Do you give a sick child medicine before taking her to the doctor?

Question

It seems counterproductive to mask the symptoms with medicine right before the appointment. How's a doctor going to make an accurate diagnosis? I'm interested, though, in how other parents handle this situation.

Thanks to everyone who responded. Here are my thoughts:

I don't like giving a fever-reducer before going, because you are then faced with too many variables. Did the fever go down because of the Tylenol or because he's getting better. His fever is just as bad- does that mean it would be worse without the Tylenol, or did I not give a big enough dose. Etc. Also, as another person pointed out, there is nothing wrong with a fever per se- it's merely a sign that your body is fighting something.

Tylenol and Motrin fight fevers, but they also reduce inflammation. Things like RSV are not congestion, they are actually inflamed air passages. So if your kid has the very start of RSV, and you give him Tylenol, you are actually masking the fever AND the cough.

All things taken into consideration, I WILL give my kid medicine before going to the doctor, but only when it's a breathing issue.

Answer 1

I would not. I would make sure that I took my child to the doctor with their symptoms at full strength, this way the doctor can accurately tell just how sick he or she is. You're right, you shouldn't mask the symptoms, it could prevent from the doctor being able to make the actual diagnosis.

Answer 2

That kind of depends on what symptoms you're "masking".

I see nothing wrong with giving my son some Tylenol or Motrin to get rid of a fever, because the doctor will get as much info as he or she needs when I say, "I took his temperature at **insert time** and it was **insert temp**. I gave him a dose of Tylenol at **insert time**."

If the problem is something like a cough, unless you are well-schooled in describing a cough, I wouldn't give a child a cough suppressant right before seeing a doctor. Different coughs mean different things, and are treated in different ways. However, my kids have recurring upper respiratory infections, and I can tell the doctor if a cough has been productive or not (is it breaking up the phlegm or just being irritating), where it appears to be coming from (deeper in the chest, or the result of a scratchy throat), and how long it's lasted. Still, I usually don't give the kids a cough suppressant, but I will give them an expectorant, based on what the doctor has told me repeatedly about certain coughs.

If my kids are having asthma symptoms, you bet I would give them a breathing treatment, since their need to breathe supercedes the doctor's need to see an asthma attack firsthand.

Answer 3

Depends on the situation. My little girl was running a 103 fever recently, so I gave her baby tylenol because I knew we may be in the waiting room for a while, and I know a fever that high can be dangerous for a baby. I took the bottle with me, though, and told the doctor how much I had given her. However, if it's just a runny nose or a cough, I would hold off on the medicine until after the appointment.

Answer 4

I have before, but it will mask the symptoms. At times I've tooken my children to the ER, and if the child is running a fever they'll give them some Motrin. You shouldn't really, because they'll get a better idea what might be wrong, so you won't be wasting your time by having to go again later.
Your child running a fever isn't a bad thing, it's actually good, because it's their body's way of fighting an infection, signaling that somethings wrong. Ask your doctor.

Answer 5

If your child has a fever it is nessacerry to give them a fever reducer such as tylenol, or motrin. I allow my children a full 24 hours of there symptoms before bringing them to the docter so the doctor can determine a more reasonable diagnosis. I only bring my child in right away if the fever is over 103 degrees and cannot be kept down with normal procedures. I do not give my child any medications for 24 hours so I can monitor thier symptoms and have a better outlook for the docter. However, sometimes children just have a small cold and a docter, If you have experianced this before with your child, is not nessecery unless symptoms worsen. Hope this satified your curiosity.

Answer 6

It depends on the situation. If the child has a nasty cough and cough medicine is the only thing that quiets the cough yes I would give it before going to the doc. So long as you have all of the symptoms and other things on paper or in your head for the doc it shouldn't be a problem if you give meds first as most over the counter meds don't really do a whole lot if they are really sick.

Answer 7

Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. Like if my daughter is running a fever, I wouldn't hesitate to give her Tylenol before taking her to the doctor. I can always tell the doctor how her fever has been running.

Answer 8

Maybe if you are going to see the doctor in less than an hour you could wait. If we are talking about hours, or days there is no way I would just let my child suffer while waiting to see a doctor. Medicine is typically just going to soothe the symptoms not eliminate the illness. I good doctor will still usually be able to get to the root of the problem.

Answer 9

If the child has a fever, I give him Tylenol. I tell the doctor what my child's temp was and when I gave the Tylenol.

Answer 10

It depends... If the fever is very high (102 or higher), I usually go ahead and give tylenol. Other than that, I really don't give anything until the doctor says.