Standing Up For Your Children!

I would like to prefix today's blog post by saying that I am very grateful for the hard work all of the staff within the NHS and I appreciate all that they do (well mostly anyway); however sometimes I find the system very frustrating, yesterday was no exception:

Over the last few months I have started to become increasing concerned about Ruby; as a baby she had a very small patch of eczema, but it was nothing I really worried about or took note off. Things have changed, her skin is now constantly dry and she has scratches and marks on her body from where we itches during the night. I have had to resort to putting tights on her at night and sometimes even putting socks on her hands in order to try and limit her scratching.

I took her to our local doctors who prescribed some cream for the eczema and steroid cream for the very bad areas, along with some special oils to go into her bath; however after a couple of months of use, nothing seems to be working if anything things are getting worse!

Yesterday enough was enough, I received a phone call from Ruby's play school advising me that it looked like Ruby was having an allergic reaction to some sun cream; this is not the first time it has happened, as a parent I find it very scary that something that is supposed to be protecting my daughter is in actual fact potentially putting her life in danger.

On the first occasion that Ruby suffered an allergic reaction, she returned home from play school with a tiny red mark on her cheek; I initially thought that she had caught the sun a little, however over the coming hours, her face swelled and her eyes sank, she really looked a mess. I took her to my local walk in who advised me that there was nothing they could do and referred us to A and E; thankfully she was given some strong antihistamines, eyes drops and creams which took effect after several days.

The start of Ruby's swollen face.

Yesterday was very similar to the first allergic reaction, however this was with totally different sun cream, one that is supposedly designed for kids who have these type of reactions! Unfortunately I was not able to get to play school as quickly as I hoped as I was over the other side of the county; I raced back as quickly as I could. Before setting off to play school I had rang my local doctors and informed them what was happening but to be honest I don't think the receptionist listened to my concerns and said she had no appointments available, even when I explained to her that it was urgent. Anyone who knows me will know that I do not and will not stand for being messed around, and so after picking up Ruby from the play school I went to my doctors and demanded to be seen; I felt awful having to push for an appointment and fortunately a doctor was able to see Ruby; why should I have to push and demand for her to seen?

I explained to the doctor how unhappy I was and that I felt a dermatology referral was the best course of action as it was not acceptable for her to be having these reactions, and it certainly is not OK to leave her with no sun protection; am I supposed to keep her inside and not allow her to play out for the rest of her life? I don't think so, but the doctor refused a referral as he "did not have the time"!

I left the doctors room in absolute disgust, at least he had given us a prescription for the antihistamines but I was not happy; fortunately the receptionist understood my concerns and told me that I need to fight for the treatment I want for my daughter, she told me her story about her son and how he had allergies. Thankfully she has managed to get us an appointment with another doctor on Friday, so lets hope we get a referral and it comes through quickly so we can get to the bottom of what is causing it. It makes me so mad that I am having to fight for the treatment that my daughter needs, just because the doctor does not have time to refer her and/or it would cost too much!