https://paulnystrom.com/tags/viral-illness/Recent content in Viral Illness on Paul NystromHugoen-usTue, 27 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://paulnystrom.com/posts/i-want-to-go-to-the-doctor/Tue, 27 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://paulnystrom.com/posts/i-want-to-go-to-the-doctor/<p>I saw a 5-year-old recently with viral illness symptoms. The parents seemed pretty well educated. By the end of the visit, we had had a very good conversation about what was going on with their child, what we did in the ER, and what to expect. However, the start of the conversation when I first met them was not impressive.</p> <p>The mom started by telling me about the symptoms the child had been having over the preceding few days. This consisted of typical viral URI and GI symptoms. I was thinking to myself that all of this sounded very reasonable. But then Mom said something that made me deduct 40 IQ points from her. Besides the parents&rsquo; concerns that prompted the ER visit, they said their 5-year-old had said he wanted to go to the doctor.</p>https://paulnystrom.com/posts/bad-parenting/Sat, 13 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000https://paulnystrom.com/posts/bad-parenting/<p>When your kids refuse to take medications for a condition that brings them to the ER, I cannot solve that problem. And you&rsquo;re potentially subjecting your kids to more risks. Iatrogenic complications are not always trivial.</p> <p>A 3-year-old patient with a fever was unwilling to take any medications. Mom had to use rectal Tylenol at home for her fever. She came to the ER with some nausea and vomiting. The patient was given anti-nausea medicine and a sippy cup with some juice. She refused to take it. The plan had been to then give her ibuprofen to help with the fever as well. However, she continued to refuse the juice.</p>