Fancy That Friday – Can You Take The Heat?

I learned something new this week, and since the entire United States seems to be gripped in the same heat wave I thought I’d share.

Did you know that the PKU, a standard infant screening blood test, can be affected by extreme heat? Neither did I. Until yesterday.

Our pediatrician called informing us that Cole’s 2-week PKU was abnormal. He said that since the heat wave, they’ve actually had a lot of abnormal results. He said the heat only affects the sample if it is mailed out while it’s still wet. (By the way, if you’re not familiar with the PKU it’s a rather sadistic little test where the nurse pokes the child’s heel and then basically kneads it until a blood droplet forms. That droplet (and the heel itself) is then pressed onto a test form in one of five circles. Each circle must be entirely filled with the baby’s blood and that takes about 10 heel-kneads (so 50 total). Not fun for the little nippers.) The doctor thinks ours was a heat-related abnormality, but they have to be sure.

So poor Nicholas had to get another PKU test done today. Another 50 heel-kneads. And a Bugs Bunny “boo-boo strip” that his older brothers could covet (somehow, I think that provided him little solace). The doctor’s office promised that this time around they’d let his test form dry in the office over the weekend before mailing it in.

Ya’ think?