We walked in well, came out sick!

[strollerqueen]

Grrrr,germy pediatrician's offices! I noticed with my older two children that every time we went to the doctor, we wound up coming down with something else. I mentioned this to her, and she just laughed like I was imagining it. She said "Oh, everyone says that." My solution? We just stopped going. (Which I realize is not the best solution.) But, we did stop getting sick. Flash forward now to the new baby, and new pediatrician. Baby has never been sick a day in his life. I took him to his 9-month check-up last week. The office was PACKED with sick babies. We had to wait two hours. I tried not to touch anything, and didn't let him touch anything. Tried to keep him out of range of all the other babies. Well, it didn't work. A couple of days later, I got a sore throat,which I still have. Then baby came down with a burning fever, which lasted three days. Now I am really congested with a head cold. And baby spent most of today throwing up. This sucks! Has anyone else experienced getting sick after going to their pediatrician, and what did you do to stop it? Thanks!

[infomama]

We haven't but I always keep DD's off the toys (we plan ahead and bring books or snacks). Two hour wait? That's awful. Hope you all feel better soon.

[strollerqueen]

Unbelievable, right? Two miserable hours. Threw off my whole day (and then getting sick threw off my whole week.) But the problem here is that very few of our pediatricians will take insurance any more (which is why I had to switch from our old one.) They say they don't get reimbursed enough, and are tired of the hassle and the paperwork. So the one we went to last week is one of the only practices in town that does take insurance. The clerk at the desk said THE only practice, (when I asked why we were waiting so long) but I hope she is exaggerating! She also said all the sick babies had to be seen first. Which I understand, but, I kid you not, we were THE last to be seen. It was hard watching all these people come in after us go in before us. I guess we really were the only ones who weren't sick.

[KrisM]

We go to a family practice instead. Are there any of those you could switch to?

Or, if you're going to spend 2 hours there, is there a ped an hour away? It wouldn't take any more time and maybe you wouldn't get sick.

Awful.

[JTsMom]

:yeahthat: There is no way I could handle that! We've been lucky so far (thank goodness, knock on wood). I don't let Jason touch anything, and we wash our hands the second we get home.

I have never waited 2 hours for any doctor. I would do whatever it takes to see someone else, whether that meant driving far (our current ped is 45 mins away), or seeing a family practioner.

[Cam&Clay]

For me, the bottom line would be that a 2 hour wait is unacceptable, especially with a 9 month old.

[MelissaTC]

That stinks!!!

Knock on wood, that hasn't been our experience but I think my DS has some sort of crazy immune system. He is hardly ever sick and hardly ever has a cold, etc... My DH is the same way and was the same way as a kid. I, on the other hand, will catch something if I am in the same zipcode. Go figure!

[wendibird22]

We are fortunate that well babies are only seen in the a.m. and sick babies in the p.m. Now that stinks when you have a sick baby and have to wait all morning to get in to see the doc. BUT, it means all well babies are in the office first thing when all the seats and toys and exam room stuff is clean (they clean at the end of each day) and you aren't sitting next to another parent/child who is sick.

[bethie_73]

We have separate waiting rooms for sick and well which has helped, and of course I don't let him play with any toys there.

A 2 hour wait is unacceptable. my last ped had waits and if it was 20 minutes you were expected to tell them so they could see what the issue was. I agree morning appts are the best.

Hope you feel better!

[Jo..]

I wouldn't wait more than 20 minutes (I'd walk out).

Many peds have a "well baby" room where kiddos just coming in for a routine shot/check-up can wait. If yours doesn't, I'd request an empty exam room to wait in. I would not wait with a bunch of sick children, and they shouldn't expect you to.

Next time, try to make the appointment WELL ahead and ask for the first morning appointment. That way you are in and out before the office has a chance to become backed up!

[SnuggleBuggles]

2 hours? Insane!

We have gotten sick after ped's visits too. You aren't imagining things. Separate exam rooms would be a nice feature to look for. I also like the family practice idea. Mine seems to have adults and they aren't handling the toys with their germy hands. :)

Remember- don't use their pen there! It's supposed to be one of the geriest things we touch. I'm not a germophobe but I follow that rule.

