doctor or not?

[ktgrok]

DS 8 fell yesterday and caught himself on his hands. He hurt his right wrist. Put ice on it right away. Is felt a bit better after that, but still sore. Today is better than yesteray, but still sore when he twists and he's holding it guarded a bit now and then. He can use his computer mouse, etc but couldn't open a can of dog food. No real swelling or bruising. 

I can take him tomorrow to the walk in orthopedic clinic, but he really doesn't want to go, and just started antibiotics for a PANDAS flare, so pushing him will be stressful, but I can. I'm guessing no break since it is getting better, and just a strain. But...is this the sort of thing where it is common to have a hairline fracture or something, and I'll regret NOT taking him?

[Jean in Newcastle]

I would assume a sprain since it's getting better.  I would still do anti-inflammatories, ice / heat (alternating).  And I would keep him from doing twisting motions with it so that it won't keep getting reinjured.  So my vote is no doc for this one. 

[hippiemamato3]

A friend's daughter had a similar injury and ended up with a fracture on the growth plate that required extensive casting. She wasn't in a lot of pain...I'd get it checked out. 

[ktgrok]

Ugh, you all need to agree, lol!

I'm thinking if it feels even better tomorrow, I'll wait and see. If not....ugh. 

 

[Ottakee]

I would err on the side of the orthopedic walk in tomorrow.  My niece did something similar and ended up casted and almost surgery because it was displaced....but she could do some things with it.

[ktgrok]

Just realized this is the same kid that broke his arm at 18 months old and I didn't realize it until the next day, because other than crying for about 30 seconds he acted normally. The next day it was obviousy bent a bit funny. So.yeah...maybe pain level isn't a great way to judge with him. 

[Alice]

Kids are much more likely to break than sprain compared to adults. (Weak bones, strong ligaments compared to adults with strong bones, weak ligaments). Fractures can be a bigger deal if they involved the growth plate. 

I’d take him unless he is almost back to normal tomorrow. My daughter broke her foot a few hears ago and I kind of blew if off for a few days (that’s the downside to being the kid of a pediatrician). But it was indeed broken. 

[Kassia]

I'd also bring him in tomorrow to have it looked at.  My ds and I both broke our wrists (at different times) and I didn't think there was a fracture either time.  One benefit to waiting until tomorrow is that, if there is a fracture, it will give it more time to show up on imaging.  For now, try to keep him from using it and keep it elevated.  

 

[prairiewindmomma]

Get X-rays done. I had to have them done last week. I went to a stand alone imaging place so I could avoid sick people at the hospital and doctor’s office. 🙂 They ran HEPA filters and were really awesome at social distancing.

[Lady Florida.]

I say err on the side of caution. When ds was 11 he fell at a skating rink and broke the fall with his hands. His situation sounds similar to what you describe and when he kept saying it still hurt I took him to the doctor. I felt like bad mom for blowing him off and waiting a week. It turned out he fractured the scaphoid bone, which is a common fracture but shouldn't be ignored. He ended up with a splint for a few weeks. 

I know it's all different now with Covid but from what I've seen most medical facilities are taking precautions and are probably safer than going to Walmart. Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration but I think they're all doing a good job protecting patients and staff. 🙂 

Edited October 18, 2020 by Lady Florida.

[ktgrok]

15 minutes ago, Kassia said:

I'd also bring him in tomorrow to have it looked at.  My ds and I both broke our wrists (at different times) and I didn't think there was a fracture either time.  One benefit to waiting until tomorrow is that, if there is a fracture, it will give it more time to show up on imaging.  For now, try to keep him from using it and keep it elevated.  

 

Remembering this was what kept me from panicking and taking him yesterday, lol. I knew they were open Saturday, but not Sunday. At first I was going to rush in right away, but then I remembered it would show up better a few days later, and that they can't cast until any swelling is gone anyway, and between all that and him feeling better, decided to wait. 

