We are often asked why our practice does not
have a separate "well" and "sick" waiting
areas for patients, so we wanted to address
this frequent question. First of all,
viruses are most contagious a day or two
before a child even has any symptoms, and so
a "well" child may truly be very contagious
to others even though they seem "well." In
addition, in the middle of winter, many of
our "well" visits are sick and determining
which waiting room they would go to becomes
tricky. Many parents do not want to go the
"sick" area because they don't think their
child is that sick. There are no medical
studies to show that offering a separate
"sick" and "well" waiting area will minimize
the spread of disease.
In addition, if we think about the
transmission of viruses, it occurs through
touching objects in the office. A "well"
child may be in a room where a "sick" child
was and therefore be exposed if he picks up a
toy and puts it in his mouth. You will see
that we don't have toys in the office that
are the kind of toys young children will put
in their mouths. We have books and games for
the older kids and encourage parents to bring
their own toys for their children. We
disinfect surfaces in our office to help
minimize the germs. If you have a newborn
let us know, we will try to bring them back
into the exam room quickly.
When it comes to a highly contagious disease,
like chickenpox for example, the doctor will
come to the parking lot to do a car visit and
the child is not allowed into the office.
If a parent is concerned about chickenpox
or
measles,
they should tell our staff and we
will have the parent come into the office to
tell us they have arrived and the doctor will
come to the car. You can also call us from
your cell phone when you arrive if you cannot
leave a younger child in the car. Tell us
where you are parked and the kind of car you
are driving so we can find you in the parking
lot.
Here are some tips to help spread the germs
in any public environment and in our office:
- Bring your own toys for your child.
- · Hold your baby in the car seat or
stroller to minimize the number of surfaces
that he or she touches.
- · Wash your hands and your child's hands
at the end of the medical visit.
- Alert is if you think your child may have
chickenpox or measles, so we can arrange a
car visit.