Beth

[Tondi G]

Ahhh that would make me nuts! What health insurance do you have? Maybe it's time to find something different that the peds in your area DO take!

I would start looking around for a new ped or a maybe a family practitioner who sees all ages? Maybe that would cut down on the wait and the sickies?

I think I would have tried to leave my cell phone number with the front desk and tell them to call me on my phone when they were ready for us... I would wait outside or in a lobby or the car.... anywhere but the germy office. All you need is to be 3 feet away from another person sneezing or coughing to pick something up! My peds office has a "sick" entrance and rooms on one side... and the healthy door and rooms on the other! I am not so sure it makes that much of a difference but I makes us feel better. I do agree with you though.... very often if we go to the ped for a well visit someone or all of us end up sick within a few days! So frustrating!

Hope you all feel better soon.

~Tondi

[srhs]

Our doc isn't a pedi; she's actually a family doc. She's new and independent so there's no one else in the waiting room, no extra staff, we get right in, no drama. I guess we give up some baby expertise and that bothers me sometimes. But I really like how low-key our visits are.
I couldn't sit in the waiting room for 2 hours with a baby. Yikes! You can't miss mealtime and naptime and everything else if you are there that long.

[LarsMal]

This happens to us, too. I took DD in for her 2 yr check on Monday and the doctor pointed out that we hadn't been in since her 18 month check. That was probably the only time that has happened. I swear, every time we go in for a well visit, one or the other- or both- ends up sick within a week. I don't always need to take them back in for a sick visit, but they ALWAYS end up with something.

I do my best to keep them away from the toys and books, and I use the Purell they have at the check-out station before we leave.

Thinking back, though, I think my ped was wrong, b/c I'm pretty sure it was right after DD's 18 month check (within days) that she ended up with ringworm and I had to take her back in. SO gross! The only thing I could think of was that she had been walking and crawling around the ped's office in only her diaper while waiting for her check-up. Bleh!

[fivi2]

We have separate waiting rooms for sick and well which has helped, and of course I don't let him play with any toys there.

A 2 hour wait is unacceptable. my last ped had waits and if it was 20 minutes you were expected to tell them so they could see what the issue was. I agree morning appts are the best.

Hope you feel better!

ours is the same. Separate rooms and they want you tell them if it's been 20 minutes. I also agree with pp - we always schedule our appt first thing in the morning. I would not wait 2 hours!

[elektra]

That sucks. Our ped office has a well side and a sick side. HOWEVER, I hear kids with hacking coughs on the well side! I think many people rationalize to themselves that their kids are "well enough" or "no longer contagious" in order to keep them away from the germy sick side.
I don't think we have every gotten sick right after being in the office though.
2 hours is ridiculous. Luckily there are a group of doctors and it allows you to see a different doc if you need to for scheduling reasons.

[strollerqueen]

I wouldn't wait more than 20 minutes (I'd walk out).

Many peds have a "well baby" room where kiddos just coming in for a routine shot/check-up can wait. If yours doesn't, I'd request an empty exam room to wait in. I would not wait with a bunch of sick children, and they shouldn't expect you to.

Next time, try to make the appointment WELL ahead and ask for the first morning appointment. That way you are in and out before the office has a chance to become backed up!

I have walked out several times,which is why we've missed most of our well baby appointments. I thought those were unusual circumstances on those days; now I see this is their norm. There were no empty exam rooms to wait in. In fact, most of the people were waiting outside, because there was no room even inside the waiting room.

[strollerqueen]

Ahhh that would make me nuts! What health insurance do you have? Maybe it's time to find something different that the peds in your area DO take!

I would start looking around for a new ped or a maybe a family practitioner who sees all ages? Maybe that would cut down on the wait and the sickies?

