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Dr. Mom vs. the Pediatrician
This Single Mom prescribes good old-fashioned healing.By Alaina Sheer
I am running out of the door this morning to take Benjamin to the hospital because his eye, after a knock on a toy truck at his father's house, is now red. I'm freaked. Goes with the mom territory.
Actually being freaked about our child's health is the chief job description for any new mom it seems. I was one of them (and still am to a certain extent) until I finally took on my pediatrician when he tried, once again, to put my son on antibiotics.
This week of staying home with Benjamin and mending him the good old-fashioned way changed our little world. He hasn't been on antibiotics since because he's never had an illness warranting them again.
Coincidence? I doubt it.
This reminds me of a post that I wrote over one year ago:
When it comes to my son and his health...I always cave the minute a doctor says, "looks like he needs some antibiotics."
I blame my knee-jerk and submissive reaction to 1. my ignorance about all things medical, 2. my severe guilt for being a full-time single working mom and 3. my desire to just get the hell out of his office because we've been waiting over an hour in that stuffy little room.
It's happened three times this winter. We go in. Wait nearly two hours to see the pediatrician. And then leave 10 minutes later with a prescription for an ear infection. Always the same. This is followed by 10 days of hell as I force Benjamin to take the nasty stuff and spend a majority of my time cleaning his diarrhea diapers.
So when Benjamin started rubbing his ear this past weekend I tensed up. Oh no. No. Not again. I prayed it was a fluke but then he started shaking his head, then tipping it and finally pressing his ear to his shoulder while shrieking and crying in pain. Yep. Another ear infection.
Now, this should be the time that mommy runs to the pediatrician's office and gets another antibiotic, right?
Nope. To hell with that guy and his stupid antibiotics. So I read up (online, of course). And look what I found. This article on Dr. Greene.com. He says a few things:
- Some kids really need them, but most don't
- Antibiotics only speed the healing of an ear infection by a day or two
- Ear infection pain can be treated in other ways and,
- Most children recover completely without antibiotics*
I kept reading his site and found some homeopathic remedies like ear drops that sooth the pain and ear ache wellness chewable tablets. The next day I dragged Benjamin to Whole Foods and stocked up. And now, four days later and many, many nights of fevers and aching ears he's feeling better.
Go, Benjamin Go! I knew you could do it!
Note to self: start acting like a real mom and read up on this stuff; ditch the guilt and find another pediatrician.
*[If your child is still spiking high fevers and in pain after 48 hours of said ear infection Dr. Greene recommends taking them to a physician]
UPDATE: The homeopathic stuff worked - he's 100% better now...just 5 days after the first signs of that ear infection. Dr. Single Mommy rocks! And so do natural fixes.
Copyright 2009 WE: Women's Entertainment LLC. All rights reserved.
I've found that it's best to trust my own 'Mom Instinct' when it comes to my kids! When my second child was born, I KNEW something was not right with him, as he couldn't keep food down. But, the pediatrician kept reassuring me that it was colic and that I was an over-tired mother, who needed to go home and rest (which he told me on my THIRD OFFICE VISIT of the week!).......well, I ended up taking my son directly to the hospital, and after testing, the doctors found he had a rare condition affecting first-born males, called pyloric stenosis. He needed immediate pediatric surgery! (Years ago, infants DIED from it, as they were unable to be nourished!) So, at less than 2-weeks of age, my son underwent surgery, and was good as new! (He's now a strapping 5'5" 13-year old who's eating us out of house & home, so the procedure worked, obviously!) But, I learned a very valuable lesson: sometimes the experience of an
M-O-M trumps teachings of the Ph.d! Listen to your own instincts, Moms!!
I've found that it's best to trust my own 'Mom Instinct' when it comes to my kids! When my second child was born, I KNEW something was not right with him, as he couldn't keep food down. But, the pediatrician kept reassuring me that it was colic and that I was an over-tired mother, who needed to go home and rest (which he told me on my THIRD OFFICE VISIT of the week!).......well, I ended up taking my son directly to the hospital, and after testing, the doctors found he had a rare condition affecting first-born males, called pyloric stenosis. He needed immediate pediatric surgery! (Years ago, infants DIED from the condition, as they were unable to be nourished!) So, at less than 2-weeks of age, my son underwent surgery, and was good as new! (He's now a strapping 5'5" 13-year old who's eating us out of house & home, so the procedure worked, obviously!) But, I learned a very valuable lesson: sometimes the experience of an M-O-M trumps the teachings of the Ph.d! Listen to your own instincts, Moms!!