How to check trace elements? Is it necessary to check trace elements?

It is very necessary to conduct trace element examinations, which can help doctors and parents understand the main situation of the baby's physical development. If it is abnormal, relevant measures can be taken in time to regulate it.

1. The purpose of trace element examination is to help doctors and parents understand the proportion of major trace elements in the baby's body during a certain period of time, so as to make correct judgments about the baby's health. It can be seen that it is necessary. But this does not mean that the baby needs to undergo trace element checks every month. Currently, trace element checks for babies are mainly conducted during regular physical examinations, usually after six months of age. Checks are very important and should be done once a year. Babies under 6 months old are generally fed mainly with breast milk, which can ensure that they are adequately supplemented with various trace elements and there is no need for testing. After 6 months, the baby starts to add complementary foods, and the supplement may be untimely or insufficient. At this time, the doctor will ask the parents about the feeding situation and combine the baby's physical performance to decide whether to conduct a test. For older babies, doctors will conduct tests based on whether they are picky eaters, have repeated illnesses, or have congenital deficiencies. Therefore, the baby's trace element test is not a "royal decree" issued by the doctor - it must be done, but the doctor recommends parents to have the baby done based on the baby's condition.

2. After the test results come out , "qualified" parents will naturally be overjoyed, and "unqualified" parents will definitely be extremely nervous - both reactions are a bit excessive, because trace element testing is only a screening method, and its test results can only be used as a reference value. Whether the baby is lacking in trace elements cannot be simply judged based on the values ​​on the test report. It must be combined with the symptoms shown by the baby to make a conclusion. For example, some babies clearly show symptoms of calcium deficiency, but the trace element test results may be completely "normal". Because the content of trace elements in the human body is extremely small, the results of tests based on just a few drops of blood will be affected by many objective conditions.

3. Currently, there is no accurate and unified standard for the testing of trace elements internationally , and the baby’s performance is more important. Generally speaking, babies with iron deficiency often show fatigue, hyperactivity, poor appetite, and wounds that are prone to infection. Zinc deficiency can cause oral ulcers and picky eating. Poor sleep quality, night terrors, and baldness on the back of the head are caused by a lack of calcium and failure to supplement vitamin D for a period of time. As long as the baby eats normally and has a reasonable diet, he will not suffer from trace element deficiency. Babies in infancy and childhood should not lack trace elements if they supplement vitamins according to the doctor's orders and add complementary foods on time.

If your baby really lacks certain trace elements, you can also supplement them through food.

Normal indicators can usually be reached within a week after food supplementation. For example, if you are iron deficient, you can eat more animal liver, blood products and meat, and pay attention to supplementing vitamin C; if you supplement zinc, you can eat more animal liver and shellfish; if you supplement iodine, you can supplement it by eating iodized salt, kelp, etc. Blindly giving your baby health supplements of trace elements may not only cause the body to not absorb the elements, but may also easily lead to mutual resistance between various trace elements. For example, calcium and zinc will affect the absorption rate of iron, and iron will also reduce the absorption rate of zinc. In addition, excessive supplementation of trace elements may cause poisoning.