Have you taken your child to the ER

[JBaxter]

Ive been to the ER 4 x with the boys
Logan twice. Migraine at age 11 and a broken arm ( well that was urgent care the next day)
Connor stitches .. golf club to the eye brow
Nathan 3 stitches at 20 months ( climbed a book case and flipped a crystal ice bucket on his head.

We have had tons of fevers 103+ , spills , falls etc. But Ive always taken a wait and see approach My ped is really good about calling me back off hours

I think part of it to is my brother and sister are ER nurses and I hear all the crazy stories about people using the ER as a primary care.

[wellyes]

DD once for croup. Scary, but she was actually much better by the time we got there (cool weather helps croup) so we felt a little sheepish. But still went in just in case.

[HIU8]

Twice. Once as a new mom to a constipated baby on a holiday weekend. once out of town when DS got a double ear infection at 9 months old and was throwing up and screaming and of course we were 5 hours from home.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Ds1- twice. Once for croup with stridor and once for a fall (he fell down a few stairs and was limping...stopped limping as soon as we got there!). eta- both happened after hours and we were directed by the ped to go in.

I took ds2 to an after hours clinic because we were leaving for vacation and he had a really high fever and was out of sorts. I thought it could be an ear infection or strep throat. Just a virus.

eta- I am really grateful for some of those clinics sometimes, especially the one affiliated w/ the major hospital. For non- major emergencies they are so muc better than the ER!

Beth

[WatchingThemGrow]

no, I haven't. I don't want to ever go!
FWIW, the day I had DS2, my mom fell at our house and DH had to take her to the ER. I wanted to wheel down there just to see what it is like just so I know. I'd feel better if I knew what was behind those doors.

When I wonder about something, I email my uncle who was the director of an ER for years. He's quick about replying now that he's retired.

[JElaineB]

Yes, twice for DS I think. Once when he had a 105 F fever and once when he scratched his cornea with a piece of plastic.

[AbbysMom]

When older DD was about 6 months, we went on a Monday holiday with a fever (it turned out to be a urinary tract infection).

Younger DD, I went Christmas night when she had a fever at 3 months old and when she was a year, she bit the tip of her tongue almost off and it was a bloody gory mess.

ETA: We always call their doc first. The first 2 times at the ER were on holidays when the docs office was closed and the third we went to the doc who sent us to the hospital. I avoid it at all costs!

[Clarity]

Three times, I think.
DD1 for a weekend ear infection and for the time that she was having a fit and kicked an oak kitchen chair. It promptly fell backwards on her forehead. She had a HUGE goose egg on her forhead but she was otherwise fine.
DD2 went in for RSV and bronchiolitis this past March. That was very scary.

[infomama]

Twice.. both times with dd1.
Haven't been in a few years, thankfully.

[scrooks]

DD- Twice- once for Hand Foot Mouth (we couldn't get into the doc and they told us to go to the ER and I am glad we did), the other time for a bump on the head- I know I am paranoid but I just kept thinking about Natasha Richardson

DS- Four times!-One eye infection over the weekend when he was 2 months old, One case of RSV that got us a trip in an ambulance and admittance to the hospital, 2 ear infections (i'm embarassed about those a bit but I don't like them to suffer over the weekend)

Looks like I am the most paranoid. When in doubt we head to the ER. Fortunately (and a bit unfortunately - see above how many crazy times we have gone) our City's childrens hospital built a suburban childrens ER literally 5 minutes from our house. It's brand spanking new and I've never had to wait more than 15 minutes to be seen by a doc. It's super convienient.

The one thing I have recently found out, which may cut down on some of our sillier ear infection visits, one of the branches of our peds office is open on Sundays!:cheerleader1: I would drive 25 minutes to save $125 in ER copays for minor stuff.

[gatorsmom]

4 kids and only been to the ER 2x (so far, knock on wood).

Took Gator to the ER for nursemaid's elbow when he was 2yo

Took Cha Cha a couple months ago for severe stomach pains. Turned out to be diarhea.

I had a friend who warned me one time that CPS might be calling me to ask about her parenting because her son had been to the ER 5 times within 6months. :47: This was when he was 3yo. Most of the time it was because she'd go for coffee at a girlfriend's house and they would let their children run around unattended in the basement. Her little boy had to have stitches for all kinds of gashes- falling off tables, climbing on exercise equipment, etc. I"m not really friends with her anymore. She thought I was too paranoid for wanting to be in the basement with our kids while they were playing. :rolleye0014:

[Corie]

DS, age 5 - twice.

