Well and Sick Visits
Well Visit
What does a well visit include? Well visits should be made at the recommedned ages of 1-2 weeks old, 2 months old, 4 months old, 6 months old, 9 months old, 12 months old, 15 months old, 18 months old, 2 years old, 3 years old, 4 years old, and then at least every 2 years after that.
Some sports physicals are only valid for a year, and so a new well visit needs to be done at that time. The purpose of a well visit is to monitor the child's growth patterns and screen for any physical exam findings, vital signs, lifestyle issues, or other information that may indicate developing health issues. Immunizations are reviewd to make sure they are up to date, and if necessary screening lab-work or radiological studies are performed. Minor illnesses may be addressed at a well visit.
Sick Visit
Obviously, when your child has symptoms that you are concerned about, and addressing those symptoms is the main purpose for the visit, the visit is a sick visit. While we strive to try to alleviate whatever discomfort your child is having, the main goal is to address the cause of the symptoms and treat that underlying cause.
For example, a child may come in with fever, runny nose and congestion, and cough from a viral upper respiratory infection, and while treating her fever and cold symptoms may help her to feel better, doing so will not actually help her to get better. In this particular example, since the cause of her symptoms is viral, only time and her own immune system will actually clear the infection, and sometimes treating the symptoms may actually increase the likelihood of developing complications.