Photo courtesy to Changjiang Weekly

Peppa pig toys handmade by medical staff using various medical items to help calm down hospitalized children have gone viral on Chinese social media, following a heartwarming promo video for a Peppa Pig movie touched China.

“Look! Is it Peppa Pig? Do you know her? She will be with you, so don’t be afraid,” Wu Ruolan said as she gave a shiny “Peppa Pig” to six-year-old Xiaodan (pseudonym) lying on the operating table, as a way to try to help the child calm down before operation.

The shiny Peppa Pig, made with threated tube, an electrode sheet, and LED lights, helped ease Xiaodan’s anxiety and the young patient quickly fall asleep under anesthesia.

“The cartoon character Peppa Pig is much loved by Chinese children, so I make it to help them relax before operation,” said Wu, an anesthesiologist at Huazhong University of Science and Technology Tongji Medical College in Wuhan, central China’s Hubei province.

Photo courtesy to Changjiang Weekly

The cartoon from the UK has been used to help calm many young patients. For example, as three-year-old Xiaotao (pseudonym) cried aloud before an operation at Shanghai Ruijin Hospital, a nurse blew up a medical glove and drew a Peppa Pig-like image on it. Xiaotao was attracted by the familiar friend and accepted the operation.