February 22, 2001
Blood Tests and Insulin Injections
Question from Otsego, Michigan, USA:
Do you have any suggestions on doing glucose checks and injections for a four and a half year old girl? She is very intense and very sensitive. I’ve bought a FreeStyle monitor, and she says it doesn’t hurt to check her, but she’s absolutely petrified at the thought of it. She will even run for cover if she sees or even thinks that anyone else is getting a shot. I brought her with me to a blood draw to check my cholesterol, and even though she knew she was not going to get a “poke”, she was too scared to leave the waiting room. Needless to say, this is a serious problem to have if you have diabetes!
Answer:
You should discuss this with your daughter’s nurses and doctors. They have lots of experience with children and can help get over the fears of how much the testing will hurt. Most of our very young children quickly learn that this is not as bad as they thought. With some time and practice they usually learn to accept it quite readily.
SB