1. When he was 2 years old, he tripped going up some concrete steps.
Needed 8 stitches in his chin.

2. Again when he was around 2.5 years old, I could NOT get him to stop
throwing up. I'm used to his vomiting since he has CVS (Cyclic Vomiting
Syndrome) but this was not a CVS episode. I was getting nervous.


DD, age 8 - none.

[Cam&Clay]

DS1--Twice...both times for stitches (forehead and chin) before he was 2.

DS2--Once...high fever over a holiday weekend (ear infection)

[Tondi G]

YUP!

DS1 4 times... 1- split his eye open at 18 months 2- broken elbow required surgery 3- broken left forearm both bones 4- broken right forearm one bone

DS2 once. Scary incident at bedtime that involved doing a forward roll incorrectly and tweaking his neck... he went limp and his lips went purple... called 911... they came and then we took him to the ER ourselves cause he was back to normal but we wanted him checked out anyways. Scariest moments of my life.

[crl]

No. I nearly did once for nursemaids elbow, but his peds office was able to see him immediately so I didn't have to. We've been lucky.

Catherine

[lil_acorn]

4 ER visits
DS1 - as an infant when he had a fever (flu)
nosebleed that lasted for >5 hours

DS2 - as an early toddler when he fell off the bed and vomited right after
as a toddler when he got sick and his oxygen levels dropped down to the 80s


have also had an urgent care visit with DS2 for nanny's elbow while on vacation

[Green_Tea]

For DD1 we've been many times because of her hard-to-control asthma and peanut allergy. Maybe 5 or 6 times in almost 8 years?

DD2 went once for stitches.

DS is a frequent flyer - 2 rounds of stitches, once when he twisted out of my arms and fell onto a concrete floor, once went he poked a sharp object into his ear and was bleeding as a result, and once for a swallowed object. What's that - 5 times? He's 4 and he only does this stuff at night/on weekends. It's like a hobby of his. They play the theme song from Cheers when we walk in with him.

So we're an asthma/injury family in the ER. I am not one to run there for fevers/tummy aches/viruses. I take a wait and see approach on those.
I am always surprised when I see a "5 year old DD hasn't eaten all day and has a fever of 103 and is complaining of stomach pain - what should I do???" post and a dozen people respond with "go to the ER just to be sure." Really?

[KpbS]

Just once with DS1. He fell off a firetruck at a festival about 5 ft. off the ground and hit his head. We ended up leaving the ER after 3 hrs. and still waiting to be seen :shake:

[DrSally]

Once with DS. I was taking a shower and he got upset that he couldn't see me and fell and hit his head against the outside of the tub. There was a little dent in his forehead, so I called my dr's office. They told me I had to go to the ER in case it was a skull fracture. After 2.5 hours in the ER, it was gone by the time the doctor saw him. I really wish they would've seen him in the office first.

ETA: I think there was another time for DS, b/c I remember there being 2 visits within a short time period. But, I cannot for the life of me remember what it was for. Wasn't for allergies, and wasn't for an illness (I generally call the ped and have them tell me what to do first).

[♥ms.pacman♥]

haven't had to take DS yet to the ER as he's never even been sick yet (knock on wood). though i just know that given his personality in a year or two we'll probably end up going for broken bones/stitches etc as DS is pretty fearless and likes to get into everything and climb stuff!

[bubbaray]

Numerous times. Random recollections:

DD#1
various issues re dehydration with rotovirus (twice)
too many times to recall re asthma
HSP scare -- sent by dr to ER
latest visit was re asthma and we were also sent there by her regular dr

DD#2
severe anaphylactic reaction to fish (via ambulance)
breathing difficulty (turned out to be croup, but I still swear it did NOT sound like croup to me AT ALL)
head wound (and subsequent "loopiness", again via ambulance)

We've been a LOT with the girls. It sucks. I can't imagine why on earth anyone would want to willingly go to the ER, its just a sucky place. Especially when you have to overnight with 4 docs trying to keep your kid breathing....

[o_mom]

5 times, IIRC.

High fever in infant < 6 mos
Dehydration w/overnight stay
Croup (including ambulance ride and epinepherine)
Croup
Scalp laceration

All except the first were after being directed/sent there by the ped on-call and all were for the same child.

[wendibird22]

Just once. DD1-never (thankfully!). DD2 at 5mos when she was vomiting bile. I called the nurse line first and they thought potential for obstruction or other intestinal issue. Turned out to be viral GI issue (DD1 got sick 2 days later).

We are very lucky. We are usually able to be seen at our ped or after hours for virus, ear infections, etc.

