Scanxiety in children

Animations

Ask Jake about …. Scans (The Brain Tumour Charity)

Meet Jake, an 8 year-old boy, who helps children understand scans and answers questions they may have. Originally designed for children, we’ve found that people of all ages find it helpful to understand what happens.

Watch our Jake animations

Videos

Videos might be helpful as you can show your child actual scanning machines. The charity ‘What? Why? Children in Hospital’ has two videos of a child being shown the scanning equipment and the procedure being explained:

• What happens when my child has a CT scan?
• What happens when my child has an MRI?
  (This also lets you hear the sounds of an MRI scanner)

Do remember that the scanner at your child’s hospital may look different.
You could ask your child’s healthcare team if their hospital has similar videos about their scanner.

Physical resources.

Some centres have mock scanners or toy models available for children to see and use, so that they understand what to expect before their scan. Although there are only a few around the country, it’s worth asking your medical team if they’re available in your area. If these aren’t available, it can be helpful for your child to see the scanner before their scan. You’ll need to ask your medical team if this is something they’re happy with, but many will be open to this.

Ask your child’s healthcare team if you can bring videos, music etc for your child to watch/listen to, and whether your child will be able to see you during their scan.

Depending on your child’s age and cognitive (mental) ability, they may wish to be as informed as possible. Together, you and your child may wish to list and discuss their main worries and fears. This can help you to agree a plan of action. This plan can include how to cope on the day in the waiting room and in the scanner, as well as discussing potential outcomes of the scan.

Having this conversation with your child may be difficult and there’s no wrong or right answer to how much you should discuss with them. Every family is different and you should trust your judgement on what’s best.

For more help and advice, Chartered Clinical Psychologist, Dr Roberta Bowie, offers some tips on talking to children about their feelings

Cannula

Your child may have a ‘cannula’ (tube) inserted into their hand to give a contrast medium, or it may be given in the arm. It may be a little sore when the cannula is inserted, and this can be a scary process. If you speak to your medical team about your child’s fears, a cream can be placed onto your child’s skin 30 – 60 minutes beforehand to numb the area to help with this.

Sedatives and general anaesthetic

In some cases, your child may be given a sedative or a general anaesthetic to keep them asleep for the whole scan. If your child was sedated, or given a general anaesthetic, the hospital staff will first check that they’ve recovered and it’s safe for them to go home. This could take up to a couple of hours after they’ve had their scan.

This simple technique will largely depend on your child’s age, but encouraging imaginary play may help to distract them from their fears during their scan. Encourage your child to imagine that the scanner is an exciting experience. It could be a transportation device taking them to another time period, their favourite holiday destination, or outer space.

While your child is in the scanner, bring things to distract them. For younger children, this may be their favourite toy or a story to listen to. For older children, something to hold or some music. Just check this with your medical team on the day.

Help your child to practice mindful awareness by guiding them to focus their attention on their breathing. Encourage them to take slow, deep breaths while closing their eyes, relaxing their muscles, and focusing on how inhaling and exhaling feels. If they find this difficult, it can be helpful for them to place a hand on their stomach or chest to feel the physical rise and fall. This can help shift your child’s focus away from scan worries and onto the physical act of breathing.

Try turning negatives into positives by focusing on past successes and imagine yourself and your child facing any new problems with courage. Positive talk with your child may help them frame their own thoughts positively.

Distraction can be a great tool. Keeping busy and having fun can help divert your child from thinking about their upcoming scan results.

You could:

• plan a short getaway
• take a day trip
• visit your child’s favourite restaurant
• watch a film
• go to a soft play or park
• do some arts and crafts.

It may help to distract your child from their worries about their results by encouraging them to practice mindfulness. There are many resources that you can get for your child to help them be more mindful, including mindful colouring books, dot to dots and apps.

It’s important to remember that there are tools to practice mindfulness, and they are not a replacement for treatment for anxiety.

It’s important to remember that mindfulness will naturally be difficult to begin with, but it does get easier with practice. The key is to stick at it and keep trying – there’s no right or wrong way to practice mindfulness.