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Meet the
Pediatrician - in a conversational mood - PERIODIC UPDATES :
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THE ART OF VISITING YOUR
PEDIATRICIAN & HOW TO GIVE MEDICINES WITH EASE ! : Update # 10
The basic trick involved in making your visit to your Pediatrician
comfortable for the child and getting the maximum out of the time
spent shall revolve around :
1. Selecting your Pediatrician carefully :
· It may help to simply ask within your circle of friends and you
shall get some clue to who fits your needs well. The factors would
include issues like your work commitment versus his timings,
geographical proximity, his availability or otherwise during
emergencies, back up support of a Hospital / Nursing Home and several
allied factors.
· Your first visit to him may get you the vibes that you expect. If
your child and you as parents click on the first visit, chances are
that you may continue to nurture a lasting relation. In this process,
please understand some variables which may go out of gear – do not
jump to a hasty conclusion. The child may be cranky for no reason, the
Pediatrician may be somewhat short of time or may have something else
on his mind ( human being with a family that he too is ), the father
may be short of time ( getting late to office ) and is somewhat
impatient……all these put together may make a particular visit somewhat
dissatisfying for all concerned. Please cool down…… you will find out
that things are soon getting back to your comfort zone !
· It also happens that there are some problems which seem to be ‘ real
big ‘ to you and the Pediatrician simply brushes them aside as ‘
routine’. He may not have been able to reassure you vocally enough.
Please be patient and explain to him that it is really worrying you.
Almost always, he shall understand you and rewind himself. He would
usually get down to giving you a descriptive account of why he was
seemingly casual about it.I know how it feels when I take my car to
the mechanic with “ several problems” - the pick up is poor, there is
some rattle somewhere, it’s not running the way it used to………..and the
mechanic smiles saying there is nothing wrong with it. When I insist,
he tinkers around , turns some screw somewhere and I get the feel of
my car back to me in top shape. Deep down in my heart, I suspect he
did nothing major. Anyhow, I am relieved.
2. We Doctors are, on occasions ,like mechanics !
3. Fix up an appointment : it helps both
4. Maintain all your past record ( and carry it along too ! )
It annoys your Pediatrician no end to have parents dropping in with
incomplete past record. And, in the bargain you are the loser. Please
do maintain a file and also make sure to file your papers
chronologically.
5. It always helps to have the mother ( and also the grandmother ,
if you stay in a joint family) with the child :
Dear father, like it or not, you would not know the problem so well as
the mother would. I know you are very organized at your office , you
head a department with so many employees, you are………well , leave it.
If you have an ayaah ( maid ) who participates in the care of the
child , please do take her along – you will be surprised at the
accuracy with which she can explain the problems to the Pediatrician.
6. It helps to carry notes of your main problems and minor
problems: preferably in that order.
7. The file front :
It helps to boldly write on the file-front the list of medicines ( if
any ) that the child may be allergic to. Also write down any
hereditary/ familial diseases on the file-front ( as an example –
thalassemia , G6PD Deficiency, Hemophilia. ( if you need clarification
on these esoteric diseases – please mail back.I have avoided details
to keep the Update brief)
8. The dress code :
Please dress up the child in a loose, easy-to-unbutton dress. You may
save his fancy and latest party dress for, well……a party.
9. Pepping him up for the visit :
If your child is big enough to understand your speech, please explain
to him that you are going to a Doctor who is a friend and the purpose
is to relieve the problem your child is having. Please, for heaven’s
sake , do not use things like “ he’ll give an injection if you don’t
come along happily or if you misbehave at the Clinic”.
Please set the ground for a pleasurable encounter ( yes, the first
visit is usually an encounter ) with the Pediatrician – he shall also
reciprocate your gesture. You will be amazed to see that the
subsequent visits shall not be encounters but pleasurable
interactions.
10. Using e mail :
Ask you Pediatrician if he entertains e mail. It is always easier for
you to write detailed queries, for him to slot his time as per his
convenience and both parties are set at comfort.
Of course, for emergencies or acute problems, the telephone is at
hand.
11. Checking medicines purchased from the Pharmacy:
It is a good habit to always cross check the medicines purchased.
There is many a slip between the cup and the Doctor’ s slip ! Medical
School has taught us a nasty habit of an atrocious, unreadable
handwriting. The Chemist decodes it and dispenses what he finds
closest to the script. Please do check your medicines for your own
good.
