Blood test or "If you measure a lot, you measure a lot of crap."
Parents keep asking if we would like to do a blood test on their child. There are two main things to say about this.
There is a saying that often applies to blood tests: "If you measure a lot, you measure a lot of rubbish." In other words, it is not appropriate and makes no sense to test the blood "just like that".
If parents want this - for their healthy child - you have to say: No, there is no medical reason for this. If someone is healthy and lively, then there's no need for a blood test.
This is the most important point: there needs to be a reason - complaints or certain symptoms - where "you" think that a blood test could help. Whereby "one" should be a doctor.
And this brings us to the second point: the results of a blood test can and should only be assessed by the person who ordered the test and has an idea of the significance of individual blood values.
Sometimes parents are confused when they look at the results sheet themselves because there is a plus or a minus somewhere, even though it says that everything is fine. And it has to be said: yes, there may be such a thing. But it takes a certain amount of experience and background knowledge to realise that there can sometimes be a certain shift in a value without this being problematic in any way.
To summarise: 1. no unnecessary, inappropriate blood samples. 2. Please leave the interpretation to specialists and not to Dr Google or other more or less competent people.
Further interesting tips
Monkeypox
Ever since monkeypox became a topic in the media, parents have been asking whether it is also relevant for humans here and whether there is cause for concern, especially for children of course. Reason enough for us to take a look at the topic.
Absences
This is a regular topic of discussion in paediatricians’ surgeries, but the immediate trigger for this tip from the doctor was actually an adult: Jamal Musiala, a professional footballer at FC Bayern, caused quite a stir when he slumped to the ground, looking dazed, twice in quick succession during a match. The diagnosis: absence seizures. Here’s a brief summary of what you need to know about this from a paediatrician’s perspective.
Moles
Children are not small adults. One topic where this beautiful phrase once again applies is the mole, medically known as a nevus. Dealing with brown moles and the need to have them looked at by a dermatologist is very different for children than for adults.