I think I would have tried to leave my cell phone number with the front desk and tell them to call me on my phone when they were ready for us... I would wait outside or in a lobby or the car.... anywhere but the germy office. All you need is to be 3 feet away from another person sneezing or coughing to pick something up! My peds office has a "sick" entrance and rooms on one side... and the healthy door and rooms on the other! I am not so sure it makes that much of a difference but I makes us feel better. I do agree with you though.... very often if we go to the ped for a well visit someone or all of us end up sick within a few days! So frustrating!

Hope you all feel better soon.


~Tondi

Thanks! I tried to switch companies. But my agent told me because of DS' ear surgeries, no one would touch us with a ten foot pole. And LOL, everone was yellling at the poor clerk to call them when they were ready. She said it was impossible, and if they weren't there, they would just move on down the list. The nurses didn't even want to go outside and call the people in when it was their turn. I talked to the clerk about the chaos. She said the doctors refuse to turn away new patients, and make them overbook. She said they had added two THOUSAND new patients in the last six months (there are four doctors, but still..)

[JTsMom]

I thought of another idea- if you absolutely MUST see a ped as opposed to a family practice doc, maybe you can pay for the visit out of pocket, then submit a claim to the insurance after the fact. I know that is a hassle, (not to mention it might not be financially feasible, but I'd rather do that than have sick kids!

[MommyAllison]

We are fortunate that well babies are only seen in the a.m. and sick babies in the p.m.


Ours does the same...and we are almost always the only ones in the waiting room because it is such a small practice. I also try to go mid-week, rather than Mondays or Fridays, which seem busier because people don't want to end up in the ER on the weekend. I'm so sorry you guys got sick. :(

[daniele_ut]

I've never waited more than 10 minutes past our scheduled appointment time for our pediatrician. We've actually had 2 different peds at sister practices since DS was born and this has always been our experience. There is absolutely no way I would wait that long for a well baby visit. We've also never had a child get sick following a peds visit.

One of my secrets for booking appointments with my OB, who is very busy, was to always, always book the first appointment of the day, or the first appointment after the lunch hour. They can't be behind when you are the first appointment. This strategy never disappointed me. If you are booking well visits, you should be able to do this far enough in advance to secure the first appointment of the day.

[Tondi G]

Thanks! I tried to switch companies. But my agent told me because of DS' ear surgeries, no one would touch us with a ten foot pole. And LOL, everone was yellling at the poor clerk to call them when they were ready. She said it was impossible, and if they weren't there, they would just move on down the list. The nurses didn't even want to go outside and call the people in when it was their turn. I talked to the clerk about the chaos. She said the doctors refuse to turn away new patients, and make them overbook. She said they had added two THOUSAND new patients in the last six months (there are four doctors, but still..)

Thats NUTS! I'm sorry you can't change due to your DS's pre existing conditions! Not fair at all... especially to everyone else in the family! Any chance you could get just your little one on his own plan? It's your older DS with the ear surgeries right? Since you have to be in more often with a little one it might make your life a little easier! I suppose complaining the the doctors themselves isn't going to make a difference! What a nightmare!

The only time I waited longer than say 15/20 minutes was when we called in and DS was sick. Our ped squeezed us in! This is one reason I DO like the rip off Blue Shield we have... we can see the doctors we like and my kids love their ped! What company are you with? If you don't mind my asking?!

~Tondi

[DrSally]

Uh yeah! DS was not sick the entire first 2.5 years of his life--EBF and SAHM with playdates with other SAHM's--EXCEPT after his well baby visit (6 months?). I scheduled it first thing in the morning to avoid the germy crowds. Well, there was a very sick, miserable child in the waiting room already, who our fit in first. He didn't wash his hands in front of me, and that evening DS had a low grade fever and runny nose. I took him to a different office in the same practice and the ped I saw said, on her own, that he could've picked it up from the office visit. I then put 2 and 2 together. Made me mad. My current practice, all the docs make a point of washing their hands first thing they come into the room and then after examining the child. I'm very grateful for that. Plus, even if you don't touch anything, the exam table, stethascope, etc. have germs.