Just now, prairiewindmomma said:

Get X-rays done. I had to have them done last week. I went to a stand alone imaging place so I could avoid sick people at the hospital and doctor’s office. 🙂 They ran HEPA filters and were really awesome at social distancing.

Yeah, we will go to the Orthopedic Walk in clinic - it's like urgent care but ONLY for orthopedic stuff, no flu or cough or whatever. And staffed by a few orthopedic doctors and a lot of ortho PA's. They have on site xray, MRI, etc. Same practice the Orlando Magic use 🙂

 

[Pen]

Statistically it would probably be more likely to heal on its own than to have permanent problemsthat could have been avoided by getting it seen—whatever it is.

but if you want to be sure it isn’t a situation that needs more than home care, take him in

[Pen]

Another option -one I might use with a kid who doesn’t want to go in and where there’s not an obvious break - 

 

is to treat it at home as if it *is*

a hairline fracture and have him stop using computer mouse and trying to open cans so that it can heal and won’t get out of place... 

imobilize it or have it held still , maybe in a sling....  for at least a few days 

[ktgrok]

I told DS that the pediatrician on the Well Trained Mind said to go tomorrow, and he's now on board with it 🙂

So is DH, so we will go tomorrow afternoon. (DH has a doctor's appointment himself in the morning, so whenever he gets back, I'll take DS over)

[Ditto]

If he is continuing to improve I wouldn't take him in.  I would watch closely and treat as you would a sprain.

[Tap]

LOL just had a hand injury with dd13 this week. She hit the headboard with her hand, while playing with the dog.  She was screaming that her had was broken, I was saying "you're fine, you always think you broke something".  Which is true, she has had 7 xrays and an MRI in the past few years! She is very tall for her age (growth spurts make kids prone to injury) and she gets sprains/strains constantly. Welp, you can probably see where this is going......the next day it was hurting mildly, but bruised in an unexpected way so I took her in. She doesn't tend to bruise easily (dark complected) so the extensive bruise was surprising. She broke 2 bones in her ring finger. OOOOPs. Bad mom. LOL Orthopedist PA just has her buddy taping them and told her to not wear the split the urgent care gave her. 

 

I tend to error on the side of caution. I ask myself "when I look back in time, how will I feel? Will I regret an unnecessary office visit and xray....or missing an injury more." LOL  Even for a sprain, they may want him in a certain brace to help it heal faster, so I tend to take her in even when I think she will be fine. 

Due to my own history....I am glad you are taking him in. If nothing else, just peace of mind on your part. 

 

 

[TravelingChris]

3 hours ago, ktgrok said:

Just realized this is the same kid that broke his arm at 18 months old and I didn't realize it until the next day, because other than crying for about 30 seconds he acted normally. The next day it was obviousy bent a bit funny. So.yeah...maybe pain level isn't a great way to judge with him. 

My one dd got the crazy idea to go down a slighty hilly driveway in a red wagon.  Of course, it turned over and she skinned her knee and was crying about that.  That was all she told me hurt.  She was 9 or 10.  A week later she tells me that her arm still hurts- huh? I had never even known she had hurt her arm   And yes, it was a fracture and yes it was broken.  
 

Oh and with having many, many fractures and many sprains too- sprains hurt more than non displaced fractures.  I can't say anything about displaced since all of mine were non displaced.

Yes, go

[klmama]

Glad you're taking him in.  One of mine underreports the pain with all injuries, yet has had the worst actual injuries of all three dc, including both a hairline fracture and a buckle break in the two arm bones at the wrist from falling.  Little kids' bones aren't as brittle and don't always break the same way as teens' and adults' bones, but they still may do better with casting.  

[Katy]

I'm glad you're taking him in too.

[ktgrok]

Yeah, it's obvious now he needs to go in. Turns out he can't hold a la croix can in that hand really - he complained that drinking with his left is hard, which is when I realized he wasn't using that right one. Couldn't turn on the shower, etc. And he's already on ibuprofen for his PANDAS (which is working, plus the antibiotics) so pain is likely masked a bit. He does say it is getting better than it was - this morning he says it was as if he was already holding something in his hand, that was heavy, even when it was empty? And then if he tried to pick something up it felt twice as heavy. No idea what that means, exactly, lol. 