[newg]

Only once.....we were on vacation and DD1 had a temp over 103. We called the ped. and that's what he recommended.

[hillview]

Speedy (DS1) has been once for what we thought might need stitches but didn't (actually there is a scar so might have ...)

Swifty (DS2) has been 5 times, one for a fractured skull (in Italy) where we found out he needed brain surgery, once for steri-strips on his chin, 20 hrs later for stitches on same chin, and once for stitches on his lip. Amazingly enough I am surprised it has not been 10 times for him ... he earned his nickname ... eta forgot he went once when he had fluid coming out of his ear -- turned out to be an ear infection but given the brain surgery history ... all 5 times (well except the fractured skull) I called the pedi after hours service and they said to go in

/hillary

[Twoboos]

DD1 once when she had some kind of puking virus, for fluids.

DD2 once when DD1 pulled her elbow out of the socket. Waited for 2.5hrs for the Dr to pop it back in in 7 seconds. The next 2x this happened, DH googled how to pop it back in and did it himself after watching a YouTube tutorial. Luckily all elbows have stayed put for the past couple of years!

[billysmommy]

Ds1 once to the ER at 8 months old for 104.9 degree fever and once to Urgent Care for stitches

Ds2 once to the ER at 3 weeks old for 101.8 degree fever and once to Urgent Care at 2 years after he dropped a big wooden truck on his foot and then 2 hours later was still not putting weight on it

[Indianamom2]

Twice, once with each child.

With DD #1, we took her to the ER late one night when she couldn't stop throwing up and was writhing with stomach pain. She was fine (after some phenergan) but we were concerned about appendicitis and nothing else was open.

With Ds#2, we took him this past Jan. on a Saturday afternoon. We had been to the weekend clinic our pedi runs and the doctor in that day said that he had asthma...yet no treatments were working. You could hear this poor six month old baby wheezing across a large room. So, I took him to the ER because I wasn't fooling around with breathing issues in such a little baby. Turns out it was a good call because he was admitted and got breathing treatments and oxygen for about 24 hours.

I definitely use it as a last resort.

Now Urgent Care is a bit of a different story. It's my next-to-last resort option, but we've been there a bit more often, most recently for x-rays for DD's broken toe...that they mis-read.

[smilequeen]

Urgent care twice I think? On the weekend after calling the pediatrician and being told to go in due to a fever that wouldn't go down. Once to get glue on a forehead cut from daycare. We've never been to the actual ER. I did call 911 and an ambulance came when Simon had a seizure at 16 months though. It turned out to be a febrile seizure, but holy crap I was scared to death.

[aa2mama]

Once with DS when he was 2. He dropped a can on his foot and needed his toenail punched to relieve the pressure. I couldn't bring myself to do it. At the time we didn't have any urgent care clinics in our town, and his ped was closed.

DD no visits.

[dotgirl]

Only once - he ran into the corner of a shelf at pre-school and got a cut that wouldn't stop bleeding. He wound up needing dermabond and has a small scar. Our ped is really great about calling us back, so I'm sure she's averted many trips. ;)

[KrisM]

DS1 went once, via ambulance. It was his first time being sick with a fever and it ended up with a seizure.

I've done Urgent Care twice with DS1, once with DD and once with DS2 as well.

[edurnemk]

Once, for stitches at 22 months. DS was running around like crazy in the living room while I was on the phone with DH who was out of town, it was bedtime, but he always gets crazy before going to bed. He tripped and hit his forehead on the fireplace ledge. It wasn't a huge cut buy it seemed pretty deep, and I was reluctant to put him to bed right after a blow to the head.

I would've taken him another time for a really high fever (105F +), but DH refused, he has this silly notion of ER's being traumatic for kids. Well a seizure would be more traumatic for everyone! Fortunately I managed to bring the fever down and the Ped said if I could control it with lukewarm baths + Motrin I could keep him home, but it was one of the worst nights ever.

[arivecchi]

DS1: possible concussion, cut in eyelid, mysterious leg pains and screaming in the middle of the night, severe vomiting & lethargy & chills

DS2: Bell's palsy

Fortunately, Children's Memorial is 3 blocks away.

[kijip]

Once, when my father clipped a huge chunk out of T's finger and it did not stop bleeding even with much pressure and time so the nurse wanted him to come in (he was tiny at this point and my father, freaking father, tried to cut his nails after I told him not to try). They used a second skin thing and did a crazy bandage wrap to get it to stay on his little finger. Minor enough, but he would not stop bleeding with home care so it made sense.

