"GP visit"

I took my young child to see a doctor recently for a chesty cough that they had for nearly a week and it seems to just be getting worse.

I am sitting with my little child on my knee trying to describe their cough symptoms and wheezing after a coughing fit, the doctor repeatedly asked me to make the noise again and then I said I had taken a video, to my surprise they respond with oh good you have a video because your not a very good actor, I ignored the comment and then they began saying it’s just a cough I can’t hear anything bad, and also asked how many children I had. After the video the doctor said well I had better examine your child and don’t have X-ray vision so take their jumper off.

Continuing on the doctor said you can tell if my child was wheezing and told me I can do it myself just by feeling their chest. I was starting to feel a little bit of an idiot. Then listened to my child's chest checked their ears and throat and discovered my child has an ear infection and prescribed antibiotics.

While the doctor was doing the script I asked about hand food and mouth which is what I had taken my child to the dr at the start of the week for and their response I was baffled by, I recall the doctor said that you tell me, you can tell if there is blistering on hands feet mouth, and if not your child doesn’t have it, I was also told to think about it and what did the parents in the olden days do, they did it all themselves. I still didn’t get an answer as to if my child has it or not but no blisters I’m assuming no HFMD.

By this stage I was feeling so belittled and silly the doctor had made a comment on I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt about the ear because you can’t see down it but everything else I can probably do myself. As we were about to leave which really upset me the most was the doctor asked me who in the household held the brains myself or my spouse to which I replied me, laughing, the look on the doctor's face when they looked at myself and my little child was if to say oh my god that poor little child has no hope. I have never felt so upset or questioned myself about my little child's welfare ever before. I really hope no one ever has to go through this