9 things your pediatrician wants you to know

We seek out our paediatrician’s help at every little surge of panic. After all, when it comes to babies, you can’t be too careful. However, with every visit to the clinic, while your mind is flushed with anxiety, worry and sometimes even embarrassment, don’t you wonder what your doctor might be thinking? Well, here’s the inside scoop on what paediatricians want you to know. 

1. Please stop seeking the internet for answers

WebMD-ing everything may be the first thing you’d want to do at every little sneeze. And believe me, we understand your concern and can understand the ease of getting answers from the internet. However, the internet often exaggerates symptoms, causing more worry. Moreover, much can’t be detected without a proper check up. So, instead of seeking for solutions on the net, we would appreciate if you just walked into a clinic and spoke to a doctor.

2. Antibiotics aren’t always the solution

In most cases of viral flu or infections, it just has to run its course with as little medication as possible. We understand that you think it would speed up the healing process, but we want you to know that’s only possible with bacterial infections.

3. Don’t overestimate the fever

Fevers in babies scare parents. However, most of the time, the fever isn’t the cause for worry and is just a symptom accompanied by other symptoms like a runny nose. Apart from the exception of newborns, fevers aren’t that much of a cause of worry as it’s made out to be. We only treat fevers to reduce the chances of dehydration and discomfort of the child. In most cases, however, fevers aren’t dangerous unless coupled with other symptoms, which should be conveyed to your paediatrician.

4. Trust us on vaccination

It’s not a trick to milk money from you and it’s not linked to autism. We have studied the field and genuinely work towards your child’s well being. When we advise you to get your baby vaccinated, it’s for their own good.

5. Stop using Q-tips on your children

We were raised to believe in hygiene and hence it’s not uncommon to think your ear needs to be cleaned too. However, cleaning ears, especially that of young children, with Q-tips can do more harm than good. Cleaning the outside of the ears is good enough. So, please don’t use Q-tips on babies or even yourself. This only leads to damage of the inner ear.

6. Paediatricians don’t mind 3:00 am calls

We entered this profession expecting this. We understand you’re anxious and worried about your child. Hence, walking into our clinic often or even calling us late at night is completely alright. We care for your child’s well-being as much as you do. So, don’t hesitate to give us a call if you think your child is in danger.

7. Please come in for regular check-ups

We understand that with your busy schedules you often ignore regular health check-ups. You may even think of them as irrelevant. However, we only encourage this because we do believe in the principle ‘prevention is better than cure’. We always appreciate being kept in the loop of what’s going on with your child, even if he/she seems perfectly well.

8. We’d like you to worry less

With children, worrying is only normal. We always advise parents to worry less about their young ones. It’s hard, but it’s better for everyone when there isn’t an anxious parent on board. You will be able to think better and your child will be able to respond better when you don’t seem so stressed.

9. We really do love your kids

Any paediatrician would mention their love for kids as their top 3 reasons for joining this field. When your child is sick, we are as worried as you are. Even when your child goes around breaking things in our clinics or doesn’t listen to us when we tell them something, we love them. Contrary to what parents think, we really do love all the children, especially babies, that enter our clinic and only want the best for them.