My husband works at a large hospital that cares for children. Yeah, after office hours they call the ER "the clinic". People coming in for a number of reasons when they should not be using the ER:

-They don't have insurance and know they won't get turned away and told to go to an actual clinic after hours.

-Mom and Dad can't take baby during the day because of work so they use the ER as an evening clinic.

-They have no idea where to go besides the ER because that is the only way they have ever accessed medical care.

-They delay what would have been minor visits until it is really urgent/bad and the consulting nurse tells them to get into the ER because there is no other place to send them late.

-They are really really fast to react. Like baby fell off chair, has not bruises, no discernible injuries, no signs of brain injury, and they want to make sure "it's all ok". Which I get after a certain point, but some of it is not much more than an infected sliver. Get some tweezers.

[ThreeofUs]

Never. Not for either boy, knock on wood, and I am REALLY surprised. I was certain we'd be there.

[swissair81]

Hmm, letmesee...

With DD1, I brought her once for a broken leg, once for stitches over her eye & once for tonsillitis with a fever that wouldn't come down (she spent several hours getting IV hydration & a CT scan to make sure there was nothing icky behind her tonsils. We ended up taking them out several months later.) She is a very talented individual & she has had other issues involving x-rays & asthma that have been taken care of without the use of an ER. I love outpatient imaging.

DD2 & 3 have never been to the ER. Here's to more of that.

DS was at the ER once (at 5 weeks). He had a lump in his diaper area that turned out to be thrush, but the doc was afraid it might be an absess. It would have only been an office visit had I noticed it during office hours. Alas...

[spanannie]

Twice:

DS: bad bike accident just before he turned 6 -- cut his face open to the nerves. Went to the ER in an ambulance.

DD2: broken arm as baby

DD1: None

[LexyLou]

Only once when DD2 was 18 months old. She and DD1 were taking turns knocking on the bedroom door and DD1 closed the door. DD2's hand was on the hinge side...ugg, I still get sick typing it out...and she closed it on her middle finger. The whole tip was hanging off...:barf:

Luckily, they could sew it back together. The nail grew back but it's totally funky and there is a permanent indention across her finger, including the nail bed.

That was 1 1/2 years ago. Haven't been since...knock on wood.

[MichelleRC]

Yep. One broken elbow. DS2. New Years Eve (early in the evening luckily), no less. You have not lived until you have been in the ER on an major holiday. And of course there were no pediatric orthos on duty so the surgery had to wait until January 2.

We have been to urgent care a few times for asthma/croup related stuff too.

[egoldber]

Twice, both for younger DD. She had RSV and bronchiolitis at 9 weeks, which ended up in a 4 day hospital stay.

And once when she was 2, she put a Polly Pocket shoe up her nose so far that DH couldn't get it and it was the weekend, so ped said go to the ER.

[hez]

DS:
Dehydration from rotovirus at something like 6 months.
Stitches over the eyebrow from the corner of the wall or a toy (no witness & no tears) at 21 months or so
Swelling/pain in the abdomen that turned out to be an inflamed lymph node, followed by dehydration b/c they wouldn't let him eat or drink 'til all the tests were done, at 4.

In all 3 cases we saw the ped first.

DD:
Not yet, but I expect her fearlessness will catch up with her.

Interesting note-- for a variety of reasons, I had the pleasure of making those 3 trips without DH. Don't enjoy having to prove how strong I can be on my own thankyouverymuch.

[endlessheather]

Sadly yes....

DS1 - once for being really lethargic and wheezing from breathing. Turns out that when he got colds as a little guy, it would wipe him out pretty bad and it'd go to his chest fast and cause wheezing. 2nd time for a really high fever we couldn't break when he was a little little guy.

DS2 - once and the scariest of all trips. He fell 16 ft. from our 2nd floor loft playroom that overlooks into our front entry way. I was away at swim lessons with my oldest and DH was home & getting the bath ready for our 16 month old. He was playing across the way and climbed up on his play kitchen and went over the railing in just a matter of minutes. Taken to the ER locally and later I was rushed in ambulance with him to Children's 45 minutes away because he had a pretty bad skull fracture. Luckily that was the extent of his injuries..he is our walking miracle to say the least.

I was an EMT when younger and going to nursing school now...I can't even begin to describe how scary it was to be in an ambulance as a parent and not the EMT. Nothing prepared me for that trip.

[mom2binsd]

DD- at 3 weeks, she had slept for 7 hours, I tried nursing her numerous times, she wouldn't nurse or really wake up, but was still making wet diapers.....after 9 hours of not waking ped's afterhours call back doc said take her in...after waiting in the ER for 2 hours, she decided to wake up and nurse, so we left...talked with the admitting staff and signed off that we were refusing treatment....

