this is not an online hospital

[tobi21]

Everyday on here there are multiple posts asking about medical advice for children. Most of the time blatantly obvious that the child needs medical attention. Strange to me that MN is some peoples first stop when concerned about a poorly LO.

YABU - there's some validity getting the opinion of MN users
YANBU - people with concerns should speak to a healthcare professional not strangers online

YANBU. You'll see something along the lines of "DD has a temp of 40, is shivering and won't stop throwing up..." basically, something that screams go to A&E immediately!
But there will always be at least one poster replying to say it happened to them/their child and was just a bug, just wait til tomorrow, etc. and it's often the one post the OP will choose to follow. It's extremely worrying, I've seen a few posters who most likely have sepsis or will soon, deciding to try to go to sleep and see how it goes based on a handful of reassuring posts.

Totally agree. Especially when it looks like the body part might fall off!

@RicaDaVidaLoca nice to see some sense among the hate

Bloody hell OP. You've come here specifically to criticise anxious parents looking for a bit of help and support with a sick child, suggesting they're inadequate parents and you're accusing people who don't agree with you of "hate"?

@Smartsub I'm not suggesting anything. I am saying when a child clearly needs to be seen, I don't understand why people would look for advice on here. It's a no brainer for me. Asking for support when your child is unwell is completely different to asking strangers whether or not they need to be seen. That's literally what 111 is for

Aww bless, OP, count yourself lucky that you never have experienced a moment of uncertainty, you are cool and collected at all times and your executive function never gets affected by being overwhelmed or scared. Also consider yourself lucky that you and your dc's father are in agreement over when your dc needs (urgent) care, and you are not from another country raising your child in a health system that is very different to what you are accustomed to and that you know exactly what to expect when you contact the health services.

Have a your self efficacy must be through the roof and you are one of life's winners.

Also remember that because of your thread, some mumsnetter in the future may feel it's silly and embarrassing to ask a health related questions on here (no one likes to sneered at after all) and to avoid snarky responses when they are worried about their dc, they chose not to post, which could impact their child's health adversely. well done, OP, a very supportive thread

@TartanBadge I have indeed felt overwhelmed and scared before, and needed advice regarding my child. I just didn't come to MN to ask strangers with likely no medical background. And to suggest that someone might not seek medical attention for their child because of my post is an absolute stretch, ridiculous, and I am in no way responsible for other peoples care for their children.

You are lucky that you have a support network on tap, not everyone has that. You must live a very sheltered life to freely ridicule other people's needs for support and judge them so harshly. Perhaps, one day your blinkers will fall off.

It's all well and good saying that someone has been saved by MN, but how would we know if they weren't?

Have you tried getting help from the NHS recently?

Last time I booked a GP appointment for my child, I had to spend 45 minutes on hold. And my GP's a good one. Last time I took her to the minor injury unit in my town, the wait was 5 hours.

I would have had ample, ample time to do multiple MN threads while trying to get proper health advice!

@tobi21, it's been reported for several years now that people can wait in A&E for 8-10-12 hours before being seen.

If you had a child with a high fever on a Saturday night, and two younger children, and nobody able to pop over and watch them while they slept, would you get them all out of bed and head over to A&E, with a days worth of nappies, wipes, formula, bottles, stuff to amuse them with, food, phone, charger, money for parking and snack machines, or would you ask a cross section of the public / your friends and relatives (assuming they're not in bed) if all of that was necessary or a massive pita and waste of everyone's time?

There have been complaints that people don't treat enough at home and "waste" GP time with unnecessary appointments so I guess going online for advise is part of that.

You can ask here as you would ask friends and family. You can use common sense. You could phone 111. Nothing wrong with opinions. Actually quite a few HC workers post here

There have been occasions when lives have been saved from people seeking advice on mn. If you don't like it, don't read it.

I am simply saying that MN is not an alternative for getting professional medical advice if you are concerned about your child. This is my opinion. I've already stated once that coming on here for support is entirely different.

None of what people post here is strictly anyone's business, but people post anyway.

I don't know why you can't give the parents you're complaining about the benefit of the doubt or use your imagination to figure out the reasons people might not want to head straight to A&E.

Yabu

it’s brilliant for sharing tips on how to say what hcp need to hear once you get to them.

Why are you assuming that seeking advice here is an alternative to getting professional help?

It's possible to ask here and decide based on the preponderance of answers to get help.

Or indeed to demand a second opinion when the first bout of professional help proved worthless. This happens to women more than you may care to admit.

I was on a thread where a woman with a lump in her breast was dismissed by her GP a few months ago. She's currently doing chemo following a radical mastectomy and lymphectomy. Without the vipers on the thread she might not have got the second opinion she needed.

I disagree - I have received excellent pointers from other mn users when I asked about my dc illness and drs were stumped.

sometimes it's good to get a little push to see a dr and to push for a referral.