How to check trace elements in newborns

How to check trace elements in newborns? With the improvement of living standards and the advancement of science and technology, many hospitals now conduct trace element tests on newborn babies. Trace elements are essential nutrients for our human body. Only by checking the trace elements can we understand the baby's health status more clearly, so as to supplement the baby with trace elements, which is more beneficial to the baby's health. So do you know how to check the trace elements of newborns?

1. What is the baby’s trace element test?

We all know that trace elements are particularly important to the human body. Both too high and too low levels will affect human health, so trace element testing is also used as a routine item in human body element detection. Many parents are keen to have their children undergo trace element tests and evaluate the nutrient status of their children based on the test results.

In addition to hair tests, the most commonly used methods for trace element testing are blood tests. However, the trace elements in the blood are different from the trace elements in the body and cannot be used to replace the content in the body. Therefore, it is best to use the hair test method.

Parents are also advised to choose regular hospitals to draw blood for trace element testing for their children. The testing departments of regular hospitals have very strict standards for the blood drawing and testing processes. If a novice comes to draw blood and the blood drawing standards are not in place, it can easily cause errors. Therefore, parents should pay attention to whether the laboratory qualifications of the testing unit meet the standards. It is not recommended to do this test in a small hospital.

2. Methods for detecting trace elements in babies

2.1 Hair inspection

The reason why this testing method cannot truly reflect the level of trace elements is that hair has a certain growth cycle. The level of trace elements in hair can only reflect the baby's nutritional status a few weeks ago, and cannot reflect the current situation.

2.2 Venous blood test

In fact, the content of many trace elements in the blood is extremely small, and the content in the human body is less than one ten-thousandth of body weight. Moreover, the results of venous blood examination can only reflect the content of trace elements in the blood at the time of blood collection, and in the process of collecting samples, it is easy to be contaminated, so blood testing does not have much diagnostic significance.

2.3. Fingerstick blood test

When testing the baby's trace elements, in most cases a finger is pricked, which is peripheral blood. In addition, when collecting fingertip blood, the doctor will squeeze the baby's finger, which will cause the surrounding tissue fluid to mix into the blood, and the blood will be further diluted. The test result may be biased low, so the peripheral blood test is not accurate.

3. Possible negative effects of detecting trace elements

3.1. Excessive attention

Parents have their children undergo trace element tests in the hope of discovering problems and remedying them as quickly as possible. Parents' excessive concern about trace elements has given nutritional supplement merchants an opportunity to take advantage of the situation, leading to the prevalence of various nutritional supplements.

3.2 Ignoring the importance of a balanced diet

As we said before, a balanced diet can provide all the nutrients that children need. However, parents who rely on these supplements may overlook the importance of feeding their babies well, thinking that everything will be fine if they give their babies this or that supplement.

3.3 Abuse/overdose of nutritional supplements

In fact, excessive intake of nutritional supplements may even have negative effects on children's bodies.