Our First Trip to Mount Alvernia 24-Hour Walk-In Clinic

Two nights ago, at about 10.30pm, we made our maiden trip to Mount Alvernia 24-Hour Walk-In Clinic. Overall, it was a pleasant experience. Our trip totalled only 30 minutes.

That evening, Baby J started feeling warm to our touch. We took his temperature: 37.5 degrees Celsius. Ok, we thought, perhaps he’s teething. He seemed a little lethargic, so we let him nap for awhile before having our dinner. We’d go to Thomson Plaza almost every evening for our dinner because we are usually too busy to cook at home. Whenever we are there, Baby J would be very excited and scream a lot, to the amusement of many shoppers (and perhaps annoyance to some others). However, that evening, he was strangely quiet and sleepy.

When we returned home around 8.30pm, we took his temperature again: 38 degrees Celsius. Something’s definitely off now; teething will not cause a baby’s temperature to rise so high. We sponged and changed him, then gave him his milk. While drinking his milk, he let out a huge scream and cried in pain. We had planned to feed him some paracetamol after he finished his milk, but we knew we had to take him to the doctor’s.

Off to Mount Alvernia we went. We reached the clinic at about 10.45pm and registered Baby J. Poor boy was frowning and sulking. We knew he was feeling very uncomfortable. His body temperature had also increased. Within 5 minutes, we were called into a room where they took his temperature and body weight. His temperature: 39 degrees Celsius! Oh man. No wonder Baby J was whining. Nothing could calm him down nor cheer him up.

After about 10 minutes, a fairly young doctor walked us to an isolation room within a corner for babies. This area was separate from the main Mount Alvernia clinic area. He asked us several questions to clue him into what could be causing Baby J’s fever:

• Anyone sick at home? Did we encounter any sick persons?
• Any change in pee and poop pattern?
• What is the colour of his urine?
• Is he feeding as usual? Any loss of appetite?
• Did he fall? Are there any bumps on his head?
• Did he have fits?

After that, he instructed us to lay Baby J on the examination bed, and performed several checks on him: stomach, urine colour in diaper, any head bumps. All negative. Finally, he checked Baby J’s throat; found redness and some white spots. (As he stuck the wooden stick onto Baby J’s tongue, it triggered his gag reflex and caused Baby J to puke out his milk, which he promptly swallowed.) Conclusion: Baby J contracted a viral throat infection (the doctor used a medical term which we could not remember).

My worried hubby, Daddy Sean, asked our doctor if there was a need to do a urine test to check for UTI. The doctor then advised that since the diagnosis already showed us it was a viral throat infection, there was no need for a urine test. However, he added that the Mount Alvernia lab could do an analysis for us if we decided to do so, and it was entirely up to us. We decided not to do a further urine test in the end.

Before we left, the doctor left us with some advice to deal with Baby J’s fever:

• Wear ‘cool’ clothes that can air his arm pits.
• Not to put him in a cold room, as that may cause him to shiver, which in turn can aggravate the fever.
• Sponge him if his temperature gets too high.
• Keep him hydrated by feeding him his milk and water regularly.
• Should he experience fits, we should take him back to the clinic immediately.

The doctor prescribed only paracetamol for Baby J to bring down the fever and alleviate any pain he had. I then made payment at the main clinic area. Since I had the Mount Alvernia Ladies Card, we were given a discount for our consultation fees. Inclusive of medication, the final cost was about $76. This sure was lower than what we had expected, especially for a private medical centre like Mount Alvernia. We were also presented with a 3-day medical certificate (MC)* for Baby J, although he didn’t need it. The kind pharmacist saw how Baby J was in pain, so she told us to feed him the paracetamol in the clinic, and gave us an extra syringe for home use. Love how warm Mount Alvernia staff are!

* In our rush home that night, we actually dropped the MC and receipt at the clinic lounge area. A very nice staff called me the very next day to inform me about it. She also told me that if we needed an MC for Baby J, they could do it for us. I’m very happy with their service.

Baby J cried for more than an hour in the middle of that night, as the paracetamol wore off and the pain returned. We had to distract him by carrying him around the house and letting him pick his favourite toys. He was finally satisfied with his musical monkey toy, falling asleep around almost 4am. When he woke up at 7am for milk, he cried again after drinking milk. Seeing how his fever had not subsided, we decided to give him his second dose of paracetamol. Poor baby vomited his milk right before taking his medicine.

But after a day of rest, he is finally back to his usual self, even though his throat has not fully recovered. 🙂

Here’s little Baby J tapping his little foot while enjoying some kids’ songs!

We had a pleasant experience in Mount Alvernia, and definitely recommend it to anyone who requires urgent care after closing hours.