Things you wish you could say to parents..... - Page 3

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  1. Nov 14, '11 by
    Quote from damrcngrl95
    I do agree that if a child just comes in and says his/her mom says she needs her inhaler that that is not a good reason. I would be questioning if they are having a problem breathing right now. I am an asthmatic and I don't wheeze or usually have very low saturation. I went into my allergy doctor's office with dizziness and feeling short of breath. I was not wheezing and my saturation was about a 96. He did a PFT and it came out as 29% which is very low. After a breathing treatment it went up to the 70's. I felt so much better as I always do after a breathing treatment.
    I guess with my history I would not want someone withholding my inhaler from me if I asked for it. I know children can make up excuses. If you feel they are abusing their inhaler then call their mom and see if she won't take their child to the doctor.

    If I misunderstood your intent then I will apologize now.
    I have asthma too. I'm talking about the kids that come running down the hall into the clinic just to tell me that "mom says I need to take my inhaler twice a day in the clinic". How do feel now? Fine, but she says I need it.

    I also had a child coming into the clinic several times a day for albuterol neb tx. I called his mother and advised that his asthma medications may need changed because he is needing tx too frequently. Maybe his asthma is not being controlled correctly? She made an appt with the doc and called me a few days later to tell me that her son had been on the wrong medication and now that it was changed, he was doing much better. He has only had to come in once since then.

    Maybe I came across harshly (as I do when venting), but I would never throw a child to the wolves in that manner.
    damrcngrl95 likes this.
  2. Nov 15, '11 by
    Quote from Kim O'Therapy
    I have asthma too. I'm talking about the kids that come running down the hall into the clinic just to tell me that "mom says I need to take my inhaler twice a day in the clinic". How do feel now? Fine, but she says I need it.

    I also had a child coming into the clinic several times a day for albuterol neb tx. I called his mother and advised that his asthma medications may need changed because he is needing tx too frequently. Maybe his asthma is not being controlled correctly? She made an appt with the doc and called me a few days later to tell me that her son had been on the wrong medication and now that it was changed, he was doing much better. He has only had to come in once since then.

    Maybe I came across harshly (as I do when venting), but I would never throw a child to the wolves in that manner.
    Sometimes it is hard to read someone's intent. I'm sure that you won't throw a child to the wolves. I have just had some well meaning people not take my asthma attack seriously because I wasn't wheezing. I'm sure you can relate.
  3. Nov 15, '11 by
    Quote from Kim O'Therapy
    Of course, it is sad how many parents will not listen to any of this because they want us to wear the parent hat. Kids hand-delivering meds boils my blood every time, but cannot think of anything else to stop it.
    I take it from the child and keep it in the locked cabinet. I then 1) call the parent and review policy and tell them they must pick up today 2) after they ignore me the first time, I call again and tell them school policy is medications will be destroyed if not picked up in 7 days. When 7 days are up, oh well! I had a parent leave an Epipen in the clinic for 1 1/2 months after school was out for the summer. I sent 2 notices home , then called the ones who still didn't pick up. Each one received a call from me at least twice, saying I would dispose of med by end of school year, per school policy. Guess what? Epipen was destroyed, and parent came looking for it in July. I'm sorry you were not able to pick the medication up, and yes I know it's expensive, but I' notified you at least twice in writing followed by phone calls. Geesh!
    mc3
  4. Nov 15, '11 by
    Oh, and I had a mother this year call me and ask me to listen to her son's lungs before I gave his PRN inhaler because he tended to "use it too much when he didn't need to and got a buzz". Her words, not mine. If someone is asking for their inhaler but shows absolutely no signs of difficulty i.e. running down the hall, chatting a mile a minute in the clinic, 0 signs respiratory distress I have to at least question what's going on. I won't just give it blindly without a quick assessment unless it's an emergency.
    OK enough of that for now!
    mc3
    Kim O'Therapy likes this.