He had me show him what a splint looks like, and he said it looks like "hand armor" lol. Poor kid then asked how long splints stay on for (I gave a range) because "I know casts have to stay on for like, 2 years". Um..no, no they don't! Poor thing - no wonder he didn't want to go get it checked! I also explained how the xrays work and he said, "oh, like for your teeth" and was then fine with that too. So I think he'll be okay with the whole thing. DH has his appt at 10:30, so sometime after that we will go to the convenient care ortho center. 

And of course it is his right hand, so I'm betting I'm going to be scribing for him for a bit, which he'll be happy about. 

[Jann in TX]

I fell and caught myself a few years ago-- have a nice scar on my wrist because of it!

In my case the bones were fine-- but I tore a tendon that had to be repaired.  I had no bruising or swelling-- I just could not use my hand and it hurt (I especially could not use my thumb and no way could I have turned anything or opened a can...

X-rays do not pick this up but an MRI will...

[ktgrok]

7 minutes ago, Jann in TX said:

I fell and caught myself a few years ago-- have a nice scar on my wrist because of it!

In my case the bones were fine-- but I tore a tendon that had to be repaired.  I had no bruising or swelling-- I just could not use my hand and it hurt (I especially could not use my thumb and no way could I have turned anything or opened a can...

X-rays do not pick this up but an MRI will...

ugh! Well, they do have an MRI at the place, if need be. It shares a building with an imaging place in fact. So, if need be, it can be done right there. Hopefully that isn't the case, but yeah, hands/wrists are tricky spots! so many little bits and pieces to be messed up!

[itsheresomewhere]

Last year, DD fell and landed on her hand. It was swollen but not bad and she was still moving it normally.  We had an appointment for the next day so I had him check it while we were there.  Her doctor didn’t think it was broken as she was moving it completely normal and passing a stress ball quickly between hands.   Due to her high pain tolerance, he sent her for X-rays to be safe.  X-rays revealed she had put one bone on the other side of another bone ( think leap frog with bones). She had surgery a few days later to put the bone back in the correct place.  It was such a weird and freak thing on how it it happened. 

[SKL]

I would take him to the chiropractor.

Even if you are taking him to the ortho, I would still take him to the chiro also.

[Carrie12345]

I’m glad you have a good place to take him!

Our ortho doesn’t really do walk-ins (we’re very short on orthos in relation to our population.). I’ve learned over the years which of our many UCs have in-house reading and which ones send images to the hospital and take as much as FORTY-EIGHT HOURS to tell you whether or not you have a broken foot. 😮 

[Beth S]

Just seeing this, but our youngest ds has BTDT twice (all 4 forearm bones) . . . & he's not a really crazy kid.
First time, we walked in to our favorite Ortho office during an Ice Storm & got help.
Second time, at the ER, they called in an entire Ortho team on a Sunday to re-align his bones.

The re-alignment process was too painful to do without anesthetic.
Lots of followup Xrays, but PT is usually not needed for young kids.

Please let us know how the rest of the day unfolds. 
It's a tough day for both Kid and Mom. 

[SKL]

Just now, Happymomof1 said:

Why on earth???  That makes no sense, but I'm married to an ortho so I'm probably biased.  Our son broke his wrist and my hubby had to take him to the operating room to set it.  No need for a chiropractor.

We go to a chiropractor for all these kinds of things.  The chiro has a different and more holistic approach.  No offense to your husband, but every time we've gone to an MD for an injury, the time the doc actually spent with us was maybe a minute, the wait-to-doc-time ratio was exponential, the pain was exacerbated, the fee was many times what a chiro would charge, half of the time they did nothing for us, and there was never any follow-up.

