Fever and a Snowstorm RANT

Go to the Super Target in Lakeville. They have a walk in clinic that is open everyday. If they feel the need to refer you out they dont charge you.
I am in Prior Lake and the roads arent actually that bad once you get out of the neighborhoods. Drive slow!

I think it's part of children's job description. If my kids ever came down with the flu and started throwing up, it was ALWAYS on weekends - or at 5:05 p.m., just after the doctor's office had closed.

If you really need to get some help this weekend, go to one of the emergicare/emergency centers. I'm assuming that if Colorado has them, Minnesota does, too. The ones around here are open 24/7.

Feel better? :^)

Do you have a Walgreens in your area with a Take Care Clinic?

Just an FYI, from the perspective of the doctor's family...our kids get sick too. We abide by the same rules as everyone else. My hubby is an adult med doc, and even though we both know that he knows enough to treat our kids, if need be, he wants me to take them to THEIR doctor and we adhere to the same office hours everyone else does. My hubby gets 3 days off a month and already works 1 Sunday a month. Keep in mind that doctors' jobs do not end when they leave the clinic. When they are not at the clinic they are treating their patients in the hospital, attending mandatory meetings (such as HIPPA compliance or coding classes), and taking classes to keep their skills sharp. So, there is very little time left for their families. Please don't ask them to give up any more of their family time. Sorry, had a bit of a rant of my own to get off my chest :)

**Added** I found this link on the Health Partners website (that's where I went when I lived in MN) https://www.virtuwell.com/ It is basically an online appt with a nurse, if you really are in a bind. It is either $40 or your normal copay.**

Poor mama! = )

Keep your daughter comfortable as far as the fever goes. You know you can double dose...Meaning, since children's Tylenol and Ibuprofen have different active ingredients, you can give her a dose of Ibuprofen and an hour later add in the Tylenol.

Watch for chest congestion...But honestly, as hard as it is on us, even a fever as high as 103-104 for a few days is OK. Fortunately she is 4 yrs old vs 4 months old. Keep her hydrated and do not put her in the bath. Trying to bring down body temperature that way can cause convulsions.

Turn on the Christmas lights, find a cozy spot by a window and cuddle her while indulging in holiday books and movies. If you can try to take the worry from your mind for a bit, this almost blizzard is truly beautiful and will ensure that Santa feels really welcome when he reaches Minnesota.

I would try to ride it out through the weekend, honestly. Without any other symptoms (like a terrible sore throat, swollen glands, rashes, etc) there's no evidence that the doctor could do anything anyway. try to keep her comfortable, alternate motrin and tylenol every 4 hours, and let her rest. then if the fever hasn't broken by Monday, get her in as soon as possible.

At that age and with those symptoms, I wouldn't bring my child to the doctor. Unless she shows symptoms like excessive vomiting, a rash, sore throat or earache, or a fever over 104, just let her ride the fever out. Give her ibuprofen and tylenol to help her sleep, but during the day let the fever do it's job and just try to make her comfortable and keep her hydrated. If she is still this ill on Monday, take her to the doctor then.

I agree... it's Murphy's Law.

My mum used to joke that she only ever "believed" any of us "not feeling good" at 5pm on Fridays. Because that's when kids get sick for real. The moment the pediatrician's office closes.

Ped offices not being open on the weekends stems from an age when doctor's did housecalls. Office hours were M-F for a select period of time, and then after hours parents called their docs and the doc and/or his nurse would come to your home.

Fortunately, since that era ended over 40 years ago, more and more offices have weekend hours. (Actually, my grandfather still did housecalls until 1995, which is how I know the complaint about office hours and housecalls from the med perspective). Our own ped office the docs only work 3 or 4 days a week... but it's staffed 7 days a week and there is always one of them "on call" for after hours at the hospital. But a large part of the reason why more offices don't is that practices have to remain solvent. When they see 100+ people a day, but only 2 people at night, it doesn't make sense for them to be open at night. Same token, most docs want to work full time. It's almost impossible to ONLY work full time and cover 7 days a week. There's either an extra salary to pay or overtime to pay. And after 15 years of school, 7 of that working 24-72 hour shifts at the drop of a hat, and having to use IV's and stimulants and sleep in cleaning closets... most docs who have private practice out and out refuse to work more than 40 hours. "I've served my time." type of an attitude. Our office is an oddity (the docs all only want to work part time so they can be SAHPs with their children half the time), so they don't have to pay salaries to more docs for extra hours... they just rotate. One set works 3 days a week, the other works 4. Each gets a weekend day.

Our pediatrician wouldn't see us unless the fever was 104 or there were other symptoms. I wouldn't worry as long as Tylenol/Ibuprofen brings it down for awhile. Treat the symptoms as they come up. A Dr/clinic/ER won't be able to do anything for a virus anyway.
As for when they get sick - it's a Murphy's Law thing.

Your concerned over a 102.5 fever? Its only been a day or so? Geez the kid kid a break and your doc will tell you basically kick rocks anyways. If the temp goes up to 105 then I be freaking. Whats the doc going to do? Let it run its course and it be fine. Motrin every 4 hours is ok enough to help her through.

