November 20, 2007 
This was originally published on Shakadoo.com by Kellybax (me).
We will be heading back to the pediatrician’s office today……again! I took all three of my boys there on Monday for nasty sounding coughs. All three of them checked out fine, and I was told it was just viral and that their chests were clear.
My middle son “Lou”, is just not getting better. He has had this cold for eleven days now. When we were there on Monday, doc said that Lou should be getting better at this point, not worse. He said to bring him back if he developed a fever or didn’t start showing signs of improvement. Yesterday Lou had a fever and I can clearly hear him wheeze.
The really strange thing is that Lou got hives yesterday. I noticed a red patch on his face but it went away. Later in the day, he had another red patch on a different part of his face. By the evening, he had hives located on all parts of his body. I racked my brain trying to think if he ate something unusual but he didn’t. I have no idea if it is related to this illness he has had. Lou has never had hives before so I suspect it must.
I made an appointment yesterday for him to be seen by the doctor today. I always have mixed feelings when I go to the pediatrician. On one hand, I want the doctor to say “This is what it is and this is how to fix it”. Yet at the same time, I really don’t want antibiotics unless they are absolutely necessary. I don’t want my children over exposed to antibiotics.
I guess that Lou will get over this illness on his own soon without a visit to the doctor. However, I am taking him to be on the safe side. His chest was clear Monday but that could have changed. His throat is really red so I can’t help but think of strep throat. The hives are adding more worry to the situation.
When we were at the doctor’s office on Monday, doc and I got on the subject of ear infections. Lou used to get them all the time but seems to have outgrown them a little, thank goodness. Doc said that they are not prescribing antibiotics as often for ear infections because children seem to recover at the same rate with or without the antibiotic.
I wonder if it is the same for other things like bronchitis or strep throat? I will always take my children to the doctor to err on the side of caution. I just wonder what I am looking for. A quick fix with antibiotics? The chance to let my son’s immune system take care of it on its own? I will let Doc decide that. I just want my “baby” to feel better!
I wrote that post on Shakadoo.com on November 9th. My son ended up having pneumonia. He went through the antibiotic prescription and his lungs were all clear as of last week.
Well, today it is two days before Thanksgiving. Lou appears to have pink eye in both of his eyes and a runny nose. He has started coughing again and says his throat and chest hurt. He also feels a little warm to me.
He can’t get sick again!! Couldn’t it at least wait until after Thanksgiving, lol? I don’t want to cancel any of our plans but we will be around his cousins. Oh, what to do?
By Kelly Baxter
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