Aw, Squeaks, you look like you feel awful.
Come here.
I think we should take you to the doctor to see if you need some medicine.
Oh, hi there.
Squeaks is sick, but he's scared to go to the doctor.
Feeling scared is normal, but doctors are there to help.
And they're not just good to visit when you have a cold.
Doctors are important to visit every so often when you're feeling fine, too.
Do you remember when our friend Dr Erin Carroll taught us about what to expect at the doctor's office?
Let's watch what happens at the doctor's office every time, whether you're healthy or feeling sick like Squeaks.
Hi guys!
Today is a really special day.
Squeaks and I just looked at our calendar and we saw that he has a visit to his doctor coming up and Squeaks is a little nervous.
So I asked my friend, Dr Aaron Carroll to come and talk to us about what to expect when we go to the doctor.
Hi Dr. Carroll!
Hi!
Well, I guess you've heard that Squeaks is a little bit nervous, and when I get nervous it usually helps to ask questions.
So I was wondering if you might be able to answer some questions we have about going to the doctor.
Of course!
So what's the first thing that happens when we go to the doctor?
Well, most often you're going to have to wait in the waiting room, because it's really unlikely the doctor's going to be ready to see you immediately.
So there's going to be a lot of kids there.
Some of them are going to be sick because they're waiting to see the doctor when they're sick.
There'll be a lot of other parents there.
And it can be a little bit of a scary place.
So you're not stuck in the waiting room forever.
What happens then?
No, and sometimes there's games and stuff to play, so it can be fun.
Those are always really fun.
Eventually, a nurse or a medical assistant is going to come and take you back and they're going to give what we call vital signs.
They're going to want to check how fast your heart is beating.
They're going to want to check how quickly you're breathing.
They're going to want to check your blood pressure, maybe to see if you have a fever, just to see in general how you're doing.
So when we see the medical assistant or nurse, they will have a lot of equipment, right?
And there's a lot of stuff going on.
So you brought some examples.
What do we have here?
So this is something you use to actually check your blood pressure.
It's called a sphygmomanometer, but nobody needs to say that.
It's almost like a cup.
What they do is they put it on your arm and then they pump it up and it basically gives your arm a squeeze.
It's like giving your arm a big hug.
It can feel a little tight, but it isn't gonna hurt.
Then they're gonna put on a stethoscope and they're gonna listen to your blood flow through your arm while they pump it up.
And using that and looking at this dial, they can figure out what your blood pressure is.
Wow.
And so why is it important to know what your blood pressure is?
So your blood pressure tells how tight your blood is in the tubes inside your body as it's flowing around.
And you want it to be tight, but not too tight.
And almost everyone is going to be fine.
But it just allows them to see how much pressure the blood is using as it flows through your veins and arteries.
I've definitely seen this before.
Now, are we allowed to like, can I pump on that?
Sure, as you pump it, this is gonna get tighter and tighter on Squeak's arms and eventually it might get a little tight, but it won't hurt.
And then you can look at it and see that it's getting tight.
And then what they will do again is they will listen like this as they turn this dial and let a lot of the pressure out, and you'll hear the air go out.
See that, Squeaks?
Yeah.
So besides the blood pressure, what else is going to happen?
So they'll also put you on a scale and weigh you to see how much you weigh.
They'll probably put you up against a wall and measure you to see how tall you are.
And then they will also check your temperature.
And these days most often, they wind up checking your temperature by putting just a little tube in your ear.
And it doesn't really go in far at all.
But by actually just looking at the temperature in your ear, they can get a sense of how it is.
And that way, you don't have to put anything in your mouth or anything anywhere else.
As I said before, they'll also check and listen, usually with a stethoscope, to see how quickly you're breathing, to see how fast your heart is going, and that's mostly before you go in the doctor's office.
Nice.
Sometimes you get a little thing on your finger.
What's that?
So that is, they're actually shooting a laser or a light into your finger to see how much oxygen is in your blood.
Does it hurt?
Not at all.
You can't even feel it.
In fact, all it does is sort of light up your finger and make it red, which is sort of cool.
Cool.
But it absolutely doesn't hurt.
It just takes a few seconds.
It just helps them see how well you're getting oxygenated.