Remember a fever is the body's way of fighting something. You don't want to always lower it unles it is extremely high or your child is uncomfortable.

Urgent care is open on Sunday's. But, I'd only go to urgent care if it was an emergency. A fever isn't an emergency unless it is dangerously high and or going on for a long period of time. Keep her hydrated and comfortable.

Hope your little one feels better soon!

Most doctors don't want to see a child unless the fever hits 104 or if they have the fever for more than 3 days. It is most likely a virus that will pass. As long as the ibruprofin is bringing the fever down you really don't need to worry. I'm sure she will feel better in a day or two.

Ahhh, don't you just love MN?! I understand why my parents moved away!!

I know you are frustrated and ranting, but don't you think it's a bit silly for a Dr.s office to be required to be open? Would you want to be required to work a certain shift and exactly who would be "requiring" this?

Hope your daughter is feeling better soon. Just keep giving her ibuprofen.

See if you can call white glove. They come to your house and it's covered on a lot of insurances. I've never used them, but it sounds nice! Hope your little one gets better!

I know what you mean, Im in early labor and we are at about 10 inches of snow as of now and white out conditions. Urgent care is always open, but as for the roads, they are terrible. No clue what part of MN elko is, but Im a little north of the twin cities and 35 is straight accidents.

yes they do get sick at the worse times! My peds office has office hours til 8pm Mon-TH, Fri til 430, saturday til the afternoon and yes even sundays! Which is why i chose that peds office. Besides well child checks, I would say about 95% of our sick visits have been in the evenings or the weekends!
I know they usually say wait a few days with the temp however if my daughter complains of ears or throat along with the temp then i go in before that. I figure I am the customer and if I'm willing to pay it's worth it for the peace of mind. and everytime it's been ear infection or my older daughter strep. Even when the nurse i talk to says "it's probably just teeth." sometimes Mother does know best!

Our pediatric office opened an after-hours clinic for evenings & weekends which is a really great idea! (Knock wood--haven't had to use it yet.)
Talk to the nurse by phone for advice. Basically treat the symptoms for fever--as it sounds like that is the main thing. Push fluids and keep the fever dosages regular, Yes, a fever is the body's way of fighting an infection, but I always treat with Tylenol or Motrin. Check her temp. every hour or two & keep a little log.
If there is no pediatric office near you open on Sunday...what about a MedExpress type of place? Although they are mostly treating adults, they WILL see children, too.

Kids get sick BECAUSE the weather is bad and it gets darker earlier. Vitamin D deficiency. Sunlight, which gives us Vit D, helps from getting sick. Which is why everyone gets sick in the winter months. Make sure your little ones get a multivitamin. Stay away from sugar as much as possible. Sugur supresses the immune system. Extra veggies and fruit help the immune system. For my little one I have to hide them becuase she refuses to eat veggies. A humidifier at night. When the nose is dry it allows from germs to settle in, thus you get sick. The heater makes the environment dry. A moist environment helps out alot when preventing sickness.

Hope your little one is feeling beter.

So sorry about that- that is indeed stressful. Your pediatrician usually has a 24 hour nurse hotline so you can talk to a nurse about your girl's symptoms. If necessary, she could also go to your nearest hospitals emergency room. That's what I did when my kids got sick on Sunday! It worked out just fine. But, hopefully, your child won't need to go in the snow storm.

Best of luck

I wouldn't go to the doctor yet, unless she's getting worse or there are other symptoms. We've been told by our doctor that you can rotate ibuprofen and tylenol, every 3 hours (so each is given every six hours) to help with fevers, ear infections, and other illnesses. You could confirm with a pharmacist over the weekend. I hope she's feeling better soon.

I understand what you mean. We had planned to have professional pics done today, which I haven't had done for both kids together in 3 yrs. My son had a cold last week and it seemed to be resolving, but last night he was up all night with croup and today was pretty miserable, so we had to cancel it. They also get sick if you have an important meeting that you can't miss and have no one available to take care of them. My ped office is open on saturday and sunday mornings for sick visits, but they are selective about who gets in for the appt. If she is responding to Ibuprofen, I would wait it out until monday, or if you need peace of mind, take her to a Patient First or Target clinic type place. Most of the time they have told me it is a virus nothing they can do and sent me home anyway. Hope she feels better.

Depending on other symptoms, it may be okay to wait till Monday?

The biggest thing to worry about would be a hard cough (flu symptoms, or croup or pertussis), excessive muscle aches (flu symptoms again), ear pain (ear infection), sore throat (strep) or upset tummy (strep in young kids often causes upset stomach). But if she is just feverish and any lethargy can be attributed to the fever, it might not hurt to wait it out.

However, go with your gut. If something tells you that she needs to be seen sooner, by all means, do what it takes to get her in!

It's the Murphy's Law of parenting. My kids even joke "gee, why do we only get sick on the WEEKEND?" They prefer the school week LOL.

Hope your little one is feeling better soon.