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Children's health

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Original poster

took ds to A&E this morning, did i do the wrong thing?

30 replies

BooyHoo · 16/07/2011 15:39

ok ds (2)got croup (sp?) in (i think) november. it was during the night and i posted here for advice. advice varied between ringing NHS direct (isn't available in my area) and taking him into A&E. i called OOH GP and he advised to take him outside or run the hot water in the bathroom with the door closed and if he didn't improve, to take him in to A&E. thankfully the bathroom helped and he settled right down. i later attended a 1st aid course and was given the same advice by the instructor. so ds started the same coughing and trouble breathing last night and i followed the same procedure. he settled and fell over to sleep until 7.30 ish this morning when he woke and was having trouble again. i did the walk outside and then the bathroom but he was still struggling so i took him in to a&e. the doctor asked me why i had taken him in for croup. i explained that it was advice i had been given by a first aid instructor. he snorted and said "well that's not very good first aid is it? anybody can take a child to a&e" ds was still 'wheezing' at this point so it was clear there was something up but i felt as if i had done the wrong thing. should i not have taken him in?

OP posts:

thisisyesterday · 16/07/2011 15:42

if he was struggling to breathe then you did exactly the right thing by taking him in.
if he was "just" a bit wheezy i wouldn't have personally, tho if he seemed to be deteriorating i would.

BikeRunSki · 16/07/2011 15:43

I took DS to A&E when he was 6 months old because he had fallen off our bed. He was fine, I was very apologetic. The doc told me that no decent doctor will ever be upset with a parent for being worried about their child's health. My GP has also said words to the same effect. Sounds like the doc you saw missed his Bedside Manner lectures.

SauvignonBlanche · 16/07/2011 15:44

Did the doctor say what you should have done if the hot water and night air hadn't helped?

Casmama · 16/07/2011 15:45

I think the obnoxious A and E doctor was the one who had the responsibility to tell you what alternative course of action you should have followed. It sounds perfectly sensible to me to take him to A and E when you have exhaused the other advice you have been given. I hope he is okay now, it must be horrible to see him struggling.

LIZS · 16/07/2011 15:46

did you explain you had tried what you had done before (ie First Aid) and it hadn't worked ?

Original poster

BooyHoo · 16/07/2011 15:48

by the time we got seen by the doctor it was just wheezing but when we left the house it was difficulty breathing and he had brought up something into his mouth and swallowed it back down again a few times and his lips had gone slightly blue. i was worried and probably a bit panicky if i'm honest.

no, he didn't give any suggestions, they put a nebulizer on him then gave him a steroid. doctor said this would take the edge of the coughing and the harsh sound, that it would have to run it's course and it sounds worse than it is.

OP posts:

Original poster

BooyHoo · 16/07/2011 15:50

yes i told the doc that we had been outside and then in the bathroom with hot water.

OP posts:

NearlyHeadlessnickelbabe · 16/07/2011 15:52

the doctor in the a&e was a twat - that kind of attitude might stop a parent seeking proper medical help in the future and put their child's lifei n danger.

after reading the 2nd post, i would say that yes, you were definitely right to take him in - the symptoms had worsened, so that was exactly the right thing to do.

Grumpla · 16/07/2011 15:54

Doctor was a bloody idiot.
I took my DS in to A&E a few months back and they were all absolutely adamant that I had done the right thing and should bring him in again if he was having difficulty breathing.

Original poster

BooyHoo · 16/07/2011 15:55

thank you. i left feeling very confused TBH.

OP posts:

SauvignonBlanche · 16/07/2011 15:56

If you want you could phone the hospital's PALS office and let them know what happened.
They could contact the A&E consultant for advice on what to do with a cynosed child who hasn't responded to treatment.

Sirzy · 16/07/2011 16:11

He gave the neb and steroid but didn't think you needed hospital? Surely he contracted himself there!

Ds was taken to a and e in an ambulance last week and kept in for a night in hopsital due to croup.

Ds is a regular there with chest problems and we have been told over and over it's better to take them in than not if worried.

Out of curiosity was it a general a and e or a peads one?

Pavlovthecat · 16/07/2011 16:15

you did exactly the right thing. Sometimes, Drs are arseholes (like any other groups of people).

Croup can change and become v serious v quickly, or it can sort itself out very quickly. If you are EVER at all unsure about whether your child should be in A&E, then you should go to A&E. The majority of the time it does not in the end need further treatment. But, the minority do need further treatment, in hospital and as a non-medical professional, First Aid or not, you are not qualified to make that decision. Drs are.

