed anyway? So you are saying he got unnecessary antibiotics? Why didn't he just not take them then?

I don't see what difference that makes. It might not have been hand, foot and mouth and antibiotics might have been needed, and he has received treatment.

Birdsgottafly, the biggest problem with antibiotic overuse is actually in animals, in the food industry and by vets, not by GPs!

I can't believe you are ranking 'the internet says' over the medical professional who examined your child yesterday. There must have been clinical evidence on a sore throat for abs to be prescribed. YABU.

Thanks for the iabu feedback, stratters, you could be right, he may still need antib for throat still, he does have minor med history that means that he has problems with sore throats escalating, spent half the night awake listening to him breathing just in case his throat had swelled up and he couldn't breath, so yes, tired irritable and iabu

, I will try not to bite gps head off! When he eventually rings me back

So your son had a sore throat yesterday and no other signs of hfm - unless your GP is psychic I fail to understand what you expect him to have done differently?

Dinosnores Do you have a source for that statement?

Well, obviously your child has it quite badly, otherwise you wouldn't have taken him to the doctor. So given that you thought your child was ill enough to go to the doctor and then when the doctor saw him, s/he prescribed anti-biotics, maybe your son needs them?

When my children and then me, aaaargh! had it this year, they weren't bad enough to go to the doctor. I just needed to keep them off pre-school and give them lots of TLC.

There's no evidence to suggest the doctor misdiagnosed him. It is perfectly possible that he has a sore throat that needs abs, and have hfm too.

Considering your ds's medical histroy, the GP made the best call.

he may still need antib for throat still, he does have minor med history that means that he has problems with sore throats escalating

Perfectly acceptable to prescribe antibiotics then (IMO).

Dinosnores is right, the biggest misuse of ABs is in animal feed, not necessarily in this country, but yes, a lot of countries still add ABs to animal feed to prevent infection. Here

I think if your son has a history of escalating sore throats to that extent, the GP made the right call. You'd be equally seething if he hadn't prescribed them, and your son's throat got dramatically worse overnight, as it has in the past.

I will try not to bite gps head off! When he eventually rings me back

Kind of you, I'm sure.

Its not a misdiagnosis though, is it? Its a general diagnosis based on past medical history. Surely they can't diagnose hand, foot and mouth without tests anyway, especially if all the symptoms aren't showing.

Article on the CDC's attempts to control antibiotic misuse Over half the antibiotics used in the USA are used in livestock incorrectly as a pallative.

maidofstars, just need to put children to bed and then will find some more academic stuff but here is

www.theguardian.com/science/2012/sep/19/scientists-antibiotics-animal-agriculture

(Also, MRSA actually emerged from the dairy industry.)

MaidOfStars

CIWF agrees with her, although this Guardian reports takes a more neutral view and simply quotes pressure group spokepeople who say there is no point limiting human use of antibiotics, if agricultural use is not also limited.

So you want the GP to diagnose an HFM before there are any obvious symptoms and you are angry that after examining your DS and consideration of his previous medical history they prescribed antibiotics to prevent an escalation of an issue??

YABU. What the hell do you want them to do? I think you are misdirecting your tiredness and frustration at the GP.

I mean therapeutic, not palliative, sorry.

Article in The Lancet

Thanks for the articles, all. I will peruse. I am a veggie who only buys hippy-dippy cuddled organic meat for her husband, so hopefully I'm not a massive contributor to this issue. However, if it seems that it could be the main driver for antibiotic resistance in human disease, I forsee some petitions I may need to sign!

Well, if you're that against antibiotics and have diagnosed him with such certainty yourself, just tell him not to take the antibiotics and give him some Paracetamol.

Problem solved.

Of course you're tired and irritable, you're not a robot!

Going by what you've said I wouldn't imagine anything will need to be changed so I wouldn't worry too much about speaking to the doctor again. HF&M doesn't need treating as such and he very probably does need the antibiotics for his throat anyway so just plenty of water, rest and paracetamol if he's in any pain.

I hope he's feeling better soon
(And you all get some sleep)

You haven't got a diagnosis of hoof and mouth now, though, you are just diagnosing him yourself off the internet and assuming the doctor has got it wrong.
YABU for that alone.