What would your ER do about a 13 year old child brought in to the ER for difficulty breathing, but the episode is over before she can get to the ER? My daughter has recently started having episodes where she says she can't breathe. She has discomfort in her upper chest and throat when this happens and she doesn't feel like she can get a good breath. Our PCP has her scheduled for an asthma nurse appointment and a thyroid ultrasound (in case it is enlarged and putting pressure on her upper airway) but these appointments are two and three weeks down the road. The NP in the office said to take her to the ER if it happens again. Well, it happens every evening sometimes three or four times a night, sometimes just once a night. She put her on a Floradil aerolizer, but no "rescue inhaler". We live about 20-25 minutes from an ER and these episodes last about 5-20 minutes. I started to take her one night, but by the time we got about half way there, it was over. I called the on-call nurse for our PCP and since the acute episode was over and she seemed better, she told me to just watch her.
Five minutes after these episodes she seems normal. It is very distressing watching her during one of these episodes and, of course, I am always thinking about what if it doesn't stop this time. I don't work in an ER, but I know what some ER nurses and physicians think of parents who bring in "healthy kids". What, if anything would your ER do if you got my child in your ER after one of these episodes had passed?
Our PCP treats me like I am over-reacting to this, but he has never witnessed any of these episodes and I just can't seem to convey to him how scarey these episodes are.
