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Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
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Preparing for your appointment
By Mayo Clinic staffYoung children — and even teens — are often apprehensive about doctor visits, and the anxiety only increases when they're in pain. Here are some ways to help reassure your child before an office visit:
- Explain the reason for the visit. Tell your child that the doctor will try to find what's causing the pain and then look for ways to fix it.
- Describe what to expect during the exam. If you don't know, call the office beforehand to find out what tests your child is likely to have. For instance, if your child is scheduled for an abdominal ultrasound, you can explain that the test doesn't hurt, and that parents can stay in the room during the test. For blood draws, be sure that young children understand that only a small amount of blood will be taken.
- Get your child involved. Write down — or have your child write down — questions for the doctor. Then be sure that they're answered fully and in language your child can understand. Even young children are reassured when they feel that they're participating in their own health care.
References
- Leung AK, et al. Acute abdominal pain in children. American Family Physician. 2003;67(11):2321-2326.
- Vanyer K, et al. Mesenteric lymphadenopathy in children examined by US for chronic and/or recurrent abdominal pain. Pediatric Radiology. 2003;33(12): 864-867.
- Micari M, et al. Mesenteric adentitis: CT diagnosis of primary versus secondary causes, incidence, and clinical significance in pediatric and adult patients. American Journal of Roentgenology. 2002;178:853-858.
- Rathaus V, et al. Enlarged mesenteric lymph nodes in asymptomatic children: The value of the finding in various imaging modalities. The British Journal of Radiology. 2005;78(925):30-33.
- Boaz K. et al. Mesenteric lymph nodes in children: What is normal? Pediatric Radiology. 2005;35(8):774-777.
- Simanovksy N, et al. Importance of sonographic detection of enlarged abdominal lymph nodes in children. Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine. 2007;26(5):581-584.