We like lasers, don't we?
Melvin, you'll love this.
So after we've checked all of those measurements, we're going to head to the office.
And what happens in there?
So more often than not, they're going to ask you to get undressed and put on a gown.
That's just so the doctor can examine you a little more easily.
And they'll probably have you sit on a big table that has a long piece of paper on it.
Okay, what's the paper for?
The paper is so, because you don't know if the last person in the office was dirty or clean, or maybe somebody is sick and you don't want their germs all over the place.
So you lay on the paper and then, when you leave the office, we take the paper down, we rip it and the next person gets up.
Totally crazy.
I always like sitting on the paper because it gets all crinkly and you can make some fun noises.
Yes, and you can draw on it.
I don't think anybody would ever get upset if you did that, so it's great.
So do you sit there?
Do you stand?
Usually you sit.
And so the doctor's going to talk to your parents.
The doctor's going to talk to you, ask you a lot of questions about how things are going, how you're eating, how you're sleeping, how school is going.
Do you get along with your brothers and sisters if you have them?
Do you get along with pets if you have them?
Are you being good?
Are you not listening so well at home?
Sort of get a sense of just how your general health is.
Next, they're going to want to do what we call the physical exam, which is when they actually take a look at you and examine you to make sure that everything is working right.
More often than not, they just sort of start top down.
First, they're going to look at your eyes or your ears.
So there's a fancy flashlight that they use to look in your eyes, to watch the black part of your eye, to make sure it gets bigger and smaller correctly, to make sure your eyes go all over the place correctly.
They can use it to look right in the back of your eye and see how the vessels, or the blood vessels, and your retina is doing.
Then they will put a tube in your ear just to look at your eardrum to make sure that it looks clear, to make sure that it's not infected, to make sure that everything's fine.
Does that hurt, something going in your ear?
It doesn't.
Kids get a little bit scared of it sometimes, but it really doesn't hurt and they don't go in that far.
It might feel a little odd sometimes because you know stuff's not supposed to go in your ears, but it does not hurt.
Neither the checking the eyes or the ears hurts really at all.
Then they're going to want to look in your nose.
They're going to want to look in your throat.
They'll probably get you to stick out your tongue and say, ah.
Nothing is going to hurt there.
It can be a little frightening and sometimes kids get a little nervous about it, but nothing bad.
Then they're going to want to feel usually your neck just to make sure that everything feels fine.
That's likely with your hands.
And then they move into listening to your heart and lungs.
And again, that's when they're going to use the stethoscope.
So they'll put it in their ears and they will probably, you know, ask you to take some deep breaths as they listen to your back.
That's just mostly to hear air going in and out of your lungs to make sure that everything sounds clear, to make sure everything sounds good, that it's all going going fine.
And if that's good, then they're going to listen to your heart, which is not on your back really, but more on your front.
So they'll probably put the stethoscope in a few different places around where your heart is, which is right in the middle of your chest.
Again, none of this hurts.
This is just so that they can hear your heart beating, to make sure it's not making any funny noises, to make sure that everything sounds good as it's going, and it's over just a couple minutes.
The next thing they're going to have you do is probably lay down.
And that's really because they want to check out your belly.
And it's very hard to check out your belly when you're sitting because it's all tense.
And they want you to be nice and relaxed.
So they'll lay down.
They will likely push on this side to feel your liver, maybe on this side sometimes to try to feel your spleen, mostly to get a sense that everything feels soft and that nothing hurts and that you're totally fine.
And they'll probably even put the stethoscope back on and listen to your belly, because we can hear sort of the food going through there, just to make sure it's making the right noises and that everything is moving fine.
So in general, after that they're gonna do a.
You know they might do things just to check sure that your pulses are okay in other areas of your body.
They might just check to make sure that everything's working okay in all the different parts of your body.
They might have you stand up and bend over so they can take a look at your spine.
Make sure it looks nice and straight.
And they're gonna check out the things that you know doctors do, which are sometimes private, but they have to do it, and always with your parents there.
None of that sounds scary at all, but there is one part to Doctor's appointments that do make me a little nervous and I think Squeaks is nervous about that part too, and it's shots.
Yeah.
I mean, it's hard.
