Almost daily diary!

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

A visit to the doctor

Small Sprogs eczema has erupted. This time it’s on the tips of his fingers. He has had it on his feet for most of the last two years but he doesn’t complain.

Last time I took him to the doctor about it (six months ago) he more or less said ‘live with it’.

‘Live with it?’, I ask you, why spend hours in the waiting room, catching whatever everyone else has come to complain about, and trying to entertain a whinging 7 year old QUIETLY, just to be told to ‘live with it’!

This time I was ready for battle, the eczema had spread to his hands and I was worried. I was determined not to be ‘fobbed off”! (Never mess with a worried mother!!)

It wasn’t until I entered the surgery that I realised the doctor we were seeing was the lovely lady who was my complete angel and saviour when I had post natal depression nearly 10 years ago. How could I ‘do battle’ with her after all her understanding and help all that time ago?

We went in.

“How are you” She said. This always throws me when they say that. Does she say that to everyone? I mean, if we were perfectly well we wouldn’t be there would we!

“Small Sprogs eczema has flared up again” I tell her, assuming that her question was my cue. Meanwhile he is sat on the couch swinging his legs and looking as if he was planning something. “It’s on his hands now”

She asks to look at his hands and he saunters over to show her the flaky bits on the ends of his fingers. She looks unimpressed. “It’s on his feet too” I say, feeling she needed a little more persuasion that we were not wasting her time.

“Can I look at your feet?” She asks Small Sprog
“Yep!” He swaggers back to the bed, enjoying the attention and starts to make a bit of a show of taking off his shoes and socks. I start to think that I should have told him to make a bit of a fuss!

He took off his shoes and she goes over to inspect. His feet looked pretty good. Better than they had this morning, better than they had looked for months!! How does that happen? As soon as you get a doctors appointment, everything gets better. It must be a miracle!

“They get much worse than that” I tell her whilst she says nothing. She sits down again.

She tries to fob me off with some more cream. “But he’s had it for years” I whine “And now it’s on his fingers and you’re only supposed to use the cream for a few days, I’ve been putting it on for months now and it’s only just keeping the eczema at bay”

She gives me a withering look and explains (very nicely) that sometimes she sees children with such badly infected skin on their hands that they have to have them ‘wrapped’. She seems to have missed the point. That is what I’m trying to avoid. Why let it get that bad? I can find no words that are suitable. She is writing a prescription for more cream which I know will have no effect. “Perhaps he’ll grow out of it” She says. I look at her in a disbelieving way. What am I supposed to do, rejoice that when he is my age he will be eczema free but have no skin left on his feet due to overuse of steroid cream?

I mention homeopathy. She brightens, “You could try that”

Small Sprog was bored now. He had found the box of toys under the table and had pulled them all out. Just as I was trying to formulate a coherent sentence I felt him fiddling with my head from behind. I tried to ignore him but he was not going to be ignored. He had a furry glove puppet on my head. There I am, trying my best to be serious and he has a puppet dancing on my head. The doctor looked unamused. She was obviously thinking that I had no control over my child (she was partly right) and that I was a fussy, over protective mother (possibly) and that my son was verging on the delinquent (right!)

The printer spat out the prescriptions and she handed them to me with a smile as I tried hard not to raise my voice to Small Sprog who was now crawling around the room.

We left.

Tonight my mum called to see how we were. “Did she refer you to a skin specialist?”

“No”

“Oh Billy!” (She always calls me that)

“Don’t ‘oh Billy’ me” I shout down the phone “I did my best!” Never mess with a worried mother!

14 comments:

Reader Wil said...

What an unpleasant encounter you had with the doctor!

Thanks for your visit.

kylie said...

3 of my 4 kids had eczema but the princess was terrible. she had weeping eczema on her face and red, itchy stuff behind her knees and in her elbows. when the doc told me her skin was thinning from steroids but he was going to put her on a stronger cream thats when i gave up on doctors. a herbalist made her a herbal mix. it tastes terrible at first but we bribed her with lollies. after 3 months on the herbs she started to improve and after 4 her skin was clear. she was 3 then, she's about to turn 10 now and the eczema has just started to reappear she's just started another course of herbs. this time we'll fix it before it takes over.
i cant recommend this enough but you need to see a herbalist. an off the shelf formula just isnt the same
cheers
k

Dori said...