[SKL]

2 minutes ago, Happymomof1 said:

Yikes... my hubby spent tons of time... It is why he made them only do 10 per morning or afternoon clinic.  But yeah, some of the other guys saw 40 or 50. So you have to get the right one.  Just be careful.  My husband has had several that he has treated that were injured by a chiro.  He thinks they are ok for some things, but you have to have one that knows when they are over their head.

Yes, just like MDs, there are better ones and worse ones.  I just got tired of being charged hundreds of dollars for the privilege of wasting time and having my kid hurt and being sent home worse off than before. 

Our chiro happens to be a specialist in sports injuries, with many years of experience, so I trust him to know what he can & can't do.

I didn't always realize chiropractors could fix broken bones etc.  It was a welcome revelation.

[Ailaena]

34 minutes ago, SKL said:

 

I didn't always realize chiropractors could fix broken bones etc.  It was a welcome revelation.

idk where you are but here, if I chiropractor doesn’t refer a fracture to an MD/DO/NP/PA, and instead chooses to treat it themselves, they can lose their ability to practice and can be sued.

[ktgrok]

So - buckle fracture of the radius!

He was trying to use it more today, and didn't even flinch when the doctor pressed on the broken part, but he's tough, lol. 

Cast for 2 weeks, then an xray and they are hoping to move him to a splint at that point for another 2-4 weeks, with the idea that he will be able to take it off periodically to do range of motion exercises. 

Thank you, Dr. Hive and staff !

(excuse his quarantine hair..sigh)

[ktgrok]

6 hours ago, Carrie12345 said:

I’m glad you have a good place to take him!

Our ortho doesn’t really do walk-ins (we’re very short on orthos in relation to our population.). I’ve learned over the years which of our many UCs have in-house reading and which ones send images to the hospital and take as much as FORTY-EIGHT HOURS to tell you whether or not you have a broken foot. 😮 

Here the UC are terrible for ortho stuff...and so are some of the ERs. Notorious for not finding even really obvious breaks. But yes, we are totally blessed to have two walk in Ortho clinics within 30-40 minutes of the house. (same practice, different offices)

[ktgrok]

We like Chiropractors, but they do not treat broken bones here, nor would I want them to. Their specialty is something very different. But I also won't go to a general practitioner for a suspected break for fracture - ONLY an ortho specialist (a PA is fine, as long as they specialize and work under an Ortho).

[Carrie12345]

Poor kid. Cool cast!

[TravelingChris]

1 hour ago, Happymomof1 said:

Why on earth???  That makes no sense, but I'm married to an ortho so I'm probably biased.  Our son broke his wrist and my hubby had to take him to the operating room to set it.  No need for a chiropractor.

I don't see a need either.  And in fact, I have been told many times not to go to chiropractors because the methods they use are not good for people with the kinds of arthritises I have (I have 4 kinds of rheumatological diseases).

[TravelingChris]

13 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

We like Chiropractors, but they do not treat broken bones here, nor would I want them to. Their specialty is something very different. But I also won't go to a general practitioner for a suspected break for fracture - ONLY an ortho specialist (a PA is fine, as long as they specialize and work under an Ortho).

Yes, general practiniors missed two breaks of my one dd and since then, we only go to orthopedists with suspected fractures.

[ktgrok]

I could see a chiro to deal with the rest of the body if it is misaligned from the fall itself - but AFTER the bone is casted, and not dealing with the broken body part itself. I have had GREAT results from a chiro the time DS was a toddler and woke up unable to move his neck, in horrid pain - but we went to the pediatrician first (who ruled out meningitis and advised a chiropractor). On of the vertebrae in his neck was a bit misaligned. A very minor adjustment and he was nearly 100 percent better - it was frankly amazing. Or the time I Had horrid pain in my back/chest after childbirth, and could barely speak or function - quick adjustment to move a rib back in place fixed me up instantly. Or when I had pain in my achilles, and an adjustment of my knee fixed it, again instantly. 

But broken bone? No, that isn't what they go to school for. 