You don't want to lie.
Shots can hurt a little bit.
They stink.
I don't like getting shots.
I have to get shots every year.
I have to get my flu shot every year and sometimes other shots for boosters, because I'm you know, I work in a hospital with other patients.
So, and everybody really gets a flu shot now these days.
So it's something that everybody has to do.
It's so important though, because it keeps you safe.
It keeps you from getting sick and it might hurt for just a few minutes, but it goes away really quickly and you forget about it pretty quickly.
So getting shots is, I know it's really important and it does hurt, but it goes away quickly.
But why does it have to go into me?
Like, why can't I just take a pill?
The reason is because our bodies are incredibly good at sort of fighting off infection.
And if we just sort of put the stuff on you, your body won't see it.
Your skin's really good at keeping the bad stuff out.
In order to make your body react to what we're trying to give you in the vaccine, we have to get it inside you.
And the only way to do that is to sort of pierce the skin and get all the way below it.
That is a lot of stuff that happens, but None of it seems really scary.
It all seems really important.
It shouldn't be scary.
I mean, it's important to remember that doctors are people, too.
I'm a doctor.
I have kids.
I'm a fun guy.
I'm not scary.
I don't think my children are afraid of me.
And what we're trying to do is just trying to help you be healthy and get along with your family and for everything to be great.
And there's nothing that we're going to do that should make you scared at all.
Well, thank you so much for walking us through all of that.
Sounds like there's so many wonderful things that a doctor can learn about your body with all these measurements.
Doctors are pretty amazing.
Oh, thank you.
Well, tell us more about how you can become a doctor.
Anyone can become a doctor, but I will say it takes a lot of school.
I used to joke with my kids all the time that by the time I was done, I think I'd finished the 25th grade.
It takes going to school and going to middle school, going to high school college, four years of medical school, couple of years of residency, maybe even a little bit of fellowship, but it's totally worth it.
I absolutely love what I do.
I get to help people.
I especially get to work with kids and it's an amazing job.
That was a lot of great information.
So Squeaks, are you feeling a little bit better about our upcoming doctor appointment?
Oh, good.
See, there's nothing to be afraid of.
Doctors are really helpful, especially when you're sick.
I hear you.
I don't like getting shots either, but sometimes those shots contain a kind of really important medicine called vaccines.
Do you remember when we learned about how vaccines work and why we get them?
Okay, well, it's normal to be forgetful when you're not feeling well.
Let's watch again to remind Squeaks about the importance of vaccines.
In a few minutes, I'm going to the doctor to get a shot.
Now, I'll be honest with you, getting shots is not my favorite thing.
I remember the last time I had a shot, it kind of hurt a little, like a pinch.
But I also remember that a good thing to do when I'm afraid of something is to try and learn more about it.
And I thought I'd share what I learned about shots with you.
You probably already know that germs like the ones that cause colds or the flu can make you feel pretty yucky.
But some kinds of germs can make people very, very sick, like the ones that cause diseases such as measles and polio.
These diseases can be dangerous, And they did make a lot of people sick a long time ago.
But scientists and doctors put a lot of work into finding ways to keep people from getting these diseases.
And after a lot of work, they invented what we call vaccines.
A vaccine is something that you put into your body that helps keep you from getting a disease.
And the actual shot?
That's called a vaccination.
So what's in the vaccine that helps protect you from getting a disease?
Believe it or not, germs!
A vaccine actually contains little bits of germs.
It might seem kind of weird that you're trying to keep from getting sick by putting germs inside your body, but that's how vaccines work.
The germs that are in a vaccine are already dead, or sometimes very weak, so they're not dangerous.
But your body doesn't know the difference.
It treats the germs in the vaccine just like it would treat the germs that cause a cold or the flu.
It tries to attack and destroy them.
While your body is fighting the germ that's in the vaccine, it's also making special little particles that will help your body fight off the germ if it gets into your body again.
It's kind of like your body is practicing.
Maybe you practice a sport or a musical instrument to get ready for a game or a concert?
Well, when your body attacks the dead or weak germs that are in a vaccine, it's getting itself ready for the germs that can really make you sick.
Because of all this practice, your body will probably be able to fight off the germs before they can cause a disease.
