When you do NOT need to go to the paediatrician's practice
Don't worry, we don't want to put anyone off. On the contrary. Everyone is welcome. We are always happy to see you again. Even if the occasion is often not a particularly good one. Nevertheless, we want to help you to know when a visit to the paediatrician's surgery is not necessary. To make life a little easier for you and us.
And one thing first: if you absolutely feel you need to see us, if you are unsure, if you have any worries - then of course contact us. Otherwise, here are three tips to help you determine whether a visit to the doctor's surgery is perhaps not necessary at all.
First check? Our video database!
If it's not an emergency or otherwise not very urgent, just take a look at our homepage. Our video database contains well over 100 videos - archived alphabetically. Perhaps one or two of them will help you to judge for yourself whether you need to go to the practice. There is information on many, many clinical pictures. Two examples:
Pseudocroup: If you already know the symptoms, your child is in a good mood and you may already have medication in the house, then it is not necessary to have the child listened to.
Diarrhoea: If your child has had diarrhoea three times, but is otherwise agile, fit and doesn't seem ill to you, then you don't need to come to us either.
Missing medication? Straight to the pharmacy!
Parents often come to us even though there is no urgent need, but simple medicines are missing at home, such as nose drops, fever suppositories or cough syrup.
Here's a reminder: many simple medicines are freely available from pharmacies and sometimes don't cost much. You can save yourself the diversions to the doctor's surgery.
Do I need a medical certificate for school? The answer is (almost) always "no"!
Parents often have the feeling (or are given the impression by the schools) that they need a doctor's certificate if their child is ill. This is not normally the case. A parent may excuse up to ten days alone. Even if an exam is being written, even if the child is in the sixth form. Exception: If the child has been given a compulsory medical certificate by the school. Then, of course, we are on standby.
All of this also applies in a similar way to nurseries. We paediatricians cannot give children a medical certificate - even if this is sometimes communicated. We would also like to refer you to the "Health letter" video on our website.
Unfortunately, more and more children are being sent home with the requirement that the parents have the child seen at the doctor's surgery. Here, too, we would like to reassure you. Trust your gut feeling. How fit is your child? You decide whether your child is fit and healthy enough for kindergarten.
Further interesting tips
ADHD
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). A long word that describes a complex topic. And a phenomenon that we still have to learn to deal with properly - not only paediatricians, but also society as a whole.
Package insert
It's a bit of a double-edged sword ... On the one hand, package leaflets are very important and helpful: for example, if you want to look up the dosage again or if there is anything you need to bear in mind, e.g. with regard to the time between meals.
Overcoming frustration
Norbert F. Schneider, sociologist and family researcher in an interview with "Der Spiegel"