Kids get checkups but … why? Seriously, what’s the point? We asked Ana Menendez Bermúdez, MD, a pediatrician from Children’s Wisconsin, to explain what’s actually going on when you go to the doctor. Here’s what she said.
Why do kids have to get checkups?
Checkups are important for everybody, but they’re especially important for kids. That’s because you’re growing so fast. We see babies and toddlers really often because they grow the fastest, but as you grow older we usually only need to check in on you once a year. We need to check your height, your weight and make sure you’re growing at the right pace.
Why do doctors listen to your heart beating?
The heart is one of the most important organs in your body. It pumps blood to all the other organs that you need to run, to play, even to think. We use a stethoscope to listen to the sound of it beating through your chest. There’s a rhythm to that sound that tells us if your heart is pumping the blood the way it should. That’s what we’re listening for.
What is the cuff doctors put around a patient’s arm?
That checks your blood pressure. Think of your heart as a pump and your arteries as garden hoses that run throughout your body. When your heart beats, it pushes blood through these “hoses” to deliver oxygen and nutrients from your brain to your toes. Blood pressure is how hard that blood is pushing against the walls of those hoses. We need to measure it because sometimes that can be a sign of something unhealthy.
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Why does the doctor make you take a big breath in and out?
Your lungs get oxygen into your body so you can breathe. We want to make sure that the oxygen is going in and out the right way. When we make you breathe, we’re listening with an instrument called a stethoscope against your back. When you breathe, the only sound should be air going in and out of your lungs.
What does a shot actually do?
Another word for a shot is a vaccine. A vaccine teaches your body to respond when a germ goes into it. Certain germs are worse than others – they can cause serious diseases – and we want to make sure that if your body ever comes into contact with those germs, it knows what to do to keep you from getting sick so you don’t end up in the hospital. The best way we can get that vaccine into your body is injecting it with a needle. I know that poke can be uncomfortable, but it’s really important and it keeps you healthy.