Your doctor has toys?!

I always feel like I need to capture ailments and behavior on tape just to prove to the "withering look" giving doctors that I'm really, truly not paranoid--my child really, truly is sick! Never mind that they're all smiles and cheery in the office!

Tink *~*~* said...

Drat those doctors and their know-it-all-ness! Well, I hope he does outgrow it, and very soon, too.

Tomorrow's "Blogless Thursday" again (I have decreed it LOL ), and a link to your blog will be featured in my non-post (it can't be a post, it's BlogLESS Thursday, after all), since you commented last week. :D Hope that made you smile!

Tink *~*~*
My Mobile Adventures *~*~*

Rose said...

Doctor's appointments can be so frustrating sometimes. You read magazine articles that tell you if you have "this" see a doctor immediately. Then you go to the doctor, and they look at you as if you're a hypochondriac.
You did your best for Small Sprog; I'd try a homeopathic remedy, too.

You and I were thinking alike on "Y" for today:)

Rose said...

Me again. I didn't realize you took the photo of your own flower--great close-up! If you find out what it is, I'd like to know, too.

BS5 Blogger said...

Now that sounds like a trying day. I hope things are sunnier this morning? Was S.S his usual positive self about it all?

Have a good Thursday....

Akelamalu said...

It's just so annoying when they don't listen isn't it?

Barbara said...

Suburbia - my son had eczema when he was young, like you I didn't like the steroid creams so I took him to a homeopathic doctor, it was the best think I ever did as he was free of eczema after about 5 months and it now only flares up now and again. So take him!!

Susan said...

Oh Sub! I do so know what you are going through. I went through this with my youngest and I currently own enough jock itch cream to clear up most mean in Georgia. But no matter the name or ancient chinese secret could we find a cure. Then I went to a specialist and although that was an ordeal she FINALLY cleared up and hasn't had a flare up in quite awhile. I hope you get some relief for Small Sprog!

Maggie May said...

Three out of four of my grandchildren have eczema. Oldest grandson is the worst affected & is on a dairy free diet. That helps. Oldest granddaughter has to take medicine every day because of her itchy skin. Both went to see skin specialists though. You could ASK to see one.

Suburbia said...

Hi Maggie, I did ask to see a specialist but she said he would only prescribe the same things that she did!! I had heard dairy free works too

Susan, I picked up all the stuff from the chemist this afternoon, you're right I could cure Europe with that lot, almost needed a wheelbarrow to cart it all home!!

Starnitesky, that's great news, I am about to try that too.

Akelamanu, it sort of makes you not want to go again, but then maybe that's the point!

Hi BS5 , SS was positive and lively to boot! He rarely complains unless it's about his sister!

Rose sorry I can't remember. I think I threw the tag away , but when it stops raining I'll go out and see if I can see if I can find one with a name on!
You're right about the hypocondriac thing!

Sorry Tink, just had to blog!!!

Yep Dori, they do it every time!

Cath said...

I so feel for you! I am having a spot of bother with doctors telling me to live with stuff that I shouldn't have to live with. Let them try it!

You did your best. The only thing you can do(apart from the homeopathy)is not wait months to go back [this is not a criticism - you did like every other mother] - go back next week ("It's no better with that cream" - "Wait another couple of weeks") and in a couple of weeks go back again ("It's still no better with that cream" - "Try this cream and give it 3 weeks") and go back in THREE weeks ("It's no better with THAT cream") and so on until you either get an effective treatment, or an appointment with a specialist. You are quite right - months stretching into years of a steroid based cream for something that should clear in a few weeks is not acceptable.

GPs are reluctant to refer to specialists because it costs them £££. So keep trying. Keep at them. They'll cave before you. :0)

Liz Hinds said...

I was wondering about dairy-free for george's dermatitis too. I had a vague feeling I'd heard of some connection.

I'm sorry: I don't mean to compare my dog's skin problem with your son's! But I hope you get a good homeopathic doctor - I'm sure there must be good and bad ones - and that SS can be sorted. Itchy dry skin is horrid!