When to Visit a Pediatric Walk-in Clinic in Joliet, IL?
If you are located in Joliet, IL, and are in search of a pediatrician to provide essential, high-quality pediatric care for your baby, our physicians here at Internal Medicine and Family Practice would be happy to schedule a consultation with you and your family members to provide your baby and any other members of your family exceptional health care for years to come. For more information, contact us or schedule an appointment online! We are conveniently located at 1719 Glenwood Ave Joliet, IL 60435. We welcome walk-ins!
Table of Contents:
When should I see a pediatrician?
Should I take my child to a pediatrician for a cough?
How do I find a pediatrician for my baby in Joliet, IL?
Access to high-quality medical care is essential for patients of all ages, particularly young children and babies. Infants, toddlers, and children all go through substantial changes in the first few years of their lives, especially as they continuously become exposed to new things including bacteria, viruses, and germs in general, causing illnesses and infections. These illnesses and infections affect children differently than they do adults, so having a pediatrician with whom you trust to provide medical care for your family is vital in ensuring their health as they continue to grow.
When there are no extenuating circumstances indicating that your child requires medical care from a pediatrician, it is important that you take them in at every recommended age to ensure that they receive their essential regular check-ups and are up to date with their vaccinations.
If your child has come down with an illness or has hurt themselves, it can sometimes be difficult to determine when you should take them in to see a pediatrician. For those unclear circumstances, some key symptoms to look out for that may indicate that your child should be brought to a pediatrician include if your child is under 2 months old and develops a fever, or if your child is older and has developed a fever but is also not acting like themselves or is unable to eat. If your child is suffering from a fever and has other cold or flu symptoms that last for longer than 3 days, it is recommended that you bring them to a pediatrician. Symptoms such as diarrhea or vomiting are not usually caused by seeing a pediatrician, but medical attention should be sought if these symptoms are causing the child to become dehydrated. If at any point your child seems to be struggling to breathe, take them in for medical attention as soon as possible.
Rashes are also fairly common among children, but if it is a completely unfamiliar rash, or the rash lasts for more than two days, you should bring your child in to see a pediatrician. You should also have your child’s rash assessed by a pediatrician if the rash oozes at all, develops blistering, swells, is associated with swelling of the face or the child is also struggling to breathe properly, if the rash looks like a bulls-eye, or if the child also appears to be sick and is displaying behavioral changes.
With their immune system still developing, it is very common for young children to regularly catch colds or coughs, making it sometimes difficult for parents to determine when a cough is something for which they should be concerned. An occasional cough in and of itself is typically nothing to be concerned about, but if it persists for longer than a week or 10 days, it is time to get it checked by a pediatrician. If your child is younger than one year old, a cough should be assessed by a pediatrician right away. If the child is older and has been coughing nonstop, seek medical care. Additionally, when your child is suffering from a minor cough, it is very important that you pay attention to all aspects of their health to determine if any new symptoms are developing, such as a rash or earache, if there is a change in the frequency of cough, if they are coughing more deeply, and if there are any changes in mucous that they are also producing. Any of these changes should be addressed by a pediatrician.
Finding a pediatrician with whom you trust your children is incredibly important in ensuring their well-being as they continue to grow and develop, so parents must do their research and make sure that they find a good pediatrician who will be a good fit for their family. For more information, contact us or book an appointment online today! We are conveniently located at 1719 Glenwood Ave Joliet, IL 60435. We serve patients from Joliet IL, Manhattan IL, Channahon IL, Bolingbrook IL, Naperville IL, Lockport IL, Romeoville IL & Plainfield ILL.