Taylor
I’m in tears after the pediatric…
I’m in tears after the pediatric virtual appointment that just took place. There’s a severe winter storm here so our regular pediatrician is out and there is not an urgent care center that will see children under 2 so I booked an appointment with Sesame in hopes to get some quick help. I discovered my daughter has pinworms yesterday which yes it’s gross but any parent (and pediatrician) knows it’s common and easily treatable however over the counter meds are only for 2+ years so for 18 months I need a prescription. Gross things just happen with kids it’s part of life. She has never had them before. First the doctor was about 20 minutes late which was ok but the second he logged on he was visibly agitated and not in a good mood like I could instantly tell it was not going to go well. When I told him the doctor acted completely shocked and disgusted saying he had never heard of worms in young children especially that had not been to a foreign country. Asking how in the world could my child get something like this? Said he had never seen this before, “no no no this is NOT common, I have never seen this, this should not happen” I sent him photos of the worms and he just kept saying “wow I cannot understand how this can happen, how do I know it’s not a tapeworm?” I explained tapeworms are much longer and thicker and they’re in the upper digestive tract. He was like “well what if it’s a ringworm or other kind?” I couldn’t believe I was explaining to a doctor these differences. He was like “how do you know so much about parasites do your children often get them?” No I’m just a normal mom who knows what pinworms are. He kept shaking his head like “this is so strange how a small child could have worms in their feces and you don’t know how they got there and you say it’s common when it is not? This is very concerning.” I said they pick them up anywhere play grounds, daycares, sharing toys, etc. I said many of my mom friends kids have had them at some point and his eyes got wide saying “you have friends that have had WORMS in their children?!” Like he was in complete disbelief. The judgment was unreal I was baffled that a supposed pediatrician had never heard of pinworms, that’s like never hearing about rsv I honestly question if he is a ped after this. I am giving 2 generous stars bc he did very reluctantly call in the prescription after I said that if all I was going to get was unnecessary judgment and no help then I’m going to end the call. But never again that was horrible god forbid an ounce of compassion is shown to a struggling mom already feeling terrible over her child suffering from this. Our main ped would have patted me on the shoulder said no problem this happens all the time just take this medicine and clean your sheets and toys to get rid of any eggs leftover and that would have been it.
Response from SesameJan 15, 2025
We appreciate you taking the time to share this feedback. At Sesame, safeguarding the privacy and confidentiality of patients is of utmost importance to us. Therefore, we are unable to verify or address patient concerns via public forums. We take all customer input seriously and will be reaching out to you soon to assist.