Using your assessment skills on your kids...

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My 6yo son started experiencing right lower quadrant abdominal pain early yesterday, and went through most of the morning walking while bent at the waist. He wouldn't let me palpate it without screaming, and had a low grade temp. I've never taken either kid to the ER, and am pretty underreactive when it comes to illness.

My husband had an emergency appy last year and I didn't want to fool around. So, we headed to the ED and waited for nearly 5.5 hours. Blood cultures came back normal, UA was clean, and the abdominal CT was negative. My poor kid had to endure an IV placement and enema dye, all for nothing.

I'm beginning to doubt myself now :uhoh3:

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why are you doubting yourself? basic skills assessment cant tell the whole story, he was bent at the waist, and obviously in alot of pain...thats a scary feeling for a parent, (ive been thru it many times myself with my daughter...didnt get her to the emergency room fast enough, and her appendix ruptured, and she was hospitalized for one month...do u know the guilt i felt afterward? please dont doubt yourself..you did the right thing!!!!

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Specializes in ICU.

i agree- do not doubt yourself. we have all been there and will be there many more times as parents. my wife and i are both nurses, when our oldest son was about 5 he got the flu and developed a case of croup. the first night after being diagnosed, we thought he was going to quit breathing. he was wheezing so bad and it was all he could do to take a deep breath. what did we do? i called 911. paramedics put the oximetry probe on him and he was 98%. took him outside to get in the ambulance and being in the cold helped more than anything. by the time we got settled in the back of the truck he was breathing normal and this was without oxygen. went to the pedi er, got a couple breathing treatments and went home. we probable would have been fine that night but we freaked out. my thing is i know the bad things that can happen so sometimes i tend to feel too ready to get my kids help.

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I agree with the other posters...don't doubt yourself, better to be safe than sorry.

A few years ago my 10 year old son (with absolutely no medical hx) just didn't "look right" ya know? For about five days he had been throwing up off and on, c/o some diarrhea but generally keeping bland foods down, seemed kinda run down, tired. I thought it was the flu and basically watched him.

Well one night from across the room I really looked at him. He had sat down at the table and put his hand to his forehead like he had just had a bad day at work or something. I mean this kid is 10 years old and he just looked like a tired old man. Noticed his abd was a bit distended and seemed to be a bit sob. I said screw it, somethings wrong...took him to ED. He didn't want to be in the ED, was eating gummy bears and wanted to leave. I was worred about what the triage nurse would think of me....bringing the kid in for n/v? Looking like a tired old man? :)

Anyway, after abd ct (thanks ED doc) they told me he would be transfered to nearest childrens hospital for abd and kidney tumors. Turns out my little boy had a rapidlly growing lymphoma...within 72 hours ended up very close to dead in ICU with tumor lysis syndrome....

He is fine now...cancer free, no reason to think it will ever come back.....but to this day I thank God I listened to that inner nurse voice and took him to the ED and didn't LEAVE the ED like my son was begging me to do.

Wow. Cant believe I posted this. It shakes me up to this very day. Just listen to your heart...if you think something is wrong it never hurts to get the kid checked out.....

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Specializes in M/S, MICU, CVICU, SICU, ER, Trauma, NICU.

Would you feel better if you turned out right and he had burst an appendix because you "doubted" yourself?

What's better being wrong or having a septic kid who has to be in the hospital for a few weeks?

Suggestion: Stop.

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A young boy walking around bent over for a day is NOT something any mom would take lightly...whether she's a nurse of not! You did good, mom.

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Would you feel better if you turned out right and he had burst an appendix because you "doubted" yourself?

What's better being wrong or having a septic kid who has to be in the hospital for a few weeks?

Suggestion: Stop.

Oh, totally. How'd you know I wanted my kid to be septic?

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Specializes in Psych, Med/Surg, LTC.

I took my kids to the doctor and ER for "nonsense" reasons in the past, too. But you know what? What IF it was something major? You just don't know sometimes without xrays, labs, etc. I would rather have a nonsense visit than a dead or severely sick kid.

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Specializes in LTC.

I had the same sx as your son when I was 10. My mother was a nursing student at the time but she still took me to the ER. Had all these test done and it turned out to be constipation!! I remember having to drink what it seem like a gal. Of go lytely. My point is you did the right thing for your child, better be safe than sorry. When I worked in school health I always aired on the side of cautions. Sometimes the kids came back from the doctors with nothing wrong, while some I sent to the doc and turned out to be a terrible case of shingles. With kids you never know.

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