Ouch! Does your pediatrician do hemoglobin test @ physical?

amother

Blush

Thu, Jul 05 2018, 7:06 pm

I don't have the heart to put my kids thru the painful hemoglobin fingerprick. Shots or blood test are less painful. Even the nurses agree. If I were to get a fingerprick I would probably tantrum like a kid!! My kids panic when they hear that they will be getting the prick test and I dont blame them!

Is it really necessary? Wouldn't a kid with anemia show symptoms?

Is it standard procedure at the yearly physical or is it just our pediatrician?

octopus

Thu, Jul 05 2018, 7:08 pm

I'm actually happy they do the bloodwork. It's not only hemoglobin. They do a cbc and other things. Bloodwork is really the way to know if something is ch'v wrong. It is unpleasant and my children dread it every year. But I feel like that it serves a purpose.

amother

Blush

Thu, Jul 05 2018, 7:11 pm

octopus wrote:

The nurse told me it's used just to check for iron. Nothing else. Do you assume they do cbc too or you were told so?

Im not referring to blood work. Im talkong about the finger prick or staple as I call it!

octopus

Thu, Jul 05 2018, 7:13 pm

amother wrote:

The nurse told me it's used just to check for iron. Nothing else. Do you assume they do cbc too or you were told so?

Because they give me a whole printout of what was tested. I use dr abberbock office and I'm very happy

amother

Blush

Thu, Jul 05 2018, 7:14 pm

octopus wrote:

Because they give me a whole printout of what was tested. I use dr abberbock office and I'm very happy

Are you referring to 'fingerprick' or a reg blood test?

octopus

Thu, Jul 05 2018, 7:14 pm

amother wrote:

Are you referring to 'fingerprick' or a reg blood test?

They clip my kids fingers and then squeeze out some blood. I think we are talking about two different tests?

amother

Blush

Thu, Jul 05 2018, 7:17 pm

octopus wrote:

They clip my kids fingers and then squeeze out some blood. I think we are talking about two different tests?

Ok then yes we are talking about the same test. The one where they prick the finger to get a droplet or two of blood.

Im going to ask again then because if its for more stuff then maybe I would have them do it but just for iron I would just refuse

amother

Orchid

Thu, Jul 05 2018, 7:19 pm

depending on the office. some will run a full cbc from the fingerprick test. others will just do a wbc or hemoglobin count.
they also test for lead this way.
I can see why you see this is more torturous. but going into the vein is a lot harder & can turn the area sore for a few days.

STMommy

Thu, Jul 05 2018, 7:21 pm

My kids get a fingerprick at every checkup. They also find it more painful than a shot!

amother

Apricot

Thu, Jul 05 2018, 7:51 pm

I was seriously terrified of finger pricks as a kid. My pediatrician does not do them. She encourages blood work at certain ages but doesn't push it.

real israeli

Thu, Jul 05 2018, 7:55 pm

I seem to be in the minority here. WIC does fingerprints for iron every 6 months for adults every 9 months for the kids. Frankly, I hardly felt it. Out of 4 times they did it I only felt it once. Even my young children don't cry - by the time they realize what happened it's over and doesn't hurt.

amother

Violet

Thu, Jul 05 2018, 8:48 pm

Our ped rarely does bloodwork for routine well checks. Once at age 1 or so, and again at adolescence. This is for healthy children with no sign of anemia. I was anemic myself as a child, and got finger sticks done more often for monitoring the treatment.

amother

Blush

Thu, Jul 05 2018, 8:49 pm

real israeli wrote:

Seriously? That's a first!!

mommyhood

Thu, Jul 05 2018, 8:58 pm

amother wrote:

Seriously? That's a first!!

Add my kids to the list. They don't mind the fingerpricks. Blood tests on the other hand are torture I'm surprised anyone prefers that to a prick.

soap suds

Thu, Jul 05 2018, 9:03 pm

I also prefer the finger prick. It may be more painful, but it's over before they know what hit them. A blood test takes so much longer and they freak out when they see their blood running through the tube. The preparation also takes time - tying the rubber around their arm... they start shrieking even before the doctor pricks them.

tweety1

Thu, Jul 05 2018, 9:25 pm

They only really look at the iron but they do skim through the rest of the results since they have it anyway.

amother

Blue

Thu, Jul 05 2018, 9:39 pm

It's good to have a baseline of what your child's counts look like at any given time to compare to in case something happens. You can learn a lot about your child's health from their cbc,(hemoglobin=iron is just misinformed) but unless there is something glaringly obviously wrong, doctors will just skim over most of it. So unless you know what you're looking for, it's probably not necessary at every well visit.

amother

Forestgreen

Fri, Jul 06 2018, 9:49 am

There are a few things you can do to make this easier

a) there is an anaesthetic cream you can rub on 15 minutes before you go so you cant feel it
b) get them to prick to the side of the finger not on the ball of the finger - far less painfull
c) get your child to hang their arm facing down for half an hour beforehand so the blood comes quickly and they don't have to literally squeeze

Ruchel

Fri, Jul 06 2018, 10:32 am

Kids by me don't get blood test unless there is a reason to suspect something.

amother

Navy

Fri, Jul 06 2018, 12:30 pm

By the time your hemoglobin is low enough for you to become symptomatic, it is VERY low, and will take months to recover.

It is definitely better to check regularly, especially if you are not taking supplements or eating high iron foods daily.

Ask the nurse doing your intake to apply a numbing cream to the prick site. By the time they are ready to do the blood draw, the site will be numb.

Getting your hemoglobin checked regularly is much better than waiting until you faint every time you change positions, which is often the first warning sign of anemia, and at that point your iron is already dangerously low.