Sick Visits Specialist

What are sick visits?

Sick visits are appointments centered around specific health concerns or symptoms. At Neighborhood Pediatrics, the team has diverse experience diagnosing and treating a range of mild to severe acute illnesses common in babies, children, and adolescents. 

While many health concerns are treatable at home or will go away on their own within a few days, you may schedule a sick visit for your child for your peace of mind or to find out what you can do to alleviate symptoms. 

Your child’s pediatrician may have recommendations for home care, or they can prescribe appropriate medications for the specific diagnosis. 

Sick visits typically take just 15-30 minutes but may require additional testing that takes a little longer. 

Neighborhood Pediatrics offers same-day sick visits in the office as well as same-day remote telehealth sick visits. With remote visits, your child has no chance of catching or spreading infection in the office. 

What happens during a sick visit?

During your child’s sick visit at Neighborhood Pediatrics, you first discuss your child’s medical history with the pediatrician. They may also ask questions about your family’s medical history, your child’s behaviors, and of course, the symptoms that brought you in. 

Your child’s pediatrician performs a brief physical examination and might listen to your child’s breathing, feel their lymph nodes, look at their tonsils, and take other appropriate steps toward identifying the illness. 

In many cases, more tests can lead to a more accurate diagnosis. For example, if your child has respiratory symptoms like coughing or wheezing, your child’s provider might suggest a rapid polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for 20 different respiratory pathogens. 

Which issues can sick visits address?

Sick visits allow you to bring up different symptoms and health concerns that can affect your child when the cause is unclear. You should consider bringing your child in for a sick visit if they experience persistent or severe symptoms like:

• Coughing
• Congestion
• Rashes
• Hives
• Diarrhea
• Vomiting
• High fever
• Sore throat

Sick visits may include diagnoses of the common cold, the flu, strep throat, and allergies. Once your child’s provider has a definitive diagnosis, they can prescribe medications or treatments accordingly. 

If your child’s illness is contagious, Neighborhood Pediatrics recommends keeping them at home for a few days to avoid spreading it to friends and teachers. 

Schedule a virtual or in-person sick visit for your child by phone or online at Neighborhood Pediatrics today.