# How many times has your oldest child been to the emergency room?



## Dar (Apr 12, 2002)

As a patient, that is? We just figured out that Rain's trip tonight was her sixth. She probably sprained but possibly broke her wrist - the same arm she broke two bones in 4 years ago. They splinted it and gave her Vicodin. She also has the Febrile Seizure in a Coffeehouse trip, the Maybe Ate Poison Berries trip, the Dogbite trip... and this is just the after hours and weekend stuff, when the doctor's office wasn't available.

I'm just curious to know the normal range of visits... I asked about the oldest child because I figured that the older a child is, the more opportunities he's had to need ER care.

Dar


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## UnschoolnMa (Jun 14, 2004)

My Ds is oldest (15) and he has been to the ER for:

1. Croup -trouble breathing age 5 months or so
2. E coli
3. Stitches in the leg from window glass
4. Stitches in the face from a dog attack
5. Hit in the head with a brick
6. Panic attack
7. Fever/nasty ear infection
8. Panic attack

Dd (almost 13) has been to the ER for:
1. Fever/eye infection
2. Forgot one! Possibility of swallowing blood pressure med
3. Asthma episode due to cold
4. Stitches for cutting 2 fingertips on the lid of a can of fruit
5. Chipped, fracturey thingy elbow
6.Ankle sprain








:


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## hellyaellen (Nov 8, 2005)

olivia is 6 and shes been twice for bad wheezing/labored breathing

she got breathing treatments both times.


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## emmaline (Dec 16, 2001)

ds1 is 15, his trips (not sure but ticked 6-8) have been for asthma, one for anaphylaxis and another when he had a kidney infection


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## sun-shine01 (Aug 9, 2002)

DD 3.5 - 1 time for a nasty looking spider (??) bite.

DS 9mos - 1 time for painful screaming at 3.5 months - diagnosed as colic-


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## Rockies5 (May 17, 2005)

My oldest will be 9 tomorrow and has never been to the ER. Is there a luck icon around here?

I'm sorry for all the boo-boos you guys are having.

My sister and brother (youngest of 6, twins) I remember we had one year wher the ER trips were MONTHLY!!


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## JeDeeLenae (Feb 5, 2006)

My DS (only 2) has never been to the ER. I actually have only gone to the ER 3 times and I'm 24. Twice for stitches as a little girl, and once for pregnancy spotting.


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## Ann-Marita (Sep 20, 2003)

Hi, Dar!

Our dd has been once, and it was a Dog Bite visit. No stitches, just a little cleaning up and a butterfly bandage.

I hope Rain feels better soon. I'm sorry her wrist is hurt. Is it her dominant hand/arm? (I'm thinking back to my own broken arm. It was my non-dominant hand, so I didn't have to learn to write with the "other" hand.)


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## Chinese Pistache (May 29, 2006)

Ds got a toy part stuck up his nose







Yep, he thought it would be a good idea to stuff a piece of "coal" (Thomas the Train) up his nose. It scared him pretty bad, but it was a bit funny, too.


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## super kitty (Nov 26, 2003)

*


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## PuppyFluffer (Mar 18, 2002)

We've had three - all arm related.

One dislocated elbow at about 2 years old - done by a friend helping her get out of a ball pit at a playground. She pulled her out by her hand.

One fractured forearm after pulling a short stool over to the bed edge to jump off of it onto the bed. (Safety minded parents that we are....we had our bed down on the floor. We didn't want our co-sleeping toddler to fall or jump off the bed and get hurt. LIttle did we think that she'd jump off a higher object TO the bed and miss, hit the floor and break her arm. And we were just inches away when it happened! This was last summer's adventure at age 3.

This summer, another dislocated elbow.

I hope we are done with arms!


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## mamaverdi (Apr 5, 2005)

Ds1 is 6.5 yrs. He's been twice. Once for a seizure after a head injury combined with a fever combined with a drug reaction to what they gave him to stop the fever. And once because he was slurring his speech and generally very very tired. At 9 in the morning.


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## Alkenny (May 4, 2004)

Oh, gee...at LEAST 9 times. At least once a year. She spikes high temps, has had an allergic reaction to wasps (stung 14 times at once!), brother tipped a chair back and hit her head on the deck, fell of her bike and hit her head on the curb, fell while rollerblading and almost broke her wrist...those last two were just this summer! She IS 13, though.


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## cee3 (Oct 24, 2005)

My 3 year old and my 6 month old had their first ER visits the same weekend







: . My 3 yo has been once for a gash in his head that required glue (playing football indoors). My 6 mo has been three times for respiratory distress brought on by colds.


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## luv my 2 sweeties (Aug 30, 2003)

My oldest is 6 and has been once. Last year she was having chest pain along with some other strange symptoms. They were very nice, but could only diagnose "viral syndrome" which is medical speak for "we don't know what the heck is wrong with her but she'll get better."









