Stop Googling Your Child's Symptoms: Why Having an Integrative Pediatrician Who Knows Your Child Changes Everything
- Dr. Ellie MacGregor
- Jul 7
- 10 min read
Last weekend I decided I was going to tile the backsplash in my kitchen.
I had absolutely no experience.
Yet somehow I convinced myself that after watching enough YouTube videos, I could become an expert.
Within an hour I was researching tile adhesive, grout, grout sealers, trowel sizes, notch depths, and installation techniques. Every website seemed to recommend something different.
Six hours later…I still wasn't done.
At one point I even had to FaceTime my dad so he could teach me how to hold the trowel correctly.
Meanwhile, outside was one of those beautiful North Carolina afternoons that practically begs you to spend it outdoors. My husband wanted to go paddleboarding. My dogs--Athena, Willow, and Liam were happily running around the yard.
Instead, I was standing in my kitchen worrying whether every tile was straight enough.
That's when I realized something.
This is exactly what so many parents are doing before they ever become patients at Middle Path Integrative Pediatrics.
When Loving Your Child Turns You Into a Medical Researcher
Many parents inadvertently end up trying to become mini doctors and mini integrative pediatricians. Meaning they're spending hours researching so many medical items and are turning themselves into:
supplement experts
fever experts
nutritionists
sleep consultants
pharmacists
This happens because they love their children—not because they're doing something wrong. But the thing is, this inadvertently causes so much stress and, in my experience, leads people to be more confused rather than more confident, which is what they're hoping for in the first place. Besides, who wants to be an integrative pediatrician unless you actually are one? Most of you all just want to be parents enjoying your kids, which is why you actually have them in the first place.
The Problem With Dr. Google
The issue with Dr. Google isn't that it's inherently wrong to Google something. We all do it. I Google stuff all day long. Of course I Googled how to tile my backsplash, but did that tell me how to actually tile backsplash? No, it just gave me information. Google gave me information but not any kind of experience, and that's the issue.
Most parents have experience with just a few children, maybe one, maybe two, or perhaps a handful, if they've got other children in their lives like nieces, nephews, or cousins. They haven't seen the thousands of kids that an integrative pediatrician has seen. Not only that, they haven't seen all the different possible types of diseases that pediatricians learn during residency. They haven't seen all of the range, from colds to dengue fever to broken bones to knee to pink eye to pyelonephritis to really serious bacterial infections. That leads to issues. It can lead to things like underreacting or overreacting, and even worse, googling can lead to situations where some parents are led to believe that certain supplements or treatments might be effective and/or safe when they're actually not in a certain situation.
For example, I had one patient's mom who googled and google recommended licorice for their child as a dietary supplement. Now, it's not that we don't use licorice sometimes in holistic medicine. The issue is that generally we're using deglycyrrhizinated licorice, which is a type of licorice that doesn't cause high potassium levels-- and high potassium levels can be really dangerous. This mom was trying super hard to find the exact right supplement for her kid but still ended up making a mistake that could have put their child in harm's way.
Luckily she came in to work with an integrative pediatrician, we caught the supplement, and changed it to something much safer that's now helping treat her child. In fact, her child's symptoms are now much better. Her child previously wasn't speaking or making eye contact and now is doing both.
Another problem with Google is that there's just tons of different conflicting information. There's influencers all over the internet, and some of them don't even have medical backgrounds. While there's nothing wrong with being a holistic mama and learning all you can, it is dangerous, in my opinion, to start giving medical advice without an actual medical degree, especially when it comes to small bodies who react very differently than adults to supplements, medications, and other treatments
Algorithms and google know information but they don't know your child. For example, I have a lot of people that rush to the emergency room because Google has told them that, if their child is lethargic, they should seek emergency medical attention. While that is generally true, this is specifically talking about medical lethargy, the type of lethargy where it's hard to wake your child from sleep or get them to play with you or interact with you or eat. Often times parents will interpret this as their child is just a little bit more tired, and that's often the case when kids are sick with things like colds or flu that don't necessarily require emergency treatment.
That's why belonging to a integrative pediatric membership practice where a child is really known by their pediatrician, what they look like, what lethargy is for them, is extremely important.
Why Knowing Your Child Matters More Than Knowing Their Symptoms
I had a kiddo come into my practice once, and the parents were just worried that he might have a bit of a urine infection. When I saw that child, though, I knew something was seriously wrong. This kiddo was always very energetic and had a warmer skin tone, but when he came in, his skin was cool and clammy and pale. His blood pressure was just slightly below normal, and he was just not acting like himself at all. I knew something immediately was wrong because I knew this child in his family.
I arranged a direct admit for the hospital because I was worried this child had pyelonephritis, which is a very serious kidney infection requiring IV antibiotics. In fact, he did need those IV antibiotics. It was exactly the right call. If that same parent had gone to an urgent care or seen a pediatrician that just saw them for a one-off visit, they wouldn't know that child--someone else may have missed it! It'd be very difficult to discern whether that child needed emergency care or not, and that's why joining a membership practice is so important
Another time I had a baby come in with her mom. Her mom was really worried that she would need the emergency room. She was worried her child was having difficulty breathing. She'd been told by Google that she should head straight to the ER if her child is having trouble breathing. Again, it's not inherently wrong at all, but after reviewing the symptoms her mom had messaged me, it really seem like an emergency situation, so I asked her to come into the office for an appointment.