DD age 7, she jumped off our playset, we thought she was being her typical drama queen, but after about an hour of crying decided to take her in, ya, it was a broken arm (bag over head smilie)

DS age 2 - jumped off the bed, twisted his leg, of course it was 7pm, an hour later he was still limping, ped said to bring him in to ER just in case, by the time they xrayed him at 10pm he was wiggling off the table....

[MommyAllison]

A couple years ago, we took DD in for stridor (croup) 2 nights in a row, and she was admitted. I'd guess we would have gone another 5+ times if not for having steroids to treat her at home since then. She also went once for a UTI (ped had no appts available, and the only urgent care that will see young kids was closed).

DS hasn't gone, thankfully.

[MMMommy]

Just once with DD2. She had an ear infection and was on antibiotics. She broke out in a hideous hivey looking rash everywhere from an allergic reaction to the antibiotics.

[citymama]

DD1 - twice
DD2 - once

Of those three times, only one was really necessary - the first trip we made with DD1. The other 2 were more panic-induced.

[lkarp]

Twice w/ DD1 and both times for asthma. The first time was after she had recently been diagnosed with asthma and we were still unsure of the symptoms. We called a nurse friend of ours and described DD1's breathing and she told us definitely to go to the ER.

The second time was about a year ago and we were visiting family in Little Rock and I forgot all her asthma medication (bad mommy!) With the change of seasons, etc her allergies got bad and triggered her asthma.

[american_mama]

Once, a few months ago with DS. He got into his sister's cough syrup and drank an unclear amount right before bed and Poison Control said he should go to the ER. They just observed his breathing for 3 hours or so; if I'd known that, I would have been tempted to keep him at home and awake for that amount of time and observed him on my own.

I was curious to read the stories. I have wondered how common ER visits are. My sister has 4 kids aged 8-14, and she's only been to the ER once (for croup) to my knowledge.

[codex57]

DS once. I was trying to clip his nails as an infant. He jerked and I cut off the tip of his finger. They didn't do much. Since it was still hanging by a thin flap, they just stuck a bandaid on it. It healed on its own just fine. I haven't cut any of the kids fingernails since tho.

We're lucky that Kaiser has a weekend clinic so we generally go to that. Other than the finger thing, no real true emergencies. Some close calls (like when DS decided to dive off a bar stool) but unless there's blood or complain of pain after more than a few min, we just call the advice nurse instead of going to the ER and waiting 3 hours to be seen.

[caleymama]

DD1, age 8
1 - At age 2 while we were out of town, on the road actually, and she had been vomiting non-stop for 12 hours. They gave her phenergan and we were able to make it home the next day. She ended up hospitalized a couple of days later for 3 days after the doctor's office was unable to keep up with IV fluids over the course of several hours. What a nasty, nasty virus (not rotavirus, btw).

2 - At age 3 after she fell on some wooden play equipment at the local elementary school. She split her knee open and needed 11 stitches.

DD2, age 5
1 - At age 3 after banging her forehead (above an eyebrow) on the corner of our coffee table while jumping around the living room. They ended up gluing it together with *purple* dermabond. Definitely helped that purple was her favorite color at the time!

[elliput]

Urgent care twice for DD. Once for a broken clavicle at age 3 after she fell off the bed and once for a laceration on the bottom of her foot.

[Gena]

We've taken DS once, when he needed stiches in his head.

Frankly, I'm amazed we haven't more. DS is a sensory seeker and has dyspraxia (motor planning disorder), which means he is both reckless and clumsy. We know it's only a matter of time before he breaks a bone. He's had several close calls, so I think his guardian angel must work overtime.

[Moneypenny]

I'm afraid I'm going to jinx this, but never. We did take her to the urgent care clinic once when she started exhibiting signs of a UTI in the evening after the ped's office was closed.

[nov04]

I can't count how many times we've been there, but luckily not within the last 1.5 years. We have excellent pediatric care during the day and evening/weekend, and a nurse's call-in line 24/7. So luckily we don't have to use emerg as a primary-care for them.

With the medical histories of the girls, we can't wait-and-see most of the time. So if something happens in the wee hours, we have no choice.

We've also called an ambulance on 2 occasions. Once when dd1 had a seizure and another when we were sure she was going to seize again. She was altered and we were terrified of transporting her ourselves across town and experiencing one in the car. And dd2 had pneumonia and a partially collapsed lung last year while I was visiting my Dad as he was dying.