I'm 36 and have only been to the ER once as a patient. Long story, but I needed an emergency surgery. My doctor sent me there directly from his office, so he called ahead for me and I was taken care of soon after arrival. Not really a "normal" ER experience!

After reading this thread, I'm really counting my blessings! (Although I'm virtually certain I'm in for a few trips to the ER with DS in the future. He's a bit of a daredevil who regularly makes me go







:! )


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## ComeOnLetsGo (Nov 19, 2001)

Our oldest is now 15 and has never been to the ER. Now, if you had asked about the youngest, that would be a completely different story!


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## raleigh_mom (Jan 11, 2004)

Oldest is about to turn 6 and has been 3 times:

1- Was a bad flu, but the Dr wanted me to go to the emergency room due to very high fever. (on a Sunday night.)

2- Elbow pulled out of place. (I was holding her hand and she dropped to the floor in a tantrum before I could let go!)

3- Elbow pulled out of place. (Turned out she had weak elbows as a toddler!)


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## LionTigerBear (Jan 13, 2006)

1. High fever when he was like 4 months old (in hindsight we shoulda stayed home)
2. When he couldn't walk after taking a fall we wanted to rule out a broken leg (turned out it was a sprain)


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## Ruthla (Jun 2, 2004)

My oldest has only been to the ER once, when she injured her hand and we thought it might be broken. It was a completely wasted trip, they couldn't find anything on the X-ray so they decided not to listen to her that her hand HURT and would feel better if it was splinted. I ended up buying her a splint in the pharmacy (as opposed to being prescribed one and the insurance covering it.)

About 2 weeks later, they called and said they saw a possible hairline fracture on her hand, and she needs to be seen again. By then, she was healing fine and I saw no need to bring her in. I did call the pediatrician about it just to cover my butt (prevent somebody in the ER/radiology dept calling CPS on me for medical neglect.)

My very first ER visit was with my youngest when he was about a year old and was sick and dehydrated. I forget if this was when he had croup or a different time. All they did was observe him for a little while, give him a teddy bear, and send him home. He ended up not needing IV fluids because he was nursing- he refused all other liquids.

My 2nd ER visit was for my middle child with a broken finger.


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## mata (Apr 20, 2006)

my daughter is six, and has been to extended care (after hours) 3 or 4 times. Twice for croup, once because she was having abdominal pain after a bout of sickness. I think there may have been another visit in there somewhere. Last night she dropped a can on her toe, and I almost took her in, but the triage nurse said everything was probably ok. Hopefully she'll be able to walk on it this morning.


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## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

5 times for things not related to her hydro. For that I lost count years ago. I was *very* paranoid in the beginning and would rush her in every single time she hit her head. Yeah. I think it got to be once a month from age two to three and a half.


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## Joannarachel (Dec 10, 2005)

Good grief. 4 times. And he's not quite two







:

Four months old: bad reaction to vaccines...in the ER with dehydration and IV antibiotics









12 months old: second degree burns to palm when he grabbed the radiator to pull up









13 months old: Fever of 105, dry, listless, back in the ER for more IV antibiotics and fluids

15 months old: Same thing


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## mahogny (Oct 16, 2003)

DS, who will be 5 in two weeks, has been to the ER four times. Twice for head gashes that required staples, one time for a dehydration and blood in his diaper, and one time for an ear infection on Thanksgiving.

My DD, 19 mos, has been once for febrile seizures.


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## becoming (Apr 11, 2003)

Four times. Twice for febrile seizures with fever of 104, once for a car wreck (he was uninjured but wanted to get him checked out), and once for coldlike symptoms when he was first born.

My 11-month-old has been three times, all for RSV, and was hospitalized the third time.


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## adtake (Feb 1, 2006)

Right after his 2nd birthday, first time I have ever left him with other people. I was doing a craft fair at a mothers day out group, he was in the nursery. 2 days later we were fighting a fever and it wouldnt go down. Called the ped and she sent us to the ER with a 107 fever! Of course we got there and it was 103, I would have stayed home for that. My boys have high fever when they get them. That was before we discovered homeopathic or I would have had the fever down. He is 4.75 now...

#2 hasnt been, (unless you count going when #1 went, he was 4 months old in car with daddy) and neither has #3







:

Now if you want to talke about eye injuries my oldest is on number 6 of those...
1. black eye at school, fell into a rockingchair leg
2. ..i know there is one, but cant remember it
3. playing fell into the fireplace rock
4. brother hit him in the eye with a freezer pack, blood and black eye
5. brother hit him in the eye with a spoon, yes a spoon, blood and black eye
6. cat cratched him across the bridge of the nose near the eye

We are getting him safety glasses for his birthday


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## PajamaMama (Dec 18, 2004)

1. Dog bite (not serious but she was not quite 2 years old and I was a paranoid 1st time mom)

2. Broken arm (horseback riding accident)


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## ibex67 (Feb 24, 2006)

3 to 5 times [don't remember exactly]

all happened as an infant and toddler and all because of croup.


