To go, or not to go, to hospital… that is the question. You would think the answer would be ‘YES GO’ and it may be, but getting to that isn’t as simple as you think.
I’ll set the scene. Sick 4 year old, has a cold and is at 5 days of 39 degree temps. 24 hours of antibiotics. Has asthma but hasn’t had any issues for 3 months. Suddenly starts coughing.
Now we already get on edge every time she coughs, because she has asthma. So when it becomes more frequent, we start to really get concerned.
But we also don’t want to be the parents who overreact. So we have a lot of thoughts that go through our head:
- When did she last cough?
- What does the cough sound like?
- Is it a chesty cough or a dry cough?
- Has she had a drink?
- Let’s give her a drink
- She coughed again, is it a tickle?
- Maybe she just has something in her throat
- When was the last time she coughed?
- Maybe it’s asthma – give her a couple of puffs from the blue inhaler
- Still coughing, perhaps we should go to the hospital
And then we start a timer, and time between each cough. Yup, we do that. Because we want to be sure we’re not just imagining that she’s not coughing…
Now, I am a FIRM BELIEVER in “if you think there’s something wrong, go to the doctor” and normally YES. But when it comes to the hospital, oh boy do I start to doubt myself and my decisions. We both do.
Then there’s the whole “is it Croup or is it Asthma”? In an Asthma attack the blue inhaler won’t have much effect. Well the same goes for Croup. And how do we even know it’s either of those!?
GOSH PARENTING IS F’ING HARD.
Oh and just so you know, it was Croup, not Asthma. She waited for 5 hours and then got the drugs to help her out.
JUST A NOTE: If your child is sick and you are worried, please call Healthline and chat to the nurses. The phone number is 0800 611 116. I have called them several times over the last 4 years and found them nothing but helpful. You can also call your GP’s nurse (if they have one, and it is during the day). Just bouncing ideas off someone, who is a professional, is very very helpful.
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