Now, a vaccine doesn't protect you from every kind of germ.
It only helps your body learn to fight off the certain kind of germ that's in the vaccine.
That's partly why you have to get more than one shot when you go to the doctor.
So how does the doctor give you the vaccination that you need?
Well, the vaccine is a liquid.
And it's in a little tube that has a plunger on one end and a needle on the other.
Then, the doctor or nurse will find a place on your body where the vaccine will work the best.
Sometimes the vaccine needs to go into a thick piece of muscle like the back of your arm or right below your hip or in the top part of your leg.
So the doctor or nurse quickly puts the needle into the muscle and pushes down the plunger.
And?
You're done!
The vaccine is in your body.
Sometimes your arm or leg might be a little bit sore afterwards.
You might even feel kind of tired, or get a little fever.
Those kinds of things are totally okay.
It just means your body is fighting the germs in the vaccine and you should feel better in a day or two.
So vaccines might hurt just a little bit, but the pinch is worth not getting sick.
And now it's time for me to get my shot.
I mean, my vaccination.
Vaccine shots sound really important.
Sometimes I make a bigger deal of them than I should.
They often don't even hurt that much.
Right, Squeaks?
Oh, yeah, you're right, Squeaks.
They're not nearly as bad as getting hurt on the playground.
Sometimes, when you get an injury that's bad enough.
You need to get stitches to help your body heal its wounds.
Squeaks and I learned all about what stitches are for and how they can help a couple years ago.
Should we show them while you and I go to the doctor?
Squeaks had a new experience today, and he wanted to tell us all about it.
See the bandaid on his hand?
That's because he got a cut that needed stitches.
Right!
Four stitches!
When someone gets stitches, that means the doctor used some thread to tie the two sides of the cut together.
Maybe you or someone you know has gotten them before.
Lots of people have, because stitches are a very good way to fix a big cut.
And Squeaks is totally fine now, right Squeaks?
Right.
If you've ever gotten a small cut, like a paper cut, you know that they can hurt.
But all you have to do is tell a grown-up wash it off and put a band-aid on it.
After that, it usually heals within a day or two.
But accidents happen and sometimes people get a cut that goes farther into the skin than a paper cut.
If it's a deep cut, they might need stitches to help the wound heal properly.
And that's what happened to Squeaks this morning.
Right, it happened while we were playing at the park.
We were playing tag, and Squeaks fell down and cut his hand on a rock.
The cut was big enough that I thought we should go see a doctor, so we put on a bandage in the meantime and pressed down on it to help stop the bleeding.
When we got to the doctor, she said the cut needed a few stitches.
She explained that they would help keep the two sides of the cut close together so it would be easier for the body to heal it.
Without the stitches to help keep it closed, it would take a lot longer for the bleeding to stop and there would be a much bigger piece of skin to regrow.
Do you remember what else she said the stitches helped with?
You're right!
Since the stitches keep the cut closed, they help keep germs away so it doesn't get infected.
Then it was time for the doctor to start taking care of the cut.
If you or someone you know ever has to get stitches, the doctor will probably do a lot of the same things as Squeaks' doctor.
She washed off the cut to clean it and get rid of as many germs as possible before stitching it up.
Then she gave Squeaks a very quick shot near the cut.
The shot gave him some medicine to numb his skin so he wouldn't feel the stitches.
Oh, he says the shot didn't really hurt, either.
After that, she got out the needle and thread.
You were a little worried about it at first, weren't you, Squeaks?
Yeah, the thread is kind of like a band-aid, except instead of being sticky it goes into your skin.
To hold the cut closed.
The only reason the doctor needs a needle is to guide the thread through the skin and tie it into stitches.
He says that didn't hurt either and that's because the doctor gave you the medicine to numb your skin first.
Sometimes, people feel a little pulling or pressure from the thread, but it doesn't hurt.
How long do you think the stitches themselves took, Squeaks?
Yeah, sounds about right.
It only took a couple of minutes to do those four stitches.
And that was it!
Squeaks got his bandaid to help keep the stitches clean and protected, and we went home.
We'll have to go back in a couple of weeks to get the stitches taken out, because once the cut is all healed up, you don't need the thread anymore.