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## lilyka (Nov 20, 2001)

My oldest child has been the least.

my middle child had 3 full body xrays by her first birthday. That child is a dissaster waiting to happen. actually though I don't think she went to the emergency room for any of that. acute care and Dr. opffice. Our peds office will get you in regardles of what they have to do. They will never send you to the emergency room for anything short of life and death trauma. Unless of course its after 10 oclock or a holiday. . .

number three has been at least a couple of time. (also early in life) One was spurred by a mild birth defect (we didn't know) that made her sound very sick. She was in and out of the Dr.s office a lot for this before we finally found out what it was. the other was she took a dive and cut her head on the piano bench.

I am lucky that my kids get hurt mostly during office hours.


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## mesecina (Apr 22, 2004)

Once for stitches when she fell and split her chin. The younger one hasn't been yet.


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## momto l&a (Jul 31, 2002)

My oldest has been just once when she had terrible tummy pain. It turned out she was constipated







But her symptoms didn't match that.

My others have never been.

I have only been once in my entire life (32 years) and we only went because it was Sunday. I was bleeding and we didnt know if it was a mc or what.


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## lisac77 (May 27, 2005)

My 3-year-old DS has been twice, both times for severe hernias that wouldn't reduce between 11 months and a year old. It was horrible. He would cry and cry and the lump just wouldn't go away so we'd take him to the ER and OF COURSE by the time the doctor saw him the lump was gone. Thing is our PCP INSISTED that there was nothing they could do in their office and we had to take him to the ER.







:







:







:

The first time he picked up a nasty virus from the waiting area. Oh yeah. Fun times!

He had surgery to correct the hernias in his 1st birthday and we haven't been to the ER since.

He is, however, the amazing child who always gets severely ill at 9:00 PM on a Friday. I usually just try to ride it out at home and have him get seen on Monday if he's still bad. It's been, gosh, over a year since we've been to the doctor for an illness.


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## ani'smama (Nov 12, 2004)

Once. She's 10. She fell off her brand new tyke bike at her first birthday party and gashed her chin. Made for a memorable first birthday.


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## witchbaby (Apr 17, 2003)

technically two, even though one visit was because it was after-hours and the on-call doc for our office was up at the hospital.
k was admitted into the er when she had her broken leg-- that's where they did after-hour admittance for the mri's.


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## angelpie545 (Feb 23, 2005)

My oldest has been about ??5?? times I think. Her first year is kind of blurry because she ended up with a strep infection, and two or there ear infections that we ended up in the ER for. After the first year, we took her in once for a high fever and once for this funny red spot in her arm that went away with antibiotics. The only time we went after that is when she was four years old and playing in our front lawn and stepped on something sharp, and ended up with a huge puncture wound in her foot. I flipped because I couldn't find out what she had stepped on, so we ended up in the ER. DD#2 has been once for nurse maid's elbow.


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## sunnysideup (Jan 9, 2005)

My oldest is 14 and she's been to the ER once, when she was 3 weeks old and had a high fever.


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## Storm Bride (Mar 2, 2005)

DS1 is 13, and he's been to ER twice. The first was just before he turned four, when he jumped off the back of our couch with his eyes closed...hairline fracture of his forearm. The doctor said he wouldn't have had a cast if he'd been older, but for a child that young, he wanted to make sure he had the extra protection.

The second visit was last year when he broke a bone in his index finger - in his dominant hand. For a while, we wondered if he was going to get full use of it back or not, but it healed very well. He's got an oddly shaped knuckle now, but he didn't seem to lose any range of motion (can still write, draw, juggle, play guitar, etc.)

I noticed a few people have put in their own experiences. I went to ER twice as a child (once for drinking turpentine...I was fine, but my sister was in rough shape - and once for falling off the stairs on my head, requiring stitches). I've also been twice as an adult (once for a torn ACL when I wiped out cross-country skiing, and once for a miscarriage...I let my other two m/c complete at home, as ER wasn't where I wanted to be, and I knew exactly what was happening after the first one). I'm 38.


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## Sharlla (Jul 14, 2005)

On the fourth of July we took our 7 year old in because he was really feverish. Turns out he had an ear infection, it was his first sick visit ever.


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## psyche (Apr 6, 2005)

My oldest is four.

He has been to the emergency room twice.

The first time was after he poked himself in the eye with a sports bottle straw (actually, he fell into it - luckily it only bruised his eye but didn't puncture or even scratch anything).

The second time was for pink eye that erupted on a Saturday morning (that was the "pediatric prompt care" section of the ER).


