Sick Visits

Doctors refer to appointments where sick children see their pediatrician as "sick visits" or "sick child visits.". A sick visit is devoted to diagnosing and treating a particular acute health concern (i.e., cold or flu, potential sprains or minor injuries, constipation, rash, abdominal discomfort, etc.). It is different than a wellness visit, in which a doctor checks your child’s overall development and growth.

A pediatrician will examine the child's symptoms, determine their cause, prescribe treatment, and discuss other information as needed with families. Therefore, parents must be prepared to answer these questions:

• What are the child's symptoms?
• When did it start?
• The medical history of the child and the family
• Different questions that may be used to diagnose the illness of the child based on the specific situation

Every parent knows how difficult it is to know precisely when to call a doctor. Children often recover from an illness by drinking fluids and resting, especially during cold and flu season. However, pediatricians recommend contacting them as soon as severe symptoms occur. A few examples are:

• Diarrhea
• Widespread rash
• Nausea and Vomiting
• Rashes that look like chickenpox
• Fever in children under one-year-old
• High fever is accompanied by other symptoms such as vomiting, rashes, confusion, headache, or stiff neck.
• High fever that lasts more than three days in a row
• Any unusual symptom lasting more than three days
• Pain that persists, such as an earache, stomachache, sore throat, or headache

When your child is sick, please call our office. You can contact our triage nurses 24 hours a day, and they will advise you if you need urgent care.

Health concerns that need to be addressed in sick visits are not urgent but are still important. In cases of emergency (i.e., seizures, breathing difficulties, or severe injury), children should visit an emergency room as soon as possible.