heel prick | Imamother

sourstix

Mon, Dec 08 2014, 9:07 pm

its a possibility my dd will need this. is this painful? or better yet is it alot more painful then in the elbow? and thats why they try the elbow first? any phlebotomy experienced have answers?

sourstix

Tue, Dec 09 2014, 9:07 am

anyone?

imaima

Tue, Dec 09 2014, 9:14 am

What do you mean? Heel prick after the birth? Doesn't everyone get it?

amother

Tue, Dec 09 2014, 9:20 am

How old is your dd? I saw/assisted with plenty of both working as a nurses' assistant in a pediatrics unit- I would say the heel prick isn't nearly as bad because it's usually just one prick, followed by massaging/squeezing the heel to coax the blood out whereas it can be very difficult to find a good vein in an infant, and even a doctor/nurse who knows what they're doing can have trouble and have to try a few times (=multiple needle pricks). All the more so if your child needs repeated tests, since it gets harder and harder to find a good enough vein in the arm (while in the heel, they don't need to aim for a specific vein- the blood is coming from multiple capillaries).

worknights1313

Tue, Dec 09 2014, 9:40 am

It isn't a big deal.but what are you doing it for? A baby?

luppamom

Tue, Dec 09 2014, 9:56 am

amother wrote:

My baby had a blood test when she was a few days old (after discharge) b/c she was yellow and very sleepy. They did the heal prick, but not enough blood came out and they had to keep pocking and squeezing the foot of my newborn baby. Finally, the nurse couldn't bear the torture any longer so she called the lab to see if they would do it even if there wasn't enough blood. B"H they did it.

MaBelleVie

Tue, Dec 09 2014, 11:08 am

Last time I had a baby get a heel prick I nursed her while they did it and she barely flinched. So you can try that.

amother

Tue, Dec 09 2014, 11:29 am

sourstix wrote:

its a possibility my dd will need this. is this painful? or better yet is it alot more painful then in the elbow? and thats why they try the elbow first? any phlebotomy experienced have answers?

My baby is 8 months old now and has been getting blood drawn at least once a week since the day she was born. Heel stick, finger stick, venipuncture, we've done it all. They never allowed me to nurse during the draw and not even before, because they were afraid that the crying would make her throw up and then she could choke. I thought it was baloney, so if they let you do that-it's definitely the best option. If they don't, your baby will hate it either which way. Do not go to a lab, insist on having it done at a hospital, and ask for a NICU nurse, or even better, someone from pediatric anesthesia. If your baby is older than 2 months, ask for a finger stick instead of a heel stick. IME, the finger usually bleeds better than the heel. Have them warm the site with a warming pack for a few minutes to help the vessels expand. My baby cried every time she got a heel stick. I remember one or two times where she didn't cry with a finger stick, and a couple of times where she didn't even flinch with venipuncture-when the phlebotomist was VERY experienced.

Good luck.

5*Mom

Tue, Dec 09 2014, 11:51 am

I generally find that it's the squeezing that hurts/bothers them more than the actual prick.

Ruchel

Tue, Dec 09 2014, 3:13 pm

The blood tests for diseases we get at birth are heel pricks iirc.

sourstix

Tue, Dec 09 2014, 3:30 pm

[quote="imaima"]What do you mean? Heel prick after the birth? Doesn't everyone get it?[/quote]
sorry I wasnt clear. no shes older then 6 mnths.