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## LovemyBoo (Oct 11, 2004)

Once. He'd swallowed a quarter about 18m - 2 years ago. The doctor on call told us to go, the ER doc looked at us like we were nuts.


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## midwifetx (Mar 16, 2005)

I think that it's odd that with 4 children we haven't been yet.... knock wood.


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## karen ann (Feb 7, 2002)

DS (will be 6 in December) has had one trip to the ER. Last winter he got croup in the middle of the night and my pedi told us to go (she takes all her own call). The cold dry air outside cleared it up by the time we got to the hospital (a less than 5 minute drive), but they still checked him out and gave him prednisone.


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## Kerlowyn (Mar 15, 2002)

My 13 yr old DS has been once; when he was about 2 he told me he swallowed a pin. Since he was in the basement with me, where my sewing room was (pins on the floor), I believed him.

He had to get an x-ray. It turned up nothing.







:

My other 2 kids have never been.


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## chel (Jul 24, 2004)

dd went once when she dropped a bowling ball on her pinky. broke the finger and needed several stitches.


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## sebandg'smama (Oct 29, 2005)

My ds age 7.5 has been twice. Both times for stitches, once in the chin, second time for the nose. Of topic...with the nose incident (which bled on and off for the 8 hours we were at emerg) was the first time I encountered fierce opposition to not vaxing. The fact that I wouldn't get a tetnus shot drove everybody nuts. Horrible horrible day.


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## l_olive (Jan 18, 2005)

My 3.5 year old has never been.

I'm 42, and I've only been once.

Just lucky, I guess.

--Olive


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## mimim (Nov 2, 2003)

He's 12 and has never been a patient at the ER.

My 4yo went for stitches once, though.


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## elmh23 (Jul 1, 2004)

Zero. But she's only 22 months old. She is her father's child (read daredevil with a touch of clumsiness) so I'm sure we'll be there often in a couple years time!


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## Nelybel (Oct 16, 2003)

My oldest is only 44 months and has been to the ER once. We were in a church listening to a band concert and he was standing on the pew to see better. When he tried to climb off his foot(shoe) caught on the upholstery - he pitched forward - and hit his head on the safety rail in front of us. Deep cut above the eye and it needed stitches. Horrible thing for a 2 yr old. The strapping him down for the stitches was the worst. The cut didn't seem to bother him much at all.

I'm 41 and have been 3 times. Twice for stitches as a kid and once about 2 years ago for chest pains. I was pretty sure it was just muscles spasms as I had just had the stomach flu and thrown up pretty violently. But - my age and my doc persuaded me to go the the er to rule out some sort of heart thing. It was nothing...waste of money. But I comforted myself that it was the responsible thing to do now that I had kids.


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## kwren23 (Jul 28, 2006)

my oldest is 12 and hes been to the ER 2 times... the first time when he was 3 for a lovely gaping head wound. he was doing somersaults on the bed (which was just a mattress and box spring on the floor so was maybe 2 feet off the ground) and rolled off the bed and smacked his head on the rim of plastic cup next to the bed, hitting it at just the right angle for it to cut right down to his skull. blood everywhere and you could see the bone... it was awful. he had 3 internal stiches and 9 external (then he ended up going to after care at our docs office after he got the stiches out because he re-opened it by bumping his head under the couch and getting 6 more stiches) poor baby picked up a nasty tummy bug on that trip.
he went again at 5 when he broke his collarbone. he was playing happily on the couch and rolled off of it, the same way he had a million times before, and landed at a wierd angle. when he stood up he cried a little and was really really quiet (which was so abnormal for him) and kept saying very seriously it really hurts mommy so i put a pack of frozen veggies on him and took him to the er (against his fathers wishes







: ) he had broken it clean through. he managed to refracture it in the same spot right after it had started healing (another kid bumped him into the wall at a christmas party) so we had to go in every week to check on it after that to make sure it was healing right. funfun.
we've been to after care at the peds a bunch of times... hes a little accident prone and tends not to look before he leaps.
we have also had to call poison control way too many times because he coudnt seem to stop himself from eating the wierdest things (at 4)







:


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## PumpkinSeeds (Dec 19, 2001)

I said none. But one time when we were in Mexico my son fell out of the bed and needed skin glue and the doctor came to our hotel (at 4am).


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## oldcrunchymom (Jun 26, 2002)

Twice, once at 12 months when we were out of state and he developed bronchiolitis and a really high fever. The other was around 15 (?) months when he fell out our second story window into a bush.


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## Lady Madonna (Jul 2, 2004)

DD is 3 and has been to the ER 3 times.

The first was for a dog bite just a week after her first birthday - she got in a sleeping dog's face before I could stop her. Didn't even need stitches or a butterfly bandage; they cleaned it up and gave me an ointment to use. I was a FTM, and DH was travelling overseas - I freaked, what can I say?

