Scan Day: Pictures of the Inside of You

Doctors can't see through your skin. So when they need to check on the inside of you, they use a scan — a machine that takes special pictures. Here's what scan day is like.

The machines

There are a few kinds of scan machines. Two big ones are:

• A CT scanner. It looks like a giant donut. You lie on a table that slides through the hole. It's fast — sometimes just a few minutes.
• An MRI. This one is a longer tunnel with a giant magnet inside. It takes longer, and it's loud. It bangs and buzzes like a robot drum band. You get headphones or earplugs, and often music or a movie.

Both machines have one thing in common: they never touch you, and the pictures don't hurt. It's just like getting your photo taken, except the camera can see your insides.

Your superpower: holding still

Wiggling makes the pictures blurry, just like a shaky photo. So your big job is to hold as still as a statue. Some kids play a game: pretend you're frozen, or a sleeping cat, or a statue in a museum.

Little kids sometimes get sleepy medicine so they can nap through the scan. Then it's over before they know it.

The warm juice part

Sometimes you need a special liquid called contrast. It makes the pictures brighter and easier to read. You might drink it, or it might go in through your IV or port. If it goes in a vein, it can make you feel warm all over for a minute. That's normal, and it passes fast.

Waiting for the pictures

Here's the tricky part: you usually don't get answers right away. A special doctor has to study the pictures first. The waiting can make kids and grown-ups feel wiggly and worried.

While you wait, it's okay to do fun, normal stuff. And it's okay to ask your grown-up or your doctor, "When will we know?" Asking is always allowed.