Son's Upcoming Blood Draw

[Darn210]

My daughter was diagnosed with celiac disease April 10th. We've had some follow-up appointments, and apparently the time has come to screen my son with a blood test.

He is eight but has NEVER been good when he sees a needle coming. He is borderline asthmatic and has to have a flu shot every fall. He goes into hysterics and will try and hide under the doctor's desk.

As soon as his shot is over, he is fine and calms down pretty quickly. I can't imangine what he will do during a blood draw.

I KNOW that I'm not the only one with a child like this - needles are scary!! Anybody have any good suggestions to keep him calm?

[TrillumHunter]

Hi! I recently had my three kids tested so I've been were you are! My middle child is like that and it was hard to keep her from building up anxiety. I have to tell you it went incredibly well. The thing that made the difference is they use a butterfly needle to do the draw. It's a very small gauge needle not like the ones they use on adults. Remember too many times a shot hurts not because of the prick but the volume of medicine going in. I would say make sure he is well hydrated as dehydrated veins are harder to find. If you feel like he needs it ask for Emla cream. It's a topical numbing agent that you can put on about thirty minutes before hand. You will have to get a prescription for it from your dr. Some might disagree but I'm not above promising a treat. Nothing big-maybe just a lunch out with you (and Dad?) alone.

Untreated celiac is bad news. I can't imagine a child feeling the way I felt everyday. Thank goodness he has a mom willing to muscle through the tough stuff to take care of him!

Good luck!

Monica

[2kids4me]

Ditto to the butterfly needle! My daughter has had numerous blood tests since she was 1 year old(she's 14) ....then at 4 yrs - every 3 months just after her thyroid problem was discovered!

She even requests it herself. For younger children - the name itself sounds gentle, it looks different than the needles used for immunizations and Kathryn says "it doesnt really feel like a needle". I do not have blood drawn on the kids here in town because they dont often have a lab tech who can use it ..

So feedback from a girl who has blood taken often..."insist for the butterfly, it'll be done in seconds!"

[sjust]

We recently had to have blood drawn on my 3 year old son. I expected it would go bad as he does not like shots one bit. I could not have been more surprised. I agree that the butterfly makes a huge difference. It doesn't look anything like a shot needle so that is helpful. If he wants to watch let me. The lab tech told me most kids do great until they see fear in their parents and then it is all over. So if you act like it is no big deal that will help. Also maybe give him something to look at/play with so he wont notice the blood draw.

Good luck it is hard.

Sarah

[Darn210]

Have you ever used the Emla cream? A friend of mine used something on her daughter (which sounded the same/similar) for a blood draw. She said it caused her veins to constrict/shrink so the nurse ended up having to draw from her hand. Ouch!!!

[blueeyedmanda]

I know where we are, sometimes they rub a cream or something on the child's arm before taking the blood. The butterfly needle is also another very good thing. Will they allow you to sit with the child while getting the blood taken? That may also cause him to be a little more at ease.

[Renae]

Your son just might surprise you will how well he can do.

My daughter who is 8 gets a bit anxious also. I am a Medical Technologist (I do lab testing) so I hear all kinds of reactions from kids.

I always tell my daughter that her job is to:

1. Hold still because it is very hard for the phlebotomist to get blood if you move.

2. Cry or yell if you want to--that alone will divert their attention--mom says it is ok to yell inside. Say this in front of the phlebotomist so they can be prepared.

3. Some places even have kids blow bubbles because it is hard to blow a bubble and freak out about blood drawing at the same time.

We also talk about the "biology" part of this. I show her where to find veins, I've had her push on them to see how spongy they are.... We talk about why blood looks blue in the veins but is red in a vial. This has helped her feel more involved.

That being said, a nice treat from the gift shop is always in order even if there is carrying on during the blood drawin process.

Parental reaction is probably the most important thing. If you treat every thing matter of factly, your son probably will too.

Good Luck

Renae

[Nancym]

I remember when I was a kid, my Mom used to tell me to focus on something and not look at the needle. It worked! I stopped fearing blood draws after that. It was probably just as important that my Mom treated it as a minor thing rather than getting stressed about my reaction. She was very stoic and it rubbed off on me.

[EmmaQ]

We use bribary... My dh takes the kids for blood draws, I have no patiences and they seem to act up with me but not him. Anyway, he takes them to the toy store afterward and buys them something around the $25 mark is my guess on the price.

Our oldest does much better knowing he is going to the toy store afterwards. A gentle reminder gets his mind off of the needle and blood and onto what toy, video game or Pokemon card set he is in lust after.

[Darn210]

Well, I put it off as long as I could . . . so today we went in. My husband asked how it went. I said about like what you would expect. But what would he expect? I don't think he's ever taken them for shots before.

I asked my pediatrician to recommend a lab/phlebotomist and for a prescription for the ELMA cream. She happily obliged . . . SHE knows what my son's like

I told him about an hour before we went - hopefully so that he could throw his fit at home and not at the lab. I told him the cream would make it so he would hardly notice. I told him his job was to hold his arm still and not look at the needle.

He was fine at home. He was fine for the 25 minute car ride (not the closest lab but the one that the pediatrician recommended). We got there and he sat in the corner behind the potted plant and started crying. Thank goodness no one else was there and we did not have to wait too long.

When the phlebotomist called us back, he started to lose it. She tried to get him to sit in the big comfy chair but he started thrashing around. She asked if I wanted to hold him, which I did. I just kept asking him what his job was and then reminding him of the answers because he could no longer speak. The phlebotomist ended up having to take the turnicate off to wait for him to calm down. (I must say she was not ruffled at all.) After he calmed down a bit, she said, I promise, it won't hurt any more than this - then she poked him with her fingernail (through her gloved hand). And he said "Wait - could you do that again?" , which she did. He said "OK, if that's it." She then said all the things that I said and now he was listening so he followed directions. He was looking at the wall and said "Can you at least tell me when it's in?" She said "It is - take a look". So then he was giggling and watching as she filled four vials and pestering her with questions about the different colored lids and why didn't you have to take the lid off and how come there were four . . . Then we went to Wal-Mart for some pokemon cards and home for a popcicle.

Ahhhh . . . thus ends this chapter . . . now we wait for test results. Thank you all for the advice - that ELMA cream was the kicker (IMO). From my previous post, I know my friend thought it contracted the veins and made it harder but I know her daughter had major hydration issues and I think that was why they ended up drawing blood from the back of her hand.