Helpful hints from Urgent Care...

I would like to start by saying that I, too, have had my freak out moments as a mom. Yes, I am guilty of going to the PCP (with my firstborn, Braveheart) for ridiculous reasons. So, yes, I understand. I know that sometimes completely rational people lose all common sense when it comes to your children and illness. However, I cannot survive another flu season in the urgent care without passing along some helpful hints.

First of all, I guarantee that your child's fever is NOT 108 degrees.

Second, please plan to spend at least 3 hours in the urgent care. This is a normal amount of time. If you get out sooner then consider yourself lucky! This is flu season people, everyone is sick. You will not be bumped ahead of other families because you are "just waiting for strep results." So is everyone else. You are not special today.

If you come to Urgent Care every week, then it is probably because you are repeatedly exposing your child to a million germs in the waiting room every week.

Please, I beg you, do not hand your insurance card to your coughing, runny nosed child and then tell them to hand it to "the nice lady." The nice lady is trying very hard not to be sick too. Her hands are dry and cracking due to all the hand washing.

When your child presents with vomiting, you should bring a bowl or bag of some sort to avoid the upchuck scene at the front desk. I often wonder, didn't they take a bowl in the car? Weren't you worried that your child would throw up on the upholstery? Seriously, am I the only mom that assigns a bowl to any queasy child? The designated bowl goes where you go.

WHEW! That about covers it for now. I do have to say that for the most part, parents out there are great. Nice, polite, and simply doing the right thing in making sure that their child is going to be okay. I understand, I really do. I think I must just deal with an abnormal amount of parents that fall under the "don't have a clue" category. They don't call it a compassion crisis for nothing. I will definitely work on that.