Sure enough, her baby had a head cold and some noisy breathing but was actually breathing overall really well. It wasn't an emergency at all. In fact, we were able to use homeopathy to treat this child, along with some basic supportive care like nasal suctioning and other interventions. Knowing her and her baby, I was able to discern that this baby was breathing just fine and could go home with some mild interventions. Therefore, I was able to save the family hundreds of dollars with emergency room interventions, which, as we know, can be very, very expensive. I was also able to avoid testing like blood work, urine samples and possibly even a spinal tap that the ER would have mostly likely ordered. Not only that, I was able to avoid using pharmaceutical medications because I knew this baby would respond well to homeopathy.
This is another example of why it's so important to have someone that knows you and your family over a long period of time and not just do one-off visits here and there with random people that have no idea who you are or what your child looks like or acts like.
Integrative Pediatrics Means Choosing the Right Tool at the Right Time
To summarize : Integrative Pediatrics really means choosing the right tool at the right time. In the case of a child with a serious kidney infection, of course I admitted him to the hospital for pharmaceutical medication because that was the right thing to do. Why? Because he likely may have had a bad outcome, or he could have gotten a blood infection, or even worse, if he hadn't been receiving antibiotics.
Now, would I leave it there? Of course not! I will clean up his microbiome and, in the future, possibly do gut testing, probiotics, and other gut-healing tools in my toolbox. Not only that, this was likely a traumatic experience for him and his family, so we would talk about things like:
relaxation techniques
a slow introduction to exercise
immune support to encourage healing
ways to avoid getting the infection again in the future
nutrition information that might also help avoid these problems down the line, as well as support the body to heal from this infection
Check out my podcast I Heal Kids to better understand how I practice medicine
We're not just leaving it at the door with some IV antibiotics. Actually, piling on these extra interventions, and guess what, you don't have to think what they are, because I can help you know what they are, and therefore you can avoid power-scolling and instead rely on your trusted integrative pediatrician. You'll notice that other times, such as the child with the cold at the head court, I was able to recommend homeopathy. Why? Because I knew that child and I knew that's what needed. I didn't have to put him on antibiotics. I wasn't worried he had a sinus infection or serious bacterial infection. I didn't need to do chest X-rays. I could tell that baby was breathing just fine. We were able to avoid hospitalization. Not only that, I was able to provide parents with education so they could avoid going to the emergency room unnecessarily and therefore avoid paying hundreds of dollars, if not thousands of dollars, for testing that was unnecessary and unneeded.
That's why it's so important to have an integrative pediatrician that knows all of these different tools, so they have different tools in their toolbox that they can use at the right time for the right thing. That's where the nuance comes in. That's why I like to make sure people know integrative medicine isn't about choosing natural over conventional medicine. It's about knowing when each approach serves your child best.
Imagine Parenting With Confidence Instead of Constant Research
Now imagine instead of googling all of this stuff and looking at ChatGPT and then asking Claude and then asking your neighbor you could just be confident. Instead of doing constant research and wondering, "Is this supplement okay? Is it safe for my child? Am I causing any harm?" you can just say, "You know what, I'll send Dr. Ellie or Brandi a message and find out and know for sure."
Instead of spending two to four hours on Google every single day of your life trying to figure out if your child is so sick they need the emergency room or not and worrying yourself sick in the process, imagine that you can just say, "I already know who to call. Dr. Ellie will let me know. Brandi will let me know if everything's going to be okay." Not only that, you'll receive the education so that you'll start being able to recognize on your own what's safe and what's not. That way, you'll have a partner in your child's health, and you won't have to spend hours alone second-guessing every single choice
You Don't Need to Become Your Child's Doctor
I really want to emphasize is you're not meant to become your child's integrative pediatrician. You're meant to enjoy your children and watch them grow up and experience playing games with them, going outside, doing activities. Yes, of course, there are struggles around food and potty training and all of those things, but who wants to spend hours googling the ingredient list on a formula canister when they can just simply have someone in their back pocket who knows their kid and already knows this stuff?
You guys already have a job. Your job is to be parents. No need to become a doctor, and certainly not an integrative pediatrician when there's one down the street from you
Ready for a Different Kind of Pediatric Relationship?
If you're looking for a pediatrician who combines evidence-based medicine with holistic and integrative care—and who takes the time to truly know your child—we'd love to meet you.
The first step is to schedule a Meet & Greet to learn whether Middle Path Integrative
Pediatrics is the right fit for your family.
FAQs
Is it okay to Google my child's symptoms?
Of course, but this can't replace personalized medical care.
What makes an integrative pediatrician different?
We blend of conventional pediatrics with nutrition, lifestyle, and evidence-informed complementary therapie like supplements, herbals, or homeopathy. And know when or when not to use each type of treatment.
When are antibiotics necessary?
Antibiotics are often necessary for life-saving when it comes to serious bacterial infections. They are not helpful for viral illnesses. It is very important to know when a child has a virus or a serious bacterial infection that requires antibiotics. It is also necessary to know how to clean up the mess that antibiotics put in the microbiome after the fact if you do, in fact, have to use them.
Can natural remedies replace prescription medications?
Sometimes natural therapies are appropriate, but there are situations where conventional medicines are clearly the safest and most effective choice. For example, if your child breaks their arm, it's likely best to go ahead and get a cast. If your child's having serious appendicitis, surgery is really needed to prevent a bad outcome, but in a lot of cases, especially around viral infections that children often deal with, natural remedies and supportive care really are the best thing.
Check out my Free Natural Medicines Guide here
How do I know if my child needs immediate medical attention?
If you are worried your child needs immediate medical attention, you should definitely seek the care of an emergency room or urgent care. Very briefly but not limited to this list, some red flags would be:
Lethargy
Difficulty breathing
Dehydration
Unable to keep fluids down
Pallor
If your child is looking very sick to you, that is another sign. If your intuition is telling you your child is extremely sick, you need to seek care. Never ignore parent intuition.
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