The second was for rotovirus at 21 months; we'd been managing it at home but when she started vomiting even breastmilk and became frighteningly lethargic, we took her in. She ended up admitted for two days for IV fluids and observation. Thank goodness we live about half a mile from one of the best children's hospitals in the country.

The third was a few months ago, so she was 3. She'd been generally ill and cranky for several days; it had been diagnosed as strep, which turned out to be wrong. She spiked a fever I couldn't bring down (I'll usually let a fever run its course, but this was over 104 for several hours) and was complaining and crying that her stomach hurt. A tylenol suppository and exam later, we went home with a "viral infection". Probably an unnecessary trip, but the combination of high fever and stomach pain freaked me out.


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## Dar (Apr 12, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ann-Marita* 
I hope Rain feels better soon. I'm sorry her wrist is hurt. Is it her dominant hand/arm? (I'm thinking back to my own broken arm. It was my non-dominant hand, so I didn't have to learn to write with the "other" hand.)

Thank-you! She feels better today, although she did take another Vicodin. It's her right (dominant) arm, which is the same one she broke when she was nine, so they're being extra careful... they thought it was probably just a sprain, bu apparently there was a questionable area on the x-ray so they splinted it just in case. With some luck it'll be off next week, so she can get back to dancing, which is where she hurt it to begin with.







:

It's interesting, because she rarely gets sick, and she's always been that way... but she does tend to throw herself headfirst into a lot of things. At least she's not the only one.









dar


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## mamamilkers (Nov 11, 2005)

I said never, but my DD is only two.

Interestingly, I've only been three times myself and I'm almost 29. Once as a child and twice as an adult.


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## PadmaMorgana (Apr 14, 2004)

DS is almost 5 and has been to the ER twice. #1 was a split lip (fell on the siderails of our bed) that needed 3 stiches. #1a was later in the week to have them removed. #2 was febrile seizures due to roseola.


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## MCatLvrMom2A&X (Nov 18, 2004)

1 trip with dd she has asthma and got a upper resp. infection and her breathing was really ruff







so dh took her. That happened the past january when she was 5yo.


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## nomadmom (Mar 30, 2003)

My oldest is 15 and has had 4 ER visits

1. Age 2: high fever/lethargy -- of course as soon as the dr. came to see him, he perked right up.









2. Age 3: fell on gravel and got some stuck in his knee -- cleaned and bandaged; no stitches

3. Age 7: broken arm (jumped off a swing)

4. Age 13: fainted in the middle of his guitar lesson and was out a few minutes -- dh was w/ him and called an ambulance; bp/blood sugar were low, and bp kept dropping so they brought him in. Ran all sorts of tests, and let him go home after a couple hours. He then projectile vomitted *all over* his room (was on his loft bed, leaning over the edge), and had a nasty, nasty bug for a couple days.


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## kofduke (Dec 24, 2002)

For my three y.o. - one trip for stitches. On three separate incidents we were in the car because of croup when he suddenly started breathing normally.


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## box_of_rain (Mar 16, 2006)

My oldest is 8 - never been. My baby (14 months) was there a mere week and a half ago. He broke both of the bones in his forearm falling 6 inches off a child-size chair.


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## savithny (Oct 23, 2005)

How do we vote if we've been to Urgent Care but never the ER?

Urgent care is open a bit earlier and later than our pediatrican AND the ped often recommends you go there instead of to the ped for stitches etc.

So: DS (6) has been to Urgent Care twice:

Once for chin stitches after he fell at the pool
Once for chin glue after he tripped and fell on a gravel walk.

(sense a theme?)

DD (3) has never been to urgent care, but we almost had to go for a severe reaction to a chemical sunscreen (I thought I grabbed the titanium-only "baby" sunscreen, but the stuff my friend had had a bunch of chemicals in it as well. Full-body hives ensued







Fortunately the ped was still open (half-hour to go) and we got in there for Benadryl.


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## StephandOwen (Jun 22, 2004)

It's sad but ds is 3 and I can't remember all the times he's been







At least once for an ear infection, once for a nasty virus that left him dehydrated (needed IV fluids), once when he fell and refused to walk so he got an x-ray- thankfully it wasn't broken. I think there was at least one more time.... probably an ear infection (he's had plenty). There was also one time when I drove him to the ER, but decided at the last minute to go home. He was having, what turned out to be, night terrors. As a young first time mom that scared the sh*t out of me and I thought something was seriously wrong!! After his 2nd or 3rd one on that particular night I packed him up and took him to the ER. By the time we pulled in the parking lot he was sound asleep so I turned around and went home (and went on the internet to see if I could figure out what was happening!).


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## Patchfire (Dec 11, 2001)

I have a six year old who's never been. I have a feeling that my 18 month old will *not* make it as long.


