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Necessary Needles
8 Steps Parents Can Take to Minimize the Pain By Carma Haley Shoemaker
When children become anxious prior to doctors' appointments or other medical procedures, parents can help relieve their children's worries and stress. And even though we may not like saying it and the child may not like hearing it, it is best to tell them the truth – the whole truth.
"The most important thing in relieving anxiety is to tell children where they are going and why," said Sarah Maytum, a child-life specialist at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, Texas. "If a parent is unsure about what is going to happen during a medical procedure, we encourage the parents to obtain details from a physician or nurse. Describe to children the sensations they will experience: what they will see, hear and feel. That way, nothing is a surprise."
And they do remember and relate various experiences to certain places, people or things. Making and remembering these connections, however, can cause them to be aware or fearful of needles. "A visit to the doctor, especially if it includes tests, can be scary for children," says Carol Herron, the arts in medicine program director at Texas Children's Cancer Center and Hematology Service in Houston, Texas. "Children may not be able to talk to a parent because they are too young or too embarrassed to express their feelings. It is important that parents try to give their child options and alternatives to help communicate their fears or concerns, as well as be understanding to them when they do."
"The room should be child-friendly with age appropriate pictures that make the child feel at home," says Dr. William T. Zempsky, physician and associate director of the pain relief program at Connecticut Children's Medical Center in Hartford, Conn. "Pictures or drawings on the ceiling as well as mobiles and other distracting equipment can also be helpful. Some offices or agencies – such as ours – have other distraction items such as light wands, a bubble column and a projector that shows images on the wall or ceiling that help the child relax. At this age it is difficult to engage the child in imagery so simple distraction measures such as bubbles or noisemakers tend to be most helpful."