Over reacted

[miss_c]

So I have been a "lurker" on this board for several months and this is my first post. I finished my first semester of my ADN program in May and will soon be starting my second semester. So in my opinion my nursing knowledge if very limited. Last night my 2 year old son started screaming about bees biting him, upon examination I find a sting on his finger and put ice on it, I then see him pulling at his ear and see another sting there, and then I see at least 4 more stings above his eye. He has had problems with food and seasonal allergies and this was the first time has been stung; I was worried about an anaphylactic reaction. All of the sudden his lip swelled really big! I freaked and called 911, as I was on the phone with the dispatcher I was able to determine that he must have been stung on the lip also, he had no symptoms of anaphylaxis. My neighbor is a volunteer responder with the squad and came running over, when she came in I just looked at her said, he is fine I overreacted. I am kind of embarrassed, although everyone who arrived told me not to be! My neighbor (the EMT) told me when she first saw his lip she thought he was having an anaphylactic reaction.

I know that I am just a student, but I feel like I should have known better and been able to stay calm enough to really assess the situation. I am very FORTUNATE that I was just overreacting and that he wasn’t having a bad reaction. I am just wondering if anyone else has panicked over their loved ones, and felt like this?

[Keepstanding, ASN, RN]

you did the right thing mama ! you can never be to safe when it comes to the little kiddo's this probably was not your first emergency and certainly not your last !! hope your little one is feeling better. :heartbeat

[janis9799]

I just finished nursing school and I think the problem with being a nurse and a mom is you know all the bad stuff that can happen. So always better safe than sorry.

If this was his first bee sting he might be allergic but not gone into anaphylaxsis. If it happens again and he is allergic he could go into anaphylaxsis... I would continue to be careful and if you think he is having a reaction get immediate care. I would talk to your doctor about this incident just in case he does get stung again, the doc might have you keep an epi pen around just in case.

[Blee O'Myacin, BSN, RN]

Just adding my voice to the chorus here. You did nothing wrong. As a fellow parent of a child with allergies, I would have done the same exact thing as you did. And I think that I would have felt better with a doc taking a look and some ER observation time, rather than a neighbor telling me that I "overreacted" - especially considering the amount and location of the bee stings. I am glad that your son is OK.

Last summer, after two hours of having my son cough with a "summer cold", I realized that he was having trouble. So I decided to take him to the local ER that did not have a pediatrician. Turned out he had left lower lobe pneumonia and an O2 sat of 81%. He wound up getting transferred with an RN and respiratory therapist and we spent three days in the hospital. I still kick myself for *not* calling 911 and driving him myself. If the medics saw his sat in the living room, we could have gone right to the hospital with the peds unit.

Blee

[casi, ASN, RN]

I say call 911 when you suspect and inspect after the call. Get the people with equiptment to your house before it's too late. When you are in the hospital you have things like Epi-Pens within your reach, when you are at home you don't.

[heron, ASN, RN]

To miss c:

Yeah!!! What all of the other posters said ... they're all right and I just wanted to reinforce it. Pay attention ... it's worth your time.

Yes, you're in the process of becoming a professional nurse. As a nurse, you may know a little more about what's going on in a family emergency, but not necessarily.

None of us knows everything. Speaking just for myself, if the problem is outside my area of expertise, then I don't know any more than Great Aunt Tilly the housewife (and probably a lot less!).

Had you diddled around, and had it been anaphylaxis you were looking at, there was no time to impress an instructor with your process. You identified an emergency and did exactly what any prudent nurse would do ... called for help. Now it's 911, tomorrow it'll be the code button or the rapid response team. Whatever, you did good and the monday morning quarterbacks' retrospectroscopic nonsense is irrelevant. I like your instincts.

Meanwhile, your story made me think about boundaries. I think it's important to have appropriate boundaries between work and home.

In my opinion, it might help you to think carefully about how much "the nurse" you really want to be to everyone in your life. Taking endless responsibility for everything that happens is a recipe for disaster. There's a reason that it is considered unethical to care professionally for a close family member. The short form is that there's no way you can remain calm and rational when it's your spouse, child, parent or even a dearly loved friend. It's unrealistic - and IMHO unhealthy - to expect the same level of professional nursing in your personal relationships as you would on the job as a licensed caregiver.

There are no pat answers to that one.

Please take care of yourself.

Heron

[oramar]

I would have handled it just the way you did. You know there is this study out that show that our first impluse is the best.

[crunchymomx3]

Let me tell you when it is one of your own, nursing experience flies out of the window. Main thing is you looked for help, many would rather it was a false alarm than a tragedy especially when it comes to children.

Ditto that!

When my oldest was a toddler he cut himself in the corner of the eye. I ran into the room and there was blood everywhere. This was pre-nursing for me, but I was still a calm person in tense situations. Not when it was my kid though. I ran around like a chicken with it's head cut off! DH had to direct me to get a cloth onto DS's cut lol. No amount of training replaces a worried mommy!

[CHATSDALE]

you did a good job here

check the yard and make sure that there are no more nests

[locolorenzo22, BSN, RN]

yeah, family makes you freak....then you start going "ok, why can't i do this?" Cause it's someone you REALLY know!

[winterbot428]

Remember....it's the second exposure to an antigen that can cause the real igE problems so be aware.......of course I'm no expert....can anyone back me up on this?

[LifelongDream]

It's true that nursing experience goes out the window when you deal with your own kids. My mom was an experienced RN when we were kids. She dealt with blood and guts daily because she was an ER and CCU/ICU nurse. But, she wasn't able to pull our teeth or clean up any bad scratches or scrapes we had! Your reaction is normal. Also, when you are in nursing school, you become convinced that you are dying of every illness you study. It's only natural. You're hypersensitive like every other nursing student, including me! Now I have to go because I think I'm coming down with Bubonic Plague or something...

[Hands and Heart]

you did exactely the right thing--better safe than sorry. do you know yet how many men treat their "heartburn" at home and die because they didn't wanted to make a fuss or call ems?

please don't forget about women with this statement. heart disease is the number one killer of women. and they often have atypical signs for an mi that they will brush off because "it's nothing". shoulder pain, epigastric pain, fatigue. please be on the lookout for these signs in women and get treatment sooner rather than later because they have usually waited a long time to begin with.