3 Pediatric Procedures that Sound Worse Than They Actually Are
When it comes to your children having certain pediatric procedures done, you want to make sure the doctor not only knows what they are doing but that they will be able to communicate effectively with children. Sometimes it can be difficult to determine if a problem is severe enough for medical intervention, but it’s usually better to be safe than sorry. However, with taking your child to a doctor or other medical professional, some procedures that are recommended to be done may come off as scary or are things you’ve never heard of before. It’s firstly important to remember that these are professionals who know a lot about their particular area of study. So you should trust their judgment. That being said, many of these procedures that sound scary aren’t really that bad. Here we will take a look at three to show you and your child there is nothing to be afraid of.
Crowns
Getting dental care for your child is essential. If there is a tooth that needs to be capped to keep from decaying, getting a crown is the best option. According to Hammond Dental Care, “a crown is used to entirely cover a damaged tooth or to protect a weak tooth from fracturing or having more serious problems.”In most cases, a small child would need a stainless steel crown. Even though most of the time a crown is usually put on a milk tooth that will fall out in a couple years it’s still important to have one placed because leaving it alone for too long could lead to more severe problems. Extraction of a tooth also doesn’t help because there would be a sizable gap. So a crown is the best solution. There are plenty of Christian mothers who take their child to a pediatric dentist to check their teeth every six months. Crowns are put on the tooth with minimal effort and usually no anesthesia.
Removal Of A Foreign Body
There’s something about medical language that can be a bit frightening to hear at first, but once you understand the procedure it’s not as bad as whatever you thought it would be about. That’s exactly the case with removal of a foreign body. Simply, it’s getting something out of somewhere it’s not supposed to be. For example, if your child gets something stuck in their throat or they manage to get something stuck in their ear, it would need to be removed, usually at the hospital or the emergency room. According to this article from Medscape, “from 2008 to 2012, there were 280,939 emergency department visits in the United States for foreign bodies, with children aged 2-8 years being the most frequent patients.” The main problem is usually you can’t remove it on your own, but the doctors can. More than likely whatever the foreign body is they probably won’t take long to retrieve it. Because your child may not need specialized care for such cases it won’t cause you or your child any unneeded stress.
Laceration Repair
Children and some adults may be afraid to head to the doctor for a deep cut that requires stitches. Sometimes children don’t want to come forward with a serious injury, especially if they were doing something they were told not to do. It can also be difficult to know if a cut (or laceration) needs medical intervention. The experts at Babycenter explain, “generally, a deep, long, or open wound – deeper than about 1/4 inch or longer than about 1/2 inch – will need stitches (also called sutures) to help prevent infection, minimize scarring, and stop the bleeding.”
It’s important to remain calm in this situation, and to get them to a medical professional as soon as possible. If your child begins to lose control and start to freak out, you should try to de-escalate the situation as best as possible. While the wound is being cared for by it’s a good idea to have them look away by giving them video games or a cartoon to watch. Usually they will be given a sedative before the procedure is performed. The stitching usually does not last any more than 10 to 15 minutes depending on how severe the laceration might be.
As you can see these procedures are not that scary even if they may sound a bit frightening from their names or from what you’ve heard about them. Children have a habit of going to places they’re not supposed to and doing things they’re not supposed to, and usually this ends in accidents are problems needing to be solved. Do your best and always remember that doctors have you and your child’s best intentions and want to do the best that they can.