His breathing was noisy and it seemed his nose would never stop running. She was feverish and lethargic, sleeping except for when she had to make yet another panicky run to the bathroom. She couldn't seem to keep anything in her stomach, even Tylenol. Each time, I debated whether or not to call the doctor. On the other hand, if a child is coming down with an ear infection or bronchitis, something easily treatable that will quickly become much worse if I don't call the doctor, I never hesitate at all.
Rules can be helpful, but there are always exceptions.
The three cases outlined above are good illustrations. I once believed, for instance, that a child needed to see the doctor only if he or she had a fever. No fever, I thought, means no infection. After a few instances of not calling the doctor when my son complained of head pain but had no other symptoms and then discovering a few days down the road that he had a serious ear infection, I began taking his headache complaints seriously and calling the doctor right away. The baby, it seems, had an endless cold last winter.