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## Silvercrest79 (Jan 20, 2004)

Once at a few months for a non-stop crying (I think), second time was at about 3 1/2 for high fever and they said it was an ear infection.


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## LiamnEmma (Nov 20, 2001)

I voted one time, but the truth is that we left. He was about 19 months and had thrown himself into a metal (old time metal, not current version) door frame and had a dent on his forehead. When they told us at least there'd be a wait of at least three hours, we knew it wasn't at all serious.







Just to be safe though, we called my BIL (who is a surgeon, that's handy) and he confirmed that we had no need to be there.

Now my younger has been to the ER on three or four occasions--twice for kidney issues (she had kidney reflux), once for a broken arm, and once for jamming a plastic rod deep into her ear. *sigh* She's nightmarish with the mishaps at times.


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## Mirzam (Sep 9, 2002)

My oldest is 16 and has never been. My younger two children are 9 and 6 and neither of them have been either.


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## MelKnee (Dec 5, 2001)

Ds is 5.5 yo. He has been to the ER once just after he turned 3. He was jumping on the couch, tripped on the crack between the cushions and smacked his mouth on an oak end table. Knocked his tooth out.


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## mahrphkjh (Mar 31, 2006)

We also have insurance that sends us to the pediatric care at the hospital. So I will count those times when we would have gone with different insurance.

DS#1

1. He was 3 and my niece fell while carrying. He started bleeding from his ear and cried that his head hurt. Urgent Care sent him for MRI for possible skull fracture. Seems bleeding from the ear doesn't always mean skull fracture - go figure.

DS#2.

1. Possible pneumona at 3 monts
2. Rolled off a 3 foot bed at 5 months.
3. Out of state and started weezing at 9 months. Turns out difficulty breathing is a go-to-the-head-of-the-line event. X-rays for pnuemonia and RSV both negative
4. Cold that developed into a severe case of asthma at 10 months. Admitted to the hospital
5. I dislocated his elbow spinning him around at 2 years
6. Anaphylactic shock from peanut butter at 2 1/2 years.

For those moms who think they were overly cautious it is better to be overly cautious then not cautious enough. Take it from someone who has been there - it will give you nightmares for the rest of your life. With the cold in my DS I waited all night long thinking that it was nothing more than congestion. Even then I made and appointment with a doctor for 9:30 that morning. There was an 8 year old boy in the waiting room who took one look at my son and asked if he was going into the hospital. The boy had asthma and recognized what I was too stupid to see. My son's blood ox level laying down was 83% (my father had double pneumonia and emphasyma and his was 85%). Two asthma treatments later my son still could not breath properly and we were admitted. I still get tears thinking how long he went unable to breath properly.


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## Sijae (May 5, 2006)

My oldest is 11 and he's been twice. The first was for croup when he was 2 1/2. We tried treating it at home for a while but took him in after he quit breathing for the 3rd time. He was given a steroid shot, a neb treatment and was in a cool mist oxygen tent for 8 hours.

The second was recently when he was being stupid and cut the webbing on his hand and had 3 stitches.

My second child is 10 and has only been once for staples to close a gash on his head.

My third child is 4 and has never been to the ER.

Laura


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## Dar (Apr 12, 2002)

Okay, I'm surprised at the people who went *back* to the emergency room to get stitches removed... at least, that's how I'm understanding it. Why would you go to the ER for that, rather than following up with a doctor? Actually, in my family we take them out ourselves... it's really not a big deal, but I know it's not recommended by the medical profession.

dar


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## myjulybabes (Jun 24, 2003)

Oh geez...she's 7, and probably been at least 6 or 7 times. As an infant, she got RSV, turned to bronchiolitis, turned to reactive airway... so we were in several times just for that. Bonked her head on a dresser when she was about 2. Ate cigarette butts out of the trashcan around 4 (we only smoke outside, but I got lazy about opening the garage door and thought it would be more convinient to dump it in the inside trash. WRONG). At least 1-2 high fevers over the years. And just recently went to Urgent Care for a UTI because she didn't bother telling us about it til after the doctor's office closed on a Friday.

But at least she spread hers out. The youngest (5) went in so many times in a short time frame, they sicced a hospital social worker on us. He also ate the butts from the trash (same day, they teamed up while I was in the bathroom), tripped over the cat and sprained his ankle, dislocated an elbow (still don't know how, one minute he was playing, then he fell, and started screaming and wouldn't stop), and the biggie, fractured his skull when he fell off dh's shoulders onto the street. Add that to the calls to poison control when he attempted to drink Windex and eat out of the litterbox...well, who wouldn't sic a social worker on us? Except if you actually READ the chart and understood that some/a lot of kids with autism have no sense of danger. *sigh* Luckily, once they heard from both of us it was an accident, and the autism thing, they dropped it.