Also , do not allow the Pharmacy to substitute a particular brand for
the one suggested by your Pediatrician. There must be some reason why
your Pediatrician chose a specific brand – please let not the Chemist
use his discretion.
12. Safe storage and usage of medicines:
Please follow these for your sustained safety:
-
Always keep medicines out of
reach of children
-
Do not store other liquids (
spirit, petrol, pesticides, acid, alcohol etc ) in used medicine
bottles. If you need to store these, please remove the label, put a
fresh label and write in bold letters the actual content.
-
Do not give additional doses of a
particular medicine in the hope that “ it will speed up recovery”.
-
Please tell your child in clear
words that medicines shall be dispensed by an adult and he is NOT to
venture himself.
-
As a general rule, medicines that
come as dry powders which you have to dissolve in water have a life
of some 5-7 days. Please do not use after that period. Other
preparations that come as ready made solutions are usable till the
expiry date. Eye drops, once opened, should be discarded after a
month.
-
Eye drops are meant for the eyes,
ear drops for the ears and nose drops for the nose – please use your
common sense. It distresses us to find mothers complaining that it
is impossible to push in 12 drops of the medicine in the nose. I am
referring to the child who has a cold and logically enough the
mother thought the medicine should go in the nose.
-
Stock medicines in a cool,
relatively dry area of your house ( not near a Cooler, not near a
window)
-
Some medicines shall have clear
instructions of storage in a refrigerator – please follow it.
These safety issues are very
relevant. It pains our soul to handle children who have been
accidentally over dosed. Our closets have some skeletons ( so to speak
) of fatal accidents and we tremble opening those memory doors.
13. Routine Health Check Ups – tie them up with Vaccination dates:
This saves you time ………..and some money!
14. Calendar – best for marking vaccination appointments:
By far the easiest and the most practical way to remember vaccination
dates is the kitchen calendar. It may do well to mark the entire
year’s schedule right on January 1.
Many of us maintain a kitchen calendar for milk/newspaper/home
delivery goods – use it for this purpose too.
The fanciest of pin boards, stick on notes , excel worksheet may
fail……..the simple calendar will be close at hand.
15. How to administer medicines comfortably :
Administration of medicines usually turns out to be a tussle between
the child and the parent. Frustration levels at the parents’ part rise
in close concert with the struggling child. Half the medicine goes
down the throat, half goes on the dress, half stays in the spoon, half
gets spit out……….oh God , how many halves have I made ! The point
being made is that in actual situations, and with most children only a
small part of the recommended dose actually enters the child’s tummy.
These tips may help you.( I shall welcome your feedback on any
innovations you may have designed. This shall help other families too
) :
-
As a rule drops are easier to
give to infants
-
Do not use teaspoon for measuring
the medicine. Your Pediatrician will almost always prescribe dosage
either in ml ( mililitres ) or as “ this much of the plastic
cap/spoon accompanying the medicine. Please follow his advice
sincerely. Teaspoons come in a variety of volumes and you will be
astonished at how wrong you can go if you use a teaspoon.
-
It helps to use a disposable
plastic syringe of 2 ml or 5 ml for administering the medicine. You
simply need to suck in the exact dose and squeeze it in the child’s
mouth. PLEASE MAKE SURE TO REMOVE THE NEEDLE !
-
You need not dump the entire dose
in one go. You may take something like 5-15 minutes and space it
out.
-
Helps to keep some saunf, gem
chocolate or whatever his favorite may be. It shall clear up the
after taste of the drug.
-
You may place the dose inside a
rasogolla, barfi or small piece of banana. There it goes.
-
Please keep some water for
sipping handy. Also, keep a napkin handy – some spillage is bound to
occur.
-
If the dose is vomited out in
some 15-30 minutes, you shall need to repeat it.
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Always shake the bottle before
use. Suspensions have the actual ingredient settled to the bottom
and you may get cheated.
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In case you feel some
particular drug is causing allergy ( rash on the body, itching,
urticaria, breathing difficulty) PLEASE STOP IT IMMEDIATELY. Get
back to your Pediatrician. Please understand any drug can cause an
allergy. You may find it interesting to note that Avil ( a common
drug used to treat allergy) itself can cause allergy !
Thanks for bearing with this long
sermon. In our hearts we know it is almost always a battle when it
comes to give a child a medicine. We simply try to make the
battleground less bloody and the beating of the retreat pleasurable.
Till then, happy parenting. We shall get back to you soon.
Your feedback is always welcome and we learn from it – please be
generous.
from Dr Jindal & team healthybaccha.com
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