ETA: Unfortunately, my peds office doesn't have sick/well sides, but I like the doctors so much I can deal with it. I guess people were complaining of sick kids on the well side and they couldn't enforce it. In our prev practice, had to wait one time for 3 hours! I can't believe I sat there. 1.5 in the waiting room and 1 hour in the exam room with DS stripped down after the nurse weighed him. Then the ped was wondering why DS was so squirmy when I was trying to hold him and talk to her. Duh.

[s7714]

Yep, that's happened to us a couple of times. I'll take a DD in for a well child exam and we'll all end up with something a couple days later. Our office usually has newborn babes wait in a separate area if they're just there for well baby checks, but I don't know if it does much good since it's also the area where people wait in between x-rays or blood/urine tests sometimes. Not to mention everyone, sick or well, ends up in the same exam rooms.

The thing that gets me in the majority of doctor's offices is that they're practically sealed shut with no fresh air coming in except via the main door. You'd think they'd have better ventilation systems or open some windows! I used to constantly get sick when I worked in an office that didn't have any substantial fresh air sources. Finally they installed two windows that could be opened and employee illnesses were drastically reduced.

[gatorsmom]

I haven't read the other responses, but I have always said the same thing- we are going to the pediatrician's tomorrow which means we'll be sick later this week. It always happens. And it sucks that I have to take more than 1 kid in there at a time.

I decided to start washing everyone's hands while we are there. While we are in the waiting room, i let them play with the toys but yell at the older ones not to touch their faces. As soon as we get to the exam room, everyone washes their hands. We do it again after the exam. And if the doctor doesn't immediately wash her hands as soon as she walks inthe room, I ask her to right in front of me. Only one has scoffed at this and she's no longer with that practice. Now we have a doctor who is like a grandmother figure and just grins when I ask her. She's the best.

Not sure how desperate you are to prevent illness, but there is a hand cleaner called Hibiclens that puts a protective barrier on your hands for a max of 6 hours after you use it. It comes in the form of a soap or packets of wipes. I've found it at Walgreens. You could put that on before going into the doctor's office. Of course, that won't help if someone coughs in your face. ;)

[Thatchermom]

I'm still trying to pick my jaw up off the floor. TWO HOURS???? DS is 7 and we had way more than the average peds visits during his early years, many of them completely unscheduled, we want to see him the moment this happens kind of visits. I can count on one hand the number of times my backside has actually touched a chair in the waiting room there. I'm pretty sure there is a split waiting area, but we've never used it, nor do I ever see anybody else in it. I don't even wait 10 minutes for a call-back in the middle of the night (friends even had to call on Christmas morning - still less than 10!) We have said many, many times that I would drive up to an hour to stay with our ped when we move. I think I'd have to widen my search area if I were in your position! Even putting germiness and wait times aside, can you really be getting your doc's best attention when they are that rushed and overworked? Having been through some big medical stuff with my squirts, I can't imagine seeing someone that is that compromised before I even got started.

Sorry you're dealing with this!

[strollerqueen]

It's Health Net. We had Blue Cross before, which I was happy with. But my agent insisted this was better. I guess in some ways he's right. BC was paying 80% and we were paying 20%. As long as you don't have any surgeries, hospital stays, etc. it was more cost effective. With Health Net, once you reach your deductible, they pay 100%. I am thankful we had this plan these past couple of years. But my old ped said they were only reimbursing her $15 for newborn calls--i.e. going to the hospital in the middle of the night and checking them, doing the tests, etc. Kinda' crazy. So that's why she dropped them.


Thats NUTS! I'm sorry you can't change due to your DS's pre existing conditions! Not fair at all... especially to everyone else in the family! Any chance you could get just your little one on his own plan? It's your older DS with the ear surgeries right? Since you have to be in more often with a little one it might make your life a little easier! I suppose complaining the the doctors themselves isn't going to make a difference! What a nightmare!

The only time I waited longer than say 15/20 minutes was when we called in and DS was sick. Our ped squeezed us in! This is one reason I DO like the rip off Blue Shield we have... we can see the doctors we like and my kids love their ped! What company are you with? If you don't mind my asking?!

~Tondi

[strollerqueen]

I haven't read the other responses, but I have always said the same thing- we are going to the pediatrician's tomorrow which means we'll be sick later this week. It always happens. And it sucks that I have to take more than 1 kid in there at a time.