They don't use a needle for that, though, and it's very simple and fast.
They just cut the thread, and the stitches fall right out.
There are also some kinds of stitches that don't need to be taken out because they dissolve by themselves, but not the kind Squeaks got.
Now that we're home, maybe we can do a project indoors so we can give your hand a little rest.
Squeaks, you look so much better after that trip to the doctor!
A little medicine sure can make a difference when your nose is stuffy, can't it?
Good question, Squeaks!
There are doctors who focus on other parts of the body.
And even though they're a little different, dentists are like doctors who help with your teeth.
Kids need to go to the dentist at least once a year to make sure they don't have any cavities.
Squeaks is scared again.
But just like a doctor's visit, a dentist's visit is nothing to be afraid of.
Let's remind him of what happens on a trip to the dentist.
Hey Squeaks, check out what I got at the dentist!
She gave me two toothbrushes, one for you and one for me.
Ooh, she gave me some toothpaste, too!
It's bubblegum flavored!
Some floss!
We got everything we need to keep our teeth clean!
That's the dentist's job, to make sure our teeth are healthy and help us keep them clean.
Oh, the whole appointment went great, Squeaks!
And my teeth feel super clean!
That's true, my teeth were already pretty clean before.
We brushed twice a day to keep them that way.
But it's still important to go to the dentist every few months and have them clean off anything that's built up on your teeth over time.
How did they do it?
Well, the person who cleaned my teeth wasn't actually the dentist herself.
She was a dental hygienist.
They're someone who went to a special school for learning how to clean and take care of teeth.
And she did a few different things to get them all clean.
The first thing she did was use a little scraping tool called a scaler to get rid of any plaque on my teeth.
Plaque is the stuff that builds up on your teeth after you eat and we brush and floss to get rid of it.
Even with really careful brushing and flossing, there can be some leftover on your teeth and it hardens over time.
So you need something stronger than a toothbrush to get it off.
That's why the hygienist scrapes it off with the scaler.
Next, she took out an electric tool.
I was a little nervous at first, so I asked the hygienist what it was for.
She said it was an electric version of the scaler she was using before, which helps clean off your teeth really well.
It made kind of a loud noise but it didn't hurt and it sprayed some water while she was using it, which was kind of fun.
Oh, and she also put a little tube in my mouth that worked kind of like a tiny vacuum to suck up all the water.
That was pretty fun, too!
And you know what happened next after the scaling was all done?
The hygienist brought out another electric tool.
She said this one was called a polisher and it worked by spraying some air and water to smooth out and shine my teeth.
Now that they were all cleaned off.
After that, she was almost done.
The next step was brushing my teeth.
Yep, just like we do at home.
She used a regular toothbrush and a special type of toothpaste, and then some floss.
Finally, my teeth were all done.
Touching them with my tongue?
It's kind of weird now, but cool!
They're so smooth!
Then it was time to take some X-rays, which are really just pictures they take with a special kind of camera that can see through your teeth.
Once we had the X-ray pictures, the dentist came in to check out both the pictures and my actual teeth.
She was looking to see if I had any cavities.
A cavity is a small hole you can get in your teeth from that plaque I mentioned before.
If you don't clean it off well, it sort of eats away at your teeth, and eventually you get cavities.
Lots of people get cavities, and the dentist can fix them.
But by keeping our teeth clean, we can avoid getting too many of them.
The dentist let me look at my x-rays, which was super cool!
I got to see the inside of my teeth, and best of all, I didn't have any cavities!
And that was it!
The dentist gave me this great goodie bag, and it was time to go home!
You know, one of the main reasons kids miss school is because of issues with their teeth, which is why it's important to get a dental checkup every six months.
Even baby teeth need checkups, starting when that first tooth comes in.
Dental disease is no fun, but you can prevent it by spotting the warning signs early and keeping those smiles beautiful.
Yes, Squeaks, being scared of the doctor and dentist was a little silly.
But you're not the only one who worries about it.
Maybe you can tell your friends on the playground that it's not so bad.
And that they should be careful and avoid stitches.
Good point, Squeaks.
Thanks for joining us on this adventure to the doctor and dentist offices.
We'll see you next time at the fort!
