Budget Buster! Pediatrician visits...pink eye...

[Blessed_wth_Triplets]

Update - Went....looked at eye...wrote out prescription...exact same one my son had a week ago....$88 later....

 

[amylynne01]

Conjunctivitis is also linked to ear infections in kids under 3. Our ped will not write a script for pink eye for any kid under 3 - they have to be seen to get their ears checked. If they're over 3, the doc will call in a script.

 

[Green Tea]

Update - Went....looked at eye...wrote out prescription...exact same one my son had a week ago....$88 later....

Hope it is better really quickly!

 

[DawnM]

Well, there is a 99.9% chance that he doesn't have a corneal abrasion in both eyes.

Dawn

WHich if the original child had bacterial conjunctivitis , and the 2nd child has a corneal abrasion(which can present the same symptoms) then you could cross contaminate and then have a bigger mess then you started with .

 

[DawnM]

Sorry OP, but at least you now know.

Can you up your health insurance to have lower co-pays?

We decided that since we have kids, we will opt for the lowest deductibles. It is higher monthly pay, but it is peace of mind and lower in the long run.

Dawn

 

[ilovejack02]

Well, there is a 99.9% chance that he doesn't have a corneal abrasion in both eyes.

Dawn

It was an example of why not to use another's meds. : ) Really directed at all posters as why not to just grab old meds out of cabinet .

After working for an eye dr for 10 years, I know what can go down and how fast it can go wrong. Lots of eye problems start with red, draining , itchy eyes . Some not a real issue, cleared up quickly by meds and some that can cause you to lose vision if overlooked for even a few days.

 

[Firefly09]

Update - Went....looked at eye...wrote out prescription...exact same one my son had a week ago....$88 later....

and now you have peace of mind that your child did not have something more serious...

I never understood why people get upset when doctors will not just call in a prescription based on symptoms over the phone. Do you have a medical degree and have you invested the past decade or more of your life to learning about medical diseases? Doctors have. And every prescription they write is backed by their license and their career. If it turned out that your child had something worse that wasn't evaluated and had long term problems with their eye sight because of it, would you have said, "oh well, I guess I should've brought him in to be checked, it was my fault" or would your reaction have been "I can't believe that doctor didn't even see my child, prescribed the wrong medicine and now my child is suffering!"

Please remember that while most people go into medicine because they do want to help people, they are also investing a lot of time and money into this career that these days is seeing less and less reward. While it may be inconvenient and expensive for you to go for an office visit, just think of how it would be for the doctor if they lost their license and could never practice medicine again.

disclosure: I work in the medical field

 

[DawnM]

True.

I am a bit spoiled because my dad is a doctor, so I just call him for advice first. He can't always help as he doesn't live nearby and often he says to go on in and get checked, but many times he can tell me to do X or Y and see how we do first.

Dawn

and now you have peace of mind that your child did not have something more serious...

I never understood why people get upset when doctors will not just call in a prescription based on symptoms over the phone. Do you have a medical degree and have you invested the past decade or more of your life to learning about medical diseases? Doctors have. And every prescription they write is backed by their license and their career. If it turned out that your child had something worse that wasn't evaluated and had long term problems with their eye sight because of it, would you have said, "oh well, I guess I should've brought him in to be checked, it was my fault" or would your reaction have been "I can't believe that doctor didn't even see my child, prescribed the wrong medicine and now my child is suffering!"

Please remember that while most people go into medicine because they do want to help people, they are also investing a lot of time and money into this career that these days is seeing less and less reward. While it may be inconvenient and expensive for you to go for an office visit, just think of how it would be for the doctor if they lost their license and could never practice medicine again.

disclosure: I work in the medical field

 

[dis-happy]

I never understood why people get upset when doctors will not just call in a prescription based on symptoms over the phone. Do you have a medical degree and have you invested the past decade or more of your life to learning about medical diseases? Doctors have. And every prescription they write is backed by their license and their career. If it turned out that your child had something worse that wasn't evaluated and had long term problems with their eye sight because of it, would you have said, "oh well, I guess I should've brought him in to be checked, it was my fault" or would your reaction have been "I can't believe that doctor didn't even see my child, prescribed the wrong medicine and now my child is suffering!"

Please remember that while most people go into medicine because they do want to help people, they are also investing a lot of time and money into this career that these days is seeing less and less reward. While it may be inconvenient and expensive for you to go for an office visit, just think of how it would be for the doctor if they lost their license and could never practice medicine again.

disclosure: I work in the medical field

I can't even count all the times a doctor has called in a presciption for someone in our family. We travel a lot and it's usually while one of is out of town that something comes up (uti, mastitis, possible tooth infection, ear infections, are just some examples). Thankfully I have great doctors and a good working relationship with them...they trust me enough that when I say it's xxxxx they agree to give treatment a try.

In the past it was the pediatrician who told me that while I was treating one child for pink eye to just call them if another child came down the same symptons since it is so contagious. As a mom in the OP's case I would have tried the meds for day or two to see if it cleared up; if so, no problem and if not, would have made an appt.

There are a lot of treatments that are OTC today that used to require a doctor's script in the past (anti-fungal cream comes to mind as one example; allergy eye drops and reflux meds, as another). Somewhere along the line the FDA decided that it didn't take a doctor's degree to dx and treat for these things. Not trying to minimize the depth of education and respect I have for physicians in general, but Mom-sense can go a long way as well.

 

[ccgirl]

So my son had pink eye/eye cold/same thing a couple weeks ago...got the drops...cleared up right away. Now my 2-year-old woke up with the same thing...eyes all green and crusted shut...yep...gross. So I called the ped. office and asked if they'd call in a prescription and they said they want her to be seen. Ugh!! I just feel like it's all about the money. We have a huge deductible so it will cost me $80 for a sick visit...just to write a prescription?!?

So my question is can't I just use the drops I had for my son?? Is it really that bad??

Bottom line, doctors can't diagnose someone without seeing them. It is their reputation on the line and possibly their livelihood if they prescribe the wrong medication. I have a very close friend who is in family medicine. His wife, one of my best friends, runs his office. They get people calling mad all the time trying to get a prescription written for something a parent self diagnosed. Who do you think would get sued if it turned out more serious and the meds didn't work????