Mommy guilt and sick kids
Cash has always hated taking medicine. I’m talking full-on screaming tantrums that echo down the halls of the pediatrician’s office. Vomiting Advil all over the nurse at urgent care. Holding him down and forcing antibiotics down his throat in the middle of the kitchen floor. That level of medicine hating.
Luckily, there’s been very few times, especially as he’s gotten older, that he was truly sick to the point where he needed antibiotics. He rarely vomits or runs a fever. When he does run a fever, it’s always been under the 102 range, and not long-lasting. However, he is a kid, and he picks up the usual amount of coughs, runny noses, tummy aches, sore throats, ect.
When he does get sick, not surprisingly, he never wants to take anything for it. No pain reliever for his headaches, no Pepto Bismal for tummy aches, and definitely no cough medicine. I really have a hard time getting him to take anything when he has a fever, though he will sometimes if it gets in the higher range.
This month, he’s had symptoms like a cough, headache, sore throat (but not strep), for over two weeks now. It’s nothing serious. No fevers or vomiting. Just a weird low level allergy/cold that isn’t going away. I reached out to my pharmacist friend about it last night, because I’d about decided I probably should make him take a homeopathic cold medicine or something. I felt a little irresponsible that I was allowing my kid to be sick for this long without giving him something or taking him to the doctor. What she told me gave me (and Cash) an immediate sense of relief.
She said that unless he has symptoms like spots on his throat or swollen glands or a high fever, it’s best to let his body fight it off naturally. It’s completely normal to have a cough for even up to three weeks when you catch a virus. It is not normal to get sick then get over it in 2-3 days. She said any medicine that I give him right now would just be for managing his symptoms, which is fine, but will not help him actually get over the sickness in any way. If anything, it could have negative effects because it suppressing your body from performing its natural healing process.
You guys, I was so relieved. My gut always says not to give him any medicine unless I have to. I was letting some outer force determine whether I should or should not give my kid something. He didn’t want it. I didn’t want to give it to him. Yet, I questioned myself because I wondered if I was being a bad mom.
I guess I have two soap boxes that I’m standing on today.
1) Don’t let any sense of guilt talk to you into doing something that doesn’t feel right for your family. Even if it’s popular or mainstream, if it doesn’t feel right, seek out a second opinion (preferably from someone that has experience and a fancy degree).
2) It is totally okay for you or your child to be sick for more than two days. Society tells us that it’s not efficient, and something is seriously wrong, and you should go get a shot or an antibiotic to fix it right this second. I’m not judging anyone who takes medicine or goes to the doctor every time their kids are sick, but I am saying, it’s okay to let it run its course too. You’re paying attention, and that’s what good moms do.