Blood drawn - tips and tricks
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Hi! You've got great ideas and suggestions here already. I'm a child life specialist, we help kids & families cope with medical experiences. Depending on your child's age, they may have specific fears or worries. If you want to give me an age range, I can provide some more detailed information, but here's the run down:
Toddlers - fear of separation from parents/caregivers, reduced autonomy - typically do well with choices, distraction, calm caregiver
Pre-schoolers - magical thinking (does the needle look like a sword from a movie I saw?!), fear of separation from parents, loss of control - typically do well with preparation through play, choices, offering distraction, coaching ("your job is to help me count to 10"), calm caregiver
School-Age - fears of bodily harm, loss of dependence, (still want caregivers close), don't want to let parents down. what helps? include in preparation (ex. we have a blood draw coming up next week, when do you want me to tell you about what's going to happen?), giving jobs, validating fears, what questions do you want to ask before we go there? What would make this better/worse?
Hope this helps!
Also, including here my comfort position suggestions so kids aren't held down for procedures: https://childlifeoncall.com/comfort-positioning-guide/
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oh yes, I have a lot of experience in this area but would love to keep learning from other moms too!
There is a device called a buzzy bee that vibrates above where the blood draw is done and it's very distracting for the kiddo to get their mind off of the draw. Additionally, numbing cream from either your pediatrician or over the counter-make sure to put on at least 30min before and we use saran wrap to wrap it up, give the phlebotomist a couple options so we do both arms just in case. Depending on the kid either tell them right before so their anxiety doesn't build or give them time to process a couple days in advance-you know your child best on this one!
Good luck!! I know it's such a thing. I'll try and think of our other tips but those are my main two. -
Hey
this is so difficult as a mama! Of course we never want our kiddos to be in any sort of pain, but there is a reason we need bloodwork sometimes. It’s important to prepare ahead of time by explaining the process and providing honest answers to questions your child might have. Definitely bring comfort items like a favorite toy or blanket to help provide a sense of security. And use distraction during the draw like playing a favorite song or looking at family pictures on your phone also deep breathing or blowing exercises to focus on their breath which can help with relaxation. Finally, offer positive reinforcement, praise and rewards and be encoursging post-draw. Of course another phenomenal option is to schedule the blood draw in your home instead of at a clinic. Just simply being surrounded by familiarity can automatically reduce anxiety and fear. Clinic Concierge offers in home blood draws and more! They service pediatrics with sick visits, assessment and prescriptions, vaccine administrations, sports and camp physicals and even more options for adults too including aesthetics and IVs! -
We also do numbing cream with saran wrap this helps with them knowing its not going to "hurt". Great advice above too!
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Buzzy Bee works great along with the other things mentioned above!
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Hi! You've got great ideas and suggestions here already. I'm a child life specialist, we help kids & families cope with medical experiences. Depending on your child's age, they may have specific fears or worries. If you want to give me an age range, I can provide some more detailed information, but here's the run down:
Toddlers - fear of separation from parents/caregivers, reduced autonomy - typically do well with choices, distraction, calm caregiver
Pre-schoolers - magical thinking (does the needle look like a sword from a movie I saw?!), fear of separation from parents, loss of control - typically do well with preparation through play, choices, offering distraction, coaching ("your job is to help me count to 10"), calm caregiver
School-Age - fears of bodily harm, loss of dependence, (still want caregivers close), don't want to let parents down. what helps? include in preparation (ex. we have a blood draw coming up next week, when do you want me to tell you about what's going to happen?), giving jobs, validating fears, what questions do you want to ask before we go there? What would make this better/worse?
Hope this helps!
Also, including here my comfort position suggestions so kids aren't held down for procedures: https://childlifeoncall.com/comfort-positioning-guide/
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