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20 Questions
What to Ask Your Pediatrician
By Dr. Vincent Iannelli
When you see your child's pediatrician, you expect to be asked quite a few questions. How long has she been sick? What symptoms does she have? What treatments have you already tried? Do they make her better or worse? These are just some of the typical questions a pediatrician will ask when you go in for a visit when your child is sick.
If it seems like your pediatrician is playing "20 questions" or is on a fact-finding mission, that is because she is. The answers to these questions, and others, will help your pediatrician figure out what is wrong with your child and what the appropriate treatments will be. Of course the physical exam is important, too, but you would be surprised at how much your pediatrician relies on this history of your child's illness to make a diagnosis.
In addition to answering your pediatrician's questions, you should ask your own so that you have a good idea of what is wrong with your child, how you are supposed to treat her and when she should get better. Knowing the answers to the following questions can also help to relieve your anxiety, prevent misunderstandings and avoid missing complications or signs that your child is getting much sicker.
When your pediatrician says that your child has bronchitis, what he is really saying is "your child has an infection with a virus that is causing her to have a productive cough and she should get better without antibiotics in a few weeks."
If you don't understand that, you will likely be surprised when she isn't quickly getting better or why she wasn't prescribed antibiotics. So don't be afraid to ask questions about your child's diagnosis, especially if you aren't sure what the diagnosis means.
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