Sedating a 4 Year Old

My son needs to get bloodwork on a regular basis and in the beginning,it took 4 of us to hold him down (2 of the lab techs as well as my husband and myself). It was horrible for all involved. I have tried many things. Try having him drink a lot of water the day before and that morning so it makes the veins plunp. I've used "Emla" cream, perscribed by his doctor to numb the area, but the cream is very expensive and it made the area cold. The lab techs said it is better when the area is warm, so I've tried a hot facecloth, but that was only okay. Now I rub some "biofreeze" which is a muscle rub similar to ben gay, around the area and then wipe it off right before the blood draw.
Good Luck,
M.

I work as a CCLS (certified child life specialist) in a community hospital on the South Shore and my role is help normalize the healthcare experience for the children and their families by preparing children for procedures, helping them cope with the procedure, and supporting them through the procedure. I actually work with many children who come in to have their tonsils and adenoids removed.

I suggest that you contact the hopsital and ask if they offer child life services. The CCLS can speak with you to get specific information about your son (ie previous healthcare experiences, how has he coped in the past, etc.) and can offer you suggestions on how to prepare your son for having blood work. You can probably also arrange for the CCLS to be there with you and your son when he has the bloodwork done.

Feel free to contact me directly if you have more specific questions.

Good luck!

What about benedryl? I would ask the dr, I'm sure they will think of something. Good luck.

This is something to be discussed with the doctors prior to taking him for the bloodwork. You will have to be very open and honest with them and discuss your fears as well as your son's. They do not generally offer kids sedation for blood work and you will have to advocate for it if you want to do that.

I would highly doubt that your child would be sedated for blood work. However, I do know someone who would have her child take some type of prescribed medicine prior to going to the dentist in order to calm her down. This may be something that you could talk to your pedi about. My daughter also had to have blood drawn. I do not think that there are too many children who tolerate this procedure. Since you live in the area, I assume that you are having this done at CCMC. They are more than happy to have you visit in advance, and, are very good at what they do. My husband and I were there and she did try to resist and there was some gnashing of teeth, but these lab techs know what they are doing. It wasn't like going with an adult, but it wasn't a complete nightmare either.

I have been a phlebotomist (draws blood) for 8 years. Alot of children and adults are afraid to have their blood drawn. You really dont want to sedate your child for this. First go to where you will get his blood drawn and talk to the staff to make sure they are compfortable to draw your little boy. Make sure the person who will draw your son will be there they day you bring him in. They are trained to do people of all ages. You dont have to worry about holding him for them, They will do it for you. You will be better off just staying in the other room while they do it so you can hug him when they are done. Try not to worry, He will be fine. Also, have him drink alot of water before the blood draw so his veins will be nice and hydrated

My co-workers 4 year old just had his tonsils and adenoids removed - and for the bloodwork they gave her a topical anaelgesic to put on beforehand - with instruction on how to do it. My daughter also was given this at a hospital emergency room once when she was going to have blood work - they took about 6 vials - and she just stared in amazement at the needle and said "Mom, this doesn't even hurt at all." So if you can ask for the anaelgesic - and then prepare him that this magic lotion is going to make the needles not hurt, I think it might really help you. Good luck.

My daughter has been getting regular blood work since she was around your sons age. We use a topical analgesic, it makes the area numb. You should ask the doctors for it. It really works wonders. Hope all goes well with your little one.

Hi. If you are going to a hospital like Children's, ask for the "I.V." team. They are the most experienced people to draw blood from children and it DOES make a huge difference. If your child is very agitated, they may suggest an oral medication - kind of like a happy pill that gets him through twenty minutes or so (not sure how it affects blood).... They use it while kids are on the way to the operating room. Good-luck. At least with 4's you can kind of rationalize and bribe them, too!

He has to get over it sometime, no time like the present. I am a phlebotomist and find that a parent that treats it as a matter of fact, nothing to be afraid of, will get better results. Simply go ahead with it and know that afterward, your child will be pleasantly surprised that it wasnt so bad.

I would not recommend sedating a 4year old for blood work. The risk of sedation is far to great. I am not sure where you live, but I would recommend that you go to a childrens hospital. I work at childrens in Boston ma. We here horror stories all the time from parents who went to adult hospitals and it took the RN several time to place an IV or draw blood. If you go to a childrens hospital that is all we do. We know how to talk the child through the procedure as well as we have distraction techniques. I would also ask if they have a child life specialist that could help him through the procedure. There job is to help distract the children as well as how to help the parents prepare the child for what is to come. I hope this helps.

There are homeopathic remedies for fear, This is a really great route to take as homeopathy wont harm your 4yr old. They really work.

I would actually question the value of any medical doctor that would sedate a 4 yr old for something as simple as drawing blood. I have to vehemently advise against it, especially since he's going to be under anesthetics for the surgery on his tonsils and adnoids. Anesthetics and sedatives for children is very risky, because they're so small and how they'll react medically is not predictable. That's why it's only supposed to be done for surgeries.

My best advice would be to trust in your ability as a mother to soothe your child and talk him through the procedure. He will feel safest in your arms, hearing your voice, and will take cues from you as to how to behave. If you're anxious about the needles and blood draw, he'll pick up on that and fight it.

If your son reacts to benedryl or dramamine both are safe for kids... they used to knock me out completely.

You can also talk to his Doctor about it, certain medications may interefere with his bloodwork.

There a a few topical medications that they can put on your son to numb the area before the bloodwork so that he won't feel the needle. I don't know what the latest one is called, but you can ask about that. I agree with the advice that it would not be prudent to sedate a child for bloodwork. There is too much risk involved for something like that. Explain the situation to whomever will draw the blood. They can get another person come and help with the restraint.