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## Moochie Mamma (Jan 23, 2006)

DS (almost 6) has been once for dehydration when he had the flu. I actually took him to an urgent care center, they read my form wrong and thought that he hadn't urinated in 24 hours (it said 8 hours) and sent us to the ER. It wasn't till we got there that I realized they thought he was way worse than he was and really didn't need to be there. It turns out he just needed some abx for bronchitis. He went from laying on the couch coughing and puking for 8 hours straight to jumping around the house like normal after just one dose.


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## PeacefulSeams (Apr 10, 2006)

My DS (3) has been there for

1. Pneumonia
2. Blocked intestines
3. Dehydration
4. Pneumonia w/ hand-foot-mouth
5. Asthma attack
6. Stuck pretzels up his nose
7. Ear was bleeding
8. sprained foot
9. Pneumonia
10. Dehydration
11. food poisoning
12. anaphalaxis

There have been many more times, but I have lost track. He does not have a good record.


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## moonfirefaery (Jul 21, 2006)

Corbin is 15 months old. He went once for diarrhea, excessive crying, and high fever. He then developed a rash of little pink dots. They gave him tylenol and sent him home.

Yesterday coming down a slide his foot went up under me and twisted. He refuses to walk or crawl so we took him to the ER for Xrays, then this morning he was fitted for a cast. They think he might have fractured some cartilage.


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## dallaschildren (Jun 14, 2003)

Twice for my oldest. The first time he almost died. The second was after our car wreck with an 18 wheeler. My youngest has never been.

DC


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## phathui5 (Jan 8, 2002)

Ds1 is turning six on Monday. He's been once, at around ten months old, for a fever that was 104.7 and wouldn't go down with Tylenol. I was freaking out and of course it turned out he just had an ear infection.

The younger two haven't been, thank goodness.


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## PadmaMorgana (Apr 14, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Dar* 
Okay, I'm surprised at the people who went *back* to the emergency room to get stitches removed... at least, that's how I'm understanding it. Why would you go to the ER for that, rather than following up with a doctor? Actually, in my family we take them out ourselves... it's really not a big deal, but I know it's not recommended by the medical profession.

dar

in my case, they told us to get the stitches out in *so many days...I don't remember* and to make the appointment with our family doctor, but if he couldn't do it, bring him back in (we live in a small town...the hospital is in a larger town around 70,000 people). I called my doctor the next business day and the soonest they could see him (knowing he needed stitches removed in his lip) was 4 days after the ER recommended. I called the ER and they 'scheduled' us to come in. There is a serious shortage of doctors in my town...it is insane.

I am a wuss. There is no way (I was also pregnant and puking) I would remove stiches. They were tiny and very hard to see.


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## USAmma (Nov 29, 2001)

My oldest child: none. She almost went as an infant after getting a red line running up her leg due to an infection in her toe. At urgent care they gave her a big shot of antibiotics and said if it continued to grow, take her in. It went away, thank goodness! We had to call poison control a couple of times for eating an oleander flower and some lantana berries. She was fine.

My youngest: more times than I can remember to count. 3 months old, resulted in a 6 day stay and feeding tube. At least twice more that following winter for rehydration due to severe vomiting. At least twice more the following year for vomiting and very severe constipation. That does not count the scheduled hospital tests (emptying study, upper GI/endoscopy with biopsy, heart ultrasound), the scheduled hospital stay (gtube placement and another biopsy), and ear tube surgery.







Her feeding tube serves as a kind of IV. I can give her a slow drip of pedialyte through it so we have avoided ER more times than we have actually had to go in, thanks to the gtube.


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## Mackenzie (Sep 26, 2004)

Xitlaly has been three times, I think.....maybe four. The three times were for ruptured ear drums. The possible fourth would have been for respiratory issues. She is 8.


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## Squeakyneedle (Jul 11, 2005)

Wow, how on earth do you moms of the more "daring" children get through the day? I live in fear that something will happen to my 10 year old who has severe sensory disorder and he'll need emergency medical attention. Oh, the screaming...I can only imagine.

However, either through neurotic parenting, or just plain luck, he has thankfully avoided needing ER care.

#2 however, fell at the tender age of 13 months and got a nice "dent" from the corner of the open dishwasher that managed to take 2 stitches. Yeah, I know it was only two, but it looked suspiciously close to a puncture wound, and it was on his forehead and we wanted it to heal pretty. And we recently took him to "Quick Care" for an allergic reaction to what we are assuming was a mosquito bite. Got swollen and inflamed immediately. Keep this kid away from the bees please!

#3 was taken in around the age of 2 1/2 for croup...that freaky seal barking cough that wouldn't let up no matter how long we stayed out in the chilly garage. By the third time I could tell it was getting harder for him to breathe so off we went. Scariest thing in the world for a momma to know her baby is having trouble breathing!

