Going into hospital
Going into hospital can be a very stressful event for both parents and child but there are a number of strategies which can help to ease the experience.
Most hospitals will have a visiting day for you and your child to see the ward and meet the staff. You may also find that playing at doctors using your child or a favourite toy to demonstrate on is very effective in preparing them for hospital procedures. Choice of language to describe what is going to happen is very important. Most child anaesthesia is via a face mask to a ‘magic wind’ to help them sleep is appropriate and that they will be looked after by a special doctor whilst they are asleep who will wake them up when the operation is over. It is important that you tell your child that they will be woken up by the doctor. Avoid expressions such as being ‘put to sleep’ with or without magic wind. The last member of the family who was put to sleep was Tiddles and he has not been seen since!! Do not forget to take a special toy into hospital with you and ask the staff to put a patient identification bracelet on it. (I once had to arbitrate between two little girls about the ownership of a doll, a bit like King Solomon, and it was not a happy experience).
A number of complementary and alternative therapies which can be of help at this time. The run up to admission can be very tense and the Bach Flower Remedies (BFR) can be very effective. Using Rescue Remedy as a base (it counts as one remedy) you could add Mimulus for generalised anxiety if your child is unable to articulate their fears, or Aspen if there is a specific aspect of hospital that is causing stress. To make up a prescription take 4 drops of the mother tincture and add to a 30ml dropper bottle of still mineral water and add 2 drops of the mixture to any drink and take four times a day.
Homeopathic remedies which are also useful at this time include Gelsemium which is indicated for fear of a specific event or Pulsitilla if your child is very fearful and weepy.
If anxiety is causing problems with sleeping the above remedies are good
and in addition you might find a drop of lavender essential oil on the pillow at night is gently sedative.
Post operatively many patients (child and adults) feel very sorry for themselves so BFR Willow can be added to the prescription. You may also want to give Arnica for bruising and Aconite for the shock of the operation. To help reduce post operative nausea and vomiting (rare now a days with modern anaesthetics) Seabands can be applied to acupuncture point Pericardium-6 (see instructions in the packet). This has been shown to work very well but has not proved to be appropriate for eye surgery i.e. squints or post tonsillectomy. This is because post operative vomiting after these operations is due to a number of causes not just the anaesthetic. For example, during an operation to repair a squint the muscles around the eye are stretched and the eye itself is manipulated resulting in visual sensory disturbance. Following tonsillectomy nausea is due to local irritation from blood swallowed at operation and in Traditional Chinese Medicine this should be removed i.e. digested or vomited up not suppressed. Research indicates that the Seabands should be applied before the child is anaesthetised since the anaesthetic appears to have an inhibiting effect on the acupuncture.
All of the above remedies can be used alongside conventional treatments.
However, you should stop any herbal remedies you child may be taking two weeks prior to any surgery or procedure since they can interact with the anaesthetic and in some cases increase the risk of post operative bleeding. For example: Chamomile, which is often given to children who are anxious, can increase bleeding times and interfere with the metabolism of other drugs. It works the same way as benzodiazepines such as valium. Similarly lemon balm has sedative properties and may increase the effects of the anaesthetic. You may also be tempted to give your child Echinacea as a prophylactic against infections. However this is not the correct way to use the herb which should only be used when an infection has started and in addition it can prolong the ‘wake up’ time of a short acting anaesthetic called Medazolam which is often use in the emergency department to reduce fractures or dislocations.
Caution regarding the use of herbal remedies is of particular importance if your child has an illness such as diabetes, a blood disorder, cancer, heart condition or an illness affecting their immune system or metabolism.
Little children show their distress somatically so a previously dry child may start to wet the bed. Calm reassurance is needed and the episodes played down and no other intervention is needed the problem will resolve in its own time. Similarly children complain of headaches or tummy aches and once they have been checked out the same approach applies.
Hopefully your visit to the hospital will be a pleasant one with a happy outcome.
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