Sedation for blood test for teenager?

[Thisisarubbishusername]

Has anyone’s teenager been given nasal or other sedation at an NHS hospital to allow a blood test to be administered to a severely phobic teen? Our son needs blood tests but has a severe phobia of fainting during/after the procedure, after having fainted before. I’m not sure that all the CBT, distraction, preparation and other techniques he’s trying are going to be enough. Thank you.

Being sedated feels like passing out. Surely he’d be better drinking tons of water and laying down with his feet up?

Hi Op, don't have any sedation advice but didn't want to ignore your post. One of my teens was similar, and had to be referred to the main hospital for all future BTs.

Now the hospital know him and it's been flagged up in his notes, on arrival he gets whisked through (no waiting ever) and they give him a quiet area, and really calm, fast and brilliant member of staff, which makes a big difference. He is still very stressed, but hasn't fainted again. Good luck x

@AnotherVice we’ve tried that twice already.

@Tamarastar thank you for your comment. I’m pleased that you’ve found a way to help your son and that he hasn’t fainted . We tried the sort of approach you mention at his second blood test appt today after a planning session with a brilliant play specialist nurse last week where we drew up an action plan for how it would work. We were first into the clinic and it was really calm but even so, and with lots of measures in place, he just couldnt let them do it. For our son, it’s the fear of fainting that is the biggest problem and seems to be quite hard to overcome. Thanks again. X

I’m a tough love advocate, sorry. Probably not what you want to hear but, if it were one of mine, I’d offer to take them up to the kid’s oncology ward so they could tell the kids there that they were worried about a blood test.

@AnotherVice sorry if my reply above seemed snappy - it’s been a stressful day! But it still stands that we have tried the above and it hasn’t helped. We have also tried CBT, aware breathing, a buzzy bee on the tourniquet, fiddle toys etc etc. it’s just a really difficult thing to overcome.

what Is it about fainting that so worries him?

I think tough love maybe the way to go. All the special measures etc must be just winding him up into a ball of anxiety.

My DD17 faints a lot, she’s autistic and is terrified. She’s fainted 4 times having bloods taken and even BP!

one time she even fainted in the reception area when we weee booking her blood test appointment time t!!
last blood test we were advised that she has the numbing cream that you put on an hour before you go, that she lays down on the gurney, I sat at her head end and talked to her, her eyes started
rolling backwards and I kept talking and blowing her face, then got her to blow into my face … success!!
good luck!

Yeah so that'd really work. If it did people wouldn't smoke would they 🙄

Ridiculous comment.

That's very tough! It's hard because you have to find a way through- and creating more fear and stress is counterproductive. Though I agree there has to be firmness- he's got to have blood tests sometimes, and it's not optional!

Would positive consequence/ bribery help? (My son has to have fasting blood tests so he gets a cooked breakfast in a cafe straight after - a rare treat in our family- and we ensure the BT is done on the morning of his most hated and useless lesson so he misses it going in late to school. It doesn't make the BT any less stressful but at least the day isn't all bad...)

Being sedated will make him worse actually because it feels like he’s going to faint. I hope you figure it out though, I’ve never heard of anyone being sedated for a blood test, I mean no anaesthetist is going to sedate him without him having a cannula in incase something happens whilst he’s sedated, if he can’t have a blood test then I doubt he can have a cannula

@Doseofreality having a bad day? Your reply to me borders on rude. It’s incredibly uncompassionate towards a child. I’m not saying what he’s going through is on a par with what children on oncology ward are facing but his fear is real and distressing. I’d ask you kindly to not comment here again if you have nothing kind or constructive to say.

(PS for any nurses reading- no he isn't given a big fry up and no he isn't diabetic!!)

@Tulipvase I don’t know exactly… loss of control? The physical sensation of it? Not sure.

a cooked breakfast after a blood test doesn’t require apologies for x

@BornSlippie I wasn’t thinking GA more a nasal method. I know there would be reluctantly but I know from research that sedation is sometimes offered to dental patient who are severely anxious so was wondering if the same might apply here

Another tough love advocate here.

He is very unlikely to pass out. Make sure he’s hydrated before and if he doesn’t have to fast, make sure he’s eaten as normal. He goes in, sits down and closes his eyes. Take a bottle of water and a snack for after (something sugary). If needs be the test can be done lying down. But sedating him is just insane, will likely require needles anyway, and means he would have to attend a day surgery unit and be monitored by nurses after.

@Tamarastar bribery is a good idea but it doesn’t usually work for him. Fasting blood tests must be difficult but nice for your son to have a treat afterwards! X

@Tulipvase re fainting...My son was embarrassed at the very idea he'd fainted, and that he found BTs so scary, especially as his younger siblings weren't worried at all about theirs! he was worried one of his mates might be there or find out.

I’m not sure that all the CBT, distraction, preparation and other techniques he’s trying are going to be enough.

isn't that likely to make things worse? Can he just accept that some people do faint and it's no big deal?

Tell him that a schoolfriend of mine went through a phase of fainting whenever needles were involved. She wasn't needle-phobic. She had investigations and no medical cause was found. When she got into her later teens she just warned the nurse doing the blood test or jab that it was likely to happen, they made sure she was lying down and couldn't fall, then just waited for her to recover. I think she grew out of it as she got older. She doesn't faint now when she has jabs and blood tests.

@untiloneofuscaves I’m also not averse to tough love but when your child is hysterical it’s not always as easy as that, as I’m sure you and others on this thread can imagine.

i also question your comment about sedation being insane. As I mentioned, dental surgeries offer it to severely anxious patients and I don’t see why this is any different.

nasal sedation methods are sometimes available which wouldn’t need a needle.

Dental surgeries are generally a lot more complex and involved than a blood test and it tends to require either a hefty private payment or the involvement of an NHS doctor.

The patient will generally have to have a pre-assessment, they will be allocated a theatre space and a bed, and will have to recover in hospital for a certain period of time after before they’re discharged (same day), supervised by nurses.

That all presents a huge cost to the NHS. Justifiable in the case of dental surgeries, less so in the case of a blood test.

@HelenaWilson the hospital play specialists don’t seem to think so! Nor does his CBT practitioner.

glad you think fainting is no big deal. Have you ever fainted yourself? Even if you have and are fine about it, that doesn’t mean that every other person who faints is fine with it. It’s not a nice experience.

Thank you re the example of school friend but I’m not sure that will be that helpful to him . Thank you though.

@chunkyBoo your poor daughter, that sounds tough but glad it worked in the end. Sending love x