When Bear was about 6 months I knew he had allergies. The stand in pediatrician (ours was on maternity leave) said no, babies that age can't have allergies. So I gave him allergy medication in the correct dose for his size and voila! no more symptoms. Our Pediatrician came back and agreed with me...
Great Story. I don't reccomend people 'doing medicine' on their own children,(unless it's an Over-the-counter Medicine with directions for the proper age group ) but I do reccomend 'doctor shopping' until you find someone who argees with you. It's a fine line - I know, but what if you really did need a doctor someday, wouldn't you want to find one who is 'good' in advance.
It took my 20 some odd years to find a doctor I trusted! She is also one of my closest friends. She is actually the one who helped me out on the dosage for the OTC allergy meds when the pediatrician was being a moron. It wasn't TOTALLY without doctors approval, just not the pediatrician's. I also have a very strong background in alternative medicine and do a lot of unofficial advising fro friends and family. The particular medicine I used is deemed safe for newborns and pregnant women so it would have been hard to screw it up.
Generally unless you are SURE of what is going on and KNOW that what you are going to try is safe with almost no chance of side effects don't medicate without a doctor's ok. Most doctors will give OTC ok's and even dosages for young children over the phone. Tylonal (aceitominiphen sp? lazy...), for instance, is fatal in large doses even for adults so be careful when mixing OTC's when you or your kids are sick. Lots of the mixed ones contain Tylonal. Public service announcement is now over.