I decided to start washing everyone's hands while we are there. While we are in the waiting room, i let them play with the toys but yell at the older ones not to touch their faces. As soon as we get to the exam room, everyone washes their hands. We do it again after the exam. And if the doctor doesn't immediately wash her hands as soon as she walks inthe room, I ask her to right in front of me. Only one has scoffed at this and she's no longer with that practice. Now we have a doctor who is like a grandmother figure and just grins when I ask her. She's the best.

Not sure how desperate you are to prevent illness, but there is a hand cleaner called Hibiclens that puts a protective barrier on your hands for a max of 6 hours after you use it. It comes in the form of a soap or packets of wipes. I've found it at Walgreens. You could put that on before going into the doctor's office. Of course, that won't help if someone coughs in your face. ;)

Is it safe for a baby who is sticking his fingers in his mouth?

[strollerqueen]

Thanks all! I am feeling so miserably sick today, and angry because it's so convoluted. Doctors are supposed to make you well. But when going to them means you are going to get sick, or sicker than you were, it defeats the whole purpose. There must be a better solution. It sounds like some of your doctors have it wired.

[Nooknookmom]

Hi Janet!!! I hope everyone feels better very soon.

I was in the same boat w/ DD2's pre-existing condition, reflux. I was frustrated w/ the treatment we were receiving and could not get any company to cover her. I am just now at the point where I "think" I can switch, she had to be symptom free for 6 months, grrr. We have Kaiser and they do have a well/sick waiting room but the avg wait time is 45 min. I have waited longer.

Due to the low amt of docs in your health group would the H. Net let you go out of group? Maybe to a different city? I had to pull teeth once to do that but it helped me get into a different doc.

Did I mention I **hate** ins companies? We're self-employed and pay through the nose AND I have a different plan for DH, DD1 and DD2/myself.

*sigh*

[strollerqueen]

Hi Janet!!! I hope everyone feels better very soon.

I was in the same boat w/ DD2's pre-existing condition, reflux. I was frustrated w/ the treatment we were receiving and could not get any company to cover her. I am just now at the point where I "think" I can switch, she had to be symptom free for 6 months, grrr. We have Kaiser and they do have a well/sick waiting room but the avg wait time is 45 min. I have waited longer.

Due to the low amt of docs in your health group would the H. Net let you go out of group? Maybe to a different city? I had to pull teeth once to do that but it helped me get into a different doc.

Did I mention I **hate** ins companies? We're self-employed and pay through the nose AND I have a different plan for DH, DD1 and DD2/myself.

*sigh*

Yep, self-employed here, too. I just got a notice that the premiums are going way up next month. DH is gonna' freak. Do you find it more cost-effective to split all of you up? We are on a family plan right now; maybe I should look into separating us.

[niccig]

It's Health Net.

You're in Santa Monica correct? I'm in Glendale, we used to have HealthNet and my ped. office near my home takes their PPO, well at least they did up until last year. DH's work changed to a different plan for this year. They have sick waiting room and healthy waiting room. I have had to wait but no more than 45mins. Everyone I know goes to them. It's a drive for you though.

[strollerqueen]

Yep, big schlep in traffic. But glad to hear you have someone you are happy with. And BIG CONGRATS to your new citizenship, btw! :)

[kijip]

Hope all feel better soon.

We have never become sick from our peds office. They apparently clean the waiting room 3 times a day and they take all very sick kids and all newish infants to exam rooms pretty much on arrival. Seems like they have a lot of exam rooms and/or are just really well scheduled. We see one of the most highly regarded/popular with parents peds in the area too and he is always booked but we still don't have long waits. I totally love this doctor and would drive to see him but he is pretty close to my house and my now old office (proximity to my work was a factor when we selected him but now that is moot).

[gatorsmom]

Is it safe for a baby who is sticking his fingers in his mouth?

Good question. You could ask the doctor while you are there next time. Or, actually the pharmacist at Walgreens. It works great for the older kids, though.