U8 investigation - Christina Cherry

Synonyms

U-examination, examination at the pediatrician, U1- U9, youth health advice, development guidelines, preschool examination, one-year examination, four-year examination

General

The U 8 is the ninth Examination of the child and is carried out in Age from approx. 3 ½ to four years so in 43rd to 48th month of life carried out. There are a total of 12 examinations from the first minute of life to the 10th year of life. Recently there are also J1 and the J2, that are done during puberty.

The child checkups should diseases and abnormalities Discover as early as possible so that the children can be treated as early as possible. Also the spiritual development, neglect and child abuse should be discovered and prevented so early.

Read more on the topic at: U examinations

When does the U8 take place?

Ideally, that should U8 screening take place between the 46th and 48th month of life. During this period, the child’s abilities and developments to be checked are best assessed and the findings can easily be compared with the associated age cohort, i.e. children of the same age. Among other things, the organs, hearing and vision and above all the mobility and coordination ability of the child are checked.
The doctor also assesses the child’s intellectual development and social behavior, i.e. overall skills that take place in this time window in human development.

The course of the investigation

Every examination should start with one anamnese to begin. The pediatrician will ask if the child is still there wetting yourself or einkotet, if speech disorders were noticed whether it has integrated into the kindergarten and whether anything else is striking. The prehistory can also be examined again: up to now the child had many infections or has it before clutching? In addition, questions are asked or attention is paid to whether the language is age-appropriate (for example, the child still speaks in "I sentences" or stammered) and whether everyone is vaccinations have been carried out.

If the anamnesis is empty and the previous history is normal, the examination can begin. The pediatrician then looks at the child from head to toe and sees if he sees anything unusual during the inspection. If he does not find what he is looking for, the investigation continues. First it will Weight, as determined with any investigation. Then there is the body length measured the head circumference as well as the blood pressure. Weight, body length and head circumference should always be in the percentiles be entered. The percentiles are a type of chart that records a child’s growth. So the doctor can easily read whether a child is growing and gaining weight. So can developmental disorders to be discovered more easily. It continues with one urine sample, it can indicate a kidney failure or Urinary Tract Infection give.

Besides, still ears and eyes checked. Visual acuity is examined with a blackboard that shows pictures of various objects. However, the children are often intimidated and refuse to read the pictures. A lot of patience is required here, because the visual acuity Examining is especially important in children. Also should be on squint be respected.
When testing the hearing, the tube function and the auditory threshold checked. Both tests are painless and through headphone feasible.

After that, the motor skills checked by your child, which means that the muscles, their control and muscle tension are controlled. This can be checked by simple tests. For example, the pediatrician will ask the child to stand on one leg, to hop, to walk along a line and / or just to stand. So can coordination, attitude and gear of a child and thus, for example, one Curvature of the back or attitude anomalies be uncovered and treated quickly. This is important because postural damage is more difficult to treat in adulthood.

If everything is OK so far, a quick look in the mouth around the is missing dental status to look at. Children get particularly common at that age Caries, therefore it is important to go to the dentist with a child.

The U8 is mandatory?

The U8 screening for children usually takes place between the 46th and 48th month of life instead, at the age of about 4 years.
The mobility and coordination skills of the child are examined, as well as an eye and hearing test and one Urinalysis carried out.
Also the dental status can be assessed as part of this investigation. In most countries, the majority of preventive medical check-ups for children and adolescents are subject to mandatory reporting and are therefore documented in the so-called yellow booklet.

hearing test

The hearing test is carried out during the U8 check-up using headphones, which are put on the child.
On the one hand the tube function and on the other hand the hearing threshold is determined by playing sounds of different frequencies and volumes to the child.

The test is painless and only requires some child cooperation. During the test, it must state when it hears the respective tone. If this is not possible, this test should definitely be carried out at the next preventive medical examination (U9 investigation) to be rescheduled in order to be able to safely rule out possible deafness and thus enable the child to develop a proper language.

Cost of the U8 investigation

Of the birth up to the age of 18, a total of eleven check-ups for children are free of charge. Including the examinations U1 to U9, hence also the U8 examination in the 4th year of life, if they take place in the designated period.
If this is not observed, parents have to pay for the examination as a so-called IgeL service.