How To Make A Bloodtest Easier On The Kids...

[goldyjlox]

Iwas referred to a specialist for both my kids and now they have to both have bloodtests and I know that this is going to be super trumatic, especially on my 3.5 year old. We live in a small town and the Lab up here I swear is run by monkeys so I am going to go into the city to a better hospital to have the bloodwork done, probably Childrens Hospital (I live in BC). ANd I was wondering if someone could give me some tips on how I can makes this easier on them. My daughter will be the worse, but my Son is 12 months...and I thought that he was to young to be tested.. is that correct?? What is the proper age?? I will explain why the Specialist wants the bloodtest...besides myself being Celiac

My son has had severe rashes in his diaper area...mostly in the front where the diaper sits and his back, not really in his bum area. they are so bad and he has had them for months, my regualr GP said that it could be caused by either food allergies or Asthma...he was a premmie and he has been sick alot, had Broncolitis and has a inhaler. The rashes look like Ecxema, not your typical diaper rash. Mind you he had one right now, but these rashes cahnge all the time...its so frustrating.

My daughter has classic symptoms, the biggest problem is that she is Constipated. And always has been, She has been a "Holder" since a toddler.....always holds in her poo and she has a a hard time passing it, he has put her on a laxitive. She has become so irritable, she eats like a horse, has rings under her eyes is skinny and never gains weight. I believe that my daughter has Celiac and I am glad that she is getting tested.

I have heard that Emla cream works great, I used it while getting a tatto years ago and never felt a thing...I am a whimp but have gotten enough needles now that i can handle it.

Any suggestions would be great. Thanks.

Jess

[Darn210]

I just went through this about 1 1/2 months ago. I posted the same question. Here are the answers that I got . . .

Open Original Shared Link

but hey . . . everybody else, don't let the above thread stop you from posting your opinions!!

[goldyjlox]

Thanks. Iwill ask for the Emla cream and the butterfly.

[Ridgewalker]

My son has had severe rashes in his diaper area...mostly in the front where the diaper sits and his back, not really in his bum area. they are so bad and he has had them for months, my regualr GP said that it could be caused by either food allergies or Asthma...he was a premmie and he has been sick alot, had Broncolitis and has a inhaler. The rashes look like Ecxema, not your typical diaper rash. Mind you he had one right now, but these rashes cahnge all the time...its so frustrating.

Unfortunately I don't have suggestions about how to make the blood tests easier, BUT...

Have you tried Niastin to clear up the diaper rash? It's a prescription ointment for yeast infection that I made sure I always had on hand for my younger son, who had very bad problems with diaper rash. My doc gave me a prescription for that the first time I brought him in with an open-sore diaper rash.

The other two things I used were Aveeno Bath Powder, with is colloidal oatmeal you put right in the bath water, and Aveeno Diaper Cream. They worked when nothing else would, and he would toddle up and ask me for a "special powder bath" when he was hurting.

People are going to start thinking I work for Aveeno, as much as I recommend those two products, but they were a life-saver for us!

-Sarah

[vanillazeis]

The best advice i can give you is for you to relax and act like it's not a big deal. My 3 year old had to get a shot on her third birthday, and her dr. told me to sit down and relax and she would too. he was right. when she had to have her blood taken for the celiac panel i just tried to stay calm and talk to her about how we were almost done, and we would go get ice cream right after this. she was very cooperative. They really feed off of our reactions at this age. good luck!

[TrillumHunter]

I responded to the other one so you can read that but I have something to offer about the rash. My dd was exactly like that as a baby. No diaper or cream made any difference. She potty trained on her on at 17 months but still wore a pullup at night. It go a little better but finally I bit the bullet and bought an bedwetting alarm and she got dry at night. It only took two nights. This vastly improved her rash but it still came up some. So we finally went scent free on all things that touch her-soaps, laundry stuff, lotions. That made it finally at seven years old go completely away. I wish I had gone to cloth with her but I thought it would be too much work.

As far as her celiac status-she was one point below on bloodwork despite being symptomatic. We gene tested and she carried DQ2 the most common gene. We took her gluten free last week and I can already see a difference.

Good luck!

[Nikki'smom]

I know when my ds was allergy tested they gave him the cream and it worked great. You do have to put it on and wait an hour though so maybe ask for it a few days in advance and put it on before you leave the house this way you aren't at the lab for hours.

Aveeno oatmeal bath is great! Also my ds had major exzema (found out it was our beloved cat that he was allergic to probably causing it)and we tried Bag Balm it worked wonders. I have no clue if it is gluten-free so please read the labels. we used this before we even knew what gluten-free was.

When my DD had to have her blood test sadly we used bribery. She is 7 so it worked a bit. My mom sent her new earing and I let ehr pick where we went for lunch one time and bought her a book the next time. It might work for your 3 yr old...

[goldyjlox]

Thanks for your responses. I have tried Nystatin and 3 other prescriptions and none of them worked, the rash is not typical diaper rash, it is definately ecxema but nothing clears it up. He had a diaper rash right now and I am using hyrodcortizone and another cream and that rash is getting better but not the other one.

I am definately going to have to try some bribery on my 3 year old, she is the only one that I am worried about, I am also going to stash a treat in my purse. I called the doctor about the Emla cream and it is not a prescription so I will go and get some but I am thinking about calling the lab first and asking about using it, so I know for sure that I can.

Thanks. again. We will most likely be going within the week. the drive is a bit long...but it will be better going down there.

Jess

[cruelshoes]

I have had the bloodwork done on all 3 of my kids. They were 8, 6 and 1 when they had the bloodwork done. It only took a few minutes, and it was harder on me than it was on them. Maybe you could get your doctor to order you some bloodwork at the same time. You could have your cholesterol checked or something. Let your DD watch you getting the blood draw. As long as you don't scream or anything, that may make her feel more at ease. When we all got our flu shots last year, I went first and let the kids watch so they would know what to expect.

I bribed my kids with ice cream! They were not complaining after that.

[Nathan's mom]

My son had bloodwork done 3 times in the last several months. I thought the first time would be awful, but then realized it wasn't so bad because he didn't really know what was happening until the needle went in. Two out of the three times the technician got it on the first try very quickly. Only once did they have to "dig". I was praying very hard at that point!

It was certainly MUCH harder on me than my son. He would comment later that it was scary, but he is fine now. I think it was easiest when he was sitting on Daddy's lap with me at the side, rather than laying down with 4 adults pinning down limbs like the first time.

The bloodwork is so important but it is awful to go through. Just give lots of treats and TLC after.

Take care!!