Parents often get a lot of information in a short amount of time during a visit to the doctor. Ask for handouts and instructions in writing, or take notes. And ask questions about things you don’t understand. If you don’t ask any questions, your doctor will likely assume that you understand everything.
What might you ask? Dr. Vincent Iannelli offers the following:
- What’s wrong? Getting an accurate diagnosis is one of the big reasons that you go to the doctor.
- What else could it be? Your pediatrician likely considers many other things that could be wrong with your child.
- What are the prescribed treatments? Before leaving your pediatrician’s office, be sure you understand how to treat your child.
- Are there any alternative treatments? For many childhood conditions, the big “alternative” will be simply watching and waiting to see if your child gets better on her own.
- When should you expect her to be better? You don’t want to miss signs that your child is getting worse or rush back to the doctor too soon.