I want to talk about shots.
Not the fun type.
Shots that hurt. Shots that make your precious children cry big wobbly tears. Why I remember one time that Madeleine was about 18 months old and got a shot at the doctors and managed to wiggle around me, the doctor, and the nurse and run screaming down the hall, naked and bleeding. Good times.
"How about using some Emla cream?" I asked. I had read that Emla cream numbed the skin so shots don't hurt.
"Oh, they don't need it."
Of course they don't need it. Americans don't need pain pills! Why our ancestors survived having a leg amputated with just a rawhide strap to chew on, a hefty shot of whiskey, and a good pair of lungs to scream themselves hoarse.
Why suffer? And why must we rely on doctors to prescribe a simple cream that eases the pain of shots?
One day (today, if you must know) it occurred to me that maybe other countries weren't so bloody stiff upper lipped about this stuff. I've been ordering some extra estrogen patches from a place in England. You need a prescription to get these here in the Nanny State, but not in England. And look what I found! You can order Emla cream without a prescription from Canada. Thank you, Canada!!!
I'm ordering some right now.
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8 comments:
Dare I admit that I use emla cream myself when I have to get a blood-test..? One time I used an emla patch on one arm, but they couldn't get a vein. After about three tries the nurse said she was going to try my other arm. I freaked out cos the other one hadn't had a patch on it! Thankfully we dont need a prescription for it here in Australia, either.
Good for you! And it works wonders if your girls ever want to have their ears pierced.
Wow, I wonder if that would help at the blood donation center?
Interesting post since dd's 5 yr checkup was yesterday. She was afraid she needed a shot but when the doctor said there were a couple shots that we could wait on I decided it was time to give the kid a year off.
Thinking back to when we brought her home from China when I would take her each month to get her caught up on all her vaccinations she had 25 shots in those first 6 months home. Crazy! Wish I knew about the Emla cream. Hell, I take a Percocet each year before I get my size 32 AAAA boobs squished during my mammogram. Bring on the pain relievers!
Thanks for the information, love your blog and the subjects you tackle.
Alyson
Emla can actually constrict the veins, making the blood drawing more difficult and upsetting for children. Just something to keep in mind
I give people emla if they are really phobic bout blood draws, or if they are kids (where I am vaguely phobic about drawing them, since I do my own sticks, you know). I have occasionally used it for shots, but really, it isn't a huge help for that (don't tell the girls, dammit!). Emla numbs the surface, but it won't really do anything for the muscle which is really where the OW is in a shot.
Still, the psychological benefit is not to be underestimated. I love emla cream, and would never think to tell someone that they "don't need it." Hooey.
I am a medical assistant in a pediatricians office and give hundreds of shots each day. Emla patches do not work period. Emla only numbs the surface of the skin and infant/child shots are given with a 1 inch needle that has to godeep into the muscle. Also they cry for 2 seconds, some not at all. Also the patches have to be placed in the exact area the needle will be entering (IM shots are given on the side of the thogh in muscle, not on the top front of the thigh and infants get many different single shots at a visit in different places. Bottom line..we hate to see our babies in pain...but they will endure MUCH more pain in life than a few shots that last a second...please no Emla patches...THEY WILL CRY AND GET OVER IT!!! Let your baby feel pain for crying out loud...it won't kill them and they do get over it!!!
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