Cold and flu season is in full swing and we wanted to remind you of a few things when dealing with respiratory or stomach infections.
We can treat most cases through call or text!
If you just have a cold or mild symptoms that you can take care of at home, you don’t have to come in to the office. Just let us know you’re sick and we will send some cough/congestion medicine or nausea medicine to the pharmacy for you and/or write you a work note to stay home and rest. This is the beauty of having direct access to your doctor!
Reasons to come in to the office:
1. You (or your child) are having trouble breathing or can’t catch your breath and think you might need a breathing treatment
2. You (or your child) are having fevers over 102.2 that are not coming down with medication
3. You (or your child) are vomiting or having severe diarrhea and can’t keep fluids down. Remember that salty fluids are required to stay hydrated, such as broths, gatorade, or pedialyte.
4. You (or your child) have symptoms of strep which are fever, headache, swollen neck glands, and severe sore throat (most people say they feel like they are swallowing razorblades). Strep DOES NOT cause cough or nasal congestion, but any virus CAN cause sore throat. It’s more likely viral if these other symptoms are present. You can always make an appointment if you are not sure.
5. You (or your child) have severe ear pain that could be an ear infection
6. You’ve been dealing with facial pressure, sinus pain, nasal congestion for more than 10 days or you were getting better and all of a sudden are getting worse. Sinusitis is only treated with antibiotics when you get a secondary bacterial infection. Most viral sinusitis goes away on its own.
7. Your child has become lethargic (hard to wake up), is not urinating well, or is not drinking enough fluids. This is also a reason to take them to the ER if it happens to be after hours.
You are welcome to come in and see us anytime you feel you need to be seen but sometimes it’s best to just stay home and rest. You don’t have to feel obligated to come in to the office just to get a work note, we got you covered!
If you have any questions or concerns, please give us a call. We are always here for you.