BTW my now 5yo was taken into hospital with croup at 19months. I took her to gp at about 9am, she was ok ish. Sent home with the usual shower/fresh air measures. By 3:30pm she was being admitted to hospital by GP as she had deteriorated.

Ignore the docs and do not change how you would deal in the future. that time might be the time you really need to be there.

wonkylegs · 16/07/2011 16:25

I've just told my Dr DH about this and he said you did completely the right thing. The A & E doc was completely out of order, he said that when he used to work A&E they were told that if a parent brought a child in they were always right to do so, any other attitude is dangerous and wrong, always go with the parents instincts.
Hope that makes you feel better, DH says I quote ..."you were def right the dr was wrong!"

Original poster

BooyHoo · 16/07/2011 16:54

hi, sorry had to see to ds as he woke up from nap.

it was a general a&e for the poster that asked.

thank you for further comments. i definitely felt that he needed to go in at the time, whether that was my own panic making me think this or not i dont know. possibly the doc was tired and ready for home (it was not long after 8 am) and thought i was over reacting and wasting his time.

OP posts:

FuzzpigFourFiveSix · 16/07/2011 17:11

Fuck no of course you did the right thing. 'scuse the language but I'm angry for you that you were spoken to like that.

My DS has quite a dodgy chest at times, not sure exactly what but we took him to the walk in, who sent us to hospital in an ambulance as he needed to be nebulised. He was in overnight and went home with inhalers, so I'm bloody glad I took him in when I did or it could have got a lot worse. You don't wait it out with a symptom like that.

Hope he recovers ASAP!

Original poster

BooyHoo · 16/07/2011 17:15

thank you, he is much better now. i can still hear the raspy sound as he breathes and he did a bit of coughing when he woke but is quite comfortable now. not looking forward to night time though as that was when it was worst last time. hopefully only a few days of it though.

OP posts:

alphabill · 16/07/2011 17:32

Hi my brother had croup when he was 3, he was struggling to breathe and stopped several times. He ended up in intensive care. I happy to say he recovered well and is 38.
So you followed your instinct and it is definitely the right thing to do. I get very twitchy with my children when they are croupy due my brothers experience.
So ignore the doctor and do the same again if you need to.
Hope he is better soon

countrybump · 16/07/2011 17:41

You were worried, you'd tried other things which hadn't worked, and so you did the right thing, and should do it again if the same situation arises again.

It turned out this time that your DS didn't need emergency treatment, but if in doubt you should always follow your gut instinct and get to A&E. Doctor could have handled it a bit better.

beautifulgirls · 16/07/2011 20:56

Do NOT be put off going if you are worried. Almost 4 weeks ago DD#3 was seen in A&E, seen again at the GP 24hrs later and that same night as saw the GP was back in A&E this time seriously ill and spent the next 10days in intensive care and a further 11days in hospital. (Not through croup though). We were never made to feel we were a pain thankfully but it would have been too easy to think we had seen 2 docs in the past 36hrs who had said the same thing and sent us away and so not to go bothering people. I don't blame them, just please trust your instincts and don't let ignorant doctors put you off being a sensible parent.

youarekidding · 16/07/2011 21:10

Well apparently you should have put him on a neb and given him steriods.

Seriously? A DR was querying why you took a child that obviously needed treatment for .............er treatment.

mercibucket · 16/07/2011 21:13

what a nob! I've had to do this before and ds was fine by the time we got to a and e. they told me that is very common with croup - it's all the cold air (we went in at midnight) that makes it better so they often get kids brought in exactly as you describe. they were very very lovely with ds and me. you did the right thing

EffinNell · 16/07/2011 21:17

"well that's not very good first aid is it? anybody can take a child to a&e"

I interpret that as him saying the first-aider was rubbish, performed no first-aid and just told you to take him to hospital, which (so thought the doctor) anyone (ie not a "first-aider) could have done/advised. Not comenting on your taking of your ds to hospital at all.

Was the doctor otherwise arsey? Is it possible he was commenting on the first-aider rather than you?

follyfoot · 16/07/2011 21:20

You did absolutely the right thing. When I worked in ENT theatres, occasionally a doctor would come running straight in with a child in his/her arms suffering from croup and needing emergency treatment.

The doctor was an idiot.

follyfoot · 16/07/2011 21:21

Sorry should clarify, the doctor you saw was an idiot I meant...

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