I think I need to go kiss all my sleeping children and offer up a little prayer of thanks that they are all healthy right now!


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## Leatherette (Mar 4, 2003)

My son is 5, and he has been two times. Once for a broken collarbone - he was running at the zoo, tripped and fell on his collarbone. The second time was for stitches in his head. I was holding his hands and telling him he needed to calm down, and he arched, pulled away from me fast, and threw his head into the corner of a shelf. That was fun.

My daughter is almost three, and has been twice for asthma episodes.

L.


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## SunRayeMomi (Aug 27, 2005)

my daughter is 5.5 and has been once. she was having an allergic reaction and I didn't know what the cause was. I don't have allergies and know nothing about hives, so in the middle of the night I brought her in. They were surprised I didn't just give her benadryl or something







I don't keep benadryl in the house and TBH, I didn't think of it nor was I certain they were hives







I'm that unfamiliar with allergies . . .


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## Lucky Charm (Nov 8, 2002)

Never. (she is 19 yrs old).


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## HappyToBe (Jul 31, 2006)

Still waiting


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## Jmo780 (May 3, 2006)

Oldest Ds is almost 11...

Been to the ER for:

2x's Asthma.
1x-car wreck (Stayed for a month)
1x-Bacterial Meningitis & almost died







There for 1.5 weeks.
2x's for stitches. Both times in chin.
Bronchitis-This was like a Saturday afternoon, doc closed, really sickie...

These are all off the top of my head-Maybe a few more, but can't think of any Atm...


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## MOM2ANSLEY (May 19, 2003)

We have not _yet_ BUT Iam a nurse, DD is only 4, our ped has evening and weekend hours, and prefers their patients call them instead of going to the ER
I can think of a few times I would have if I did not have the resources that I do


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## Stevie (Jun 20, 2004)

My oldest is almost 30 and is an insulin dependent diabetic who until about a year ago did not take care of his health. I have no idea how many times he has been ot the ER but way more often than 9


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## MilkbarMom (Mar 28, 2003)

My oldest dd: 8 years old

1. febrile seizure after DTP -8 months old
2. Dislocated elbow- 16 months old
3. concussion at 20 months
4. broken arm- 3 years old
5. possible appendicitis...really bad gas bubble! - 4years old
6. pnemonia - 3 years, 4 years, and 5 years old ( each winter)
7. busted open skin above eye..no stitches though! ( 7 years old)

Younger dd: 6 years old
1. broken arm - 1 year old
2. food poisoning -2 years old
3. severed finger..they sewed it back on! -3 years old


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## Peppamint (Oct 19, 2002)

Our oldest is almost six... one ER trip late one evening for a dog bite. The swelling was so bad we couldn't tell if her eyeball had been damaged so we went. The arnica I gave her on the way helped so much that by the time the doc saw her you could see that she was going to be fine.

Neither ds nor dd2 have required ER visits... I sure hope we can keep up the trend.







:

eta: we did do extended hours at the ped's office once or twice before I become more confident in home remedies.


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## willibug (Jan 4, 2002)

My oldest is 11 and has never been to the ER. In fact, none of my 3 children has ever been.

Knock wood...


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## OnTheFence (Feb 15, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Dar* 
As a patient, that is? We just figured out that Rain's trip tonight was her sixth. She probably sprained but possibly broke her wrist - the same arm she broke two bones in 4 years ago. They splinted it and gave her Vicodin. She also has the Febrile Seizure in a Coffeehouse trip, the Maybe Ate Poison Berries trip, the Dogbite trip... and this is just the after hours and weekend stuff, when the doctor's office wasn't available.

I'm just curious to know the normal range of visits... I asked about the oldest child because I figured that the older a child is, the more opportunities he's had to need ER care.

Dar

My oldest child, a girl -- None
My oldest son, well thats another story. He has been four times to the ER, and twice to the emergency clinic at the pediatricians office.


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## myniyer (Feb 24, 2004)

Twice. Once a year ago for a gash on the mouth (we called our ped and they said to take her in) and then again on Friday for a gash requiring stitches.

This thread is making me feel so much better


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## crazycandigirl (Mar 13, 2006)

DD is 7 and has been to the ER twice. Both times it was because of an asthma attack. Its so scary when they stop breathing...


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## nextcommercial (Nov 8, 2005)

My kid is 14.

She had airway problems three times, and was rushed to the ER, then taken to the ICU as an infant.

Broke her leg at age 15 months.

Broke her wrist at six years.

Broke her Elbow at seven years.

But, happily (knock on wood) she has never had stitches.


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## mf_colon (Oct 6, 2006)

My stepdaughter has gone to the ER once (when she was 3, she is now almost 6)- for a dislocated shoulder.


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