[ktgrok]

1 minute ago, TravelingChris said:

Yes, general practiniors missed two breaks of my one dd and since then, we only go to orthopedists with suspected fractures.

Yup. Local ER missed my son's broken finger - even I as a vet tech could see the fracture on the xray! But I was told nope. Ortho 3 days later looked at that same xray (didn't take a new one yet) and pointed to the fracture. Sigh. I know of 3 different people locally that had urgent care miss various broken bones. Our pediatrician won't even guess - if it might be fractured he sends you to ortho or to the ER but with an ortho consult (he calls ahead to make sure one is there). 

We are blessed to have people who specialize in this, and I'm happy to use them. 

[Kassia]

Thanks for the update!  I'm so glad you brought him in.  

[mommyoffive]

I am so glad you brought him in.  Though kiddo.  

[stephanier.1765]

1 minute ago, Kassia said:

Thanks for the update!  I'm so glad you brought him in.  

I'm so glad you took him in too. And even behind his mask, he's a real cutie.

[El...]

Poor kiddo! I'm glad you had it checked out!

[Pen]

1 hour ago, ktgrok said:

So - buckle fracture of the radius!

He was trying to use it more today,

glad he got it seen and a cast 

 

he does not sound like the type of kid who would have kept it still to heal without the cast on

 

1 hour ago, ktgrok said:

 

and didn't even flinch when the doctor pressed on the broken part, but he's tough, lol. 

Cast for 2 weeks, then an xray and they are hoping to move him to a splint at that point for another 2-4 weeks, with the idea that he will be able to take it off periodically to do range of motion exercises. 

Thank you, Dr. Hive and staff !

(excuse his quarantine hair..sigh)

 

I think hair looks cute!

 

 

[Not_a_Number]

Poor kiddo! I'm really glad you took him in. 

[Terabith]

1 hour ago, ktgrok said:

I could see a chiro to deal with the rest of the body if it is misaligned from the fall itself - but AFTER the bone is casted, and not dealing with the broken body part itself. I have had GREAT results from a chiro the time DS was a toddler and woke up unable to move his neck, in horrid pain - but we went to the pediatrician first (who ruled out meningitis and advised a chiropractor). On of the vertebrae in his neck was a bit misaligned. A very minor adjustment and he was nearly 100 percent better - it was frankly amazing. Or the time I Had horrid pain in my back/chest after childbirth, and could barely speak or function - quick adjustment to move a rib back in place fixed me up instantly. Or when I had pain in my achilles, and an adjustment of my knee fixed it, again instantly. 

But broken bone? No, that isn't what they go to school for. 

I had a chiropractor fix something absolutely crazy on me that I would never, ever have suspected would have been related to vertebra, and which I had seen numerous medical specialists about before, to no effect.  That particular chiropractor though, I'm 100% convinced had a supernatural gift for healing, honestly.  

When my oldest was a baby, their birth was traumatic, and by six weeks of age, they looked lopsided and were "rolling over" when I put them on their tummy, because they were sloped wrong.  They had issues staying awake to eat.  They were not waving the left arm or leg as much as the right, either.  Military pediatrician said to watch it and would refer to PT if still an issue at next appointment.  I took them to chiropractor who had five kids, did a tiny adjustment, said the spot that was out of alignment was correlated with SIDS, and within 15 minutes they were using both sides of their body evenly.  I'm a big believer in chiropractors, but I would not take anyone to one for a broken bone.  

[prairiewindmomma]

Sweet cast!  

[prairiewindmomma]

@ktgrok, don't know how private you are, but you may want to go scribble out name and birthday out of the images....especially since these boards are closed. 🙂 It's the kind of thing I'd forget late in the day when my caffeine wears off, so wanted to point that out just in case. 

[ktgrok]

21 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

@ktgrok, don't know how private you are, but you may want to go scribble out name and birthday out of the images....especially since these boards are closed. 🙂 It's the kind of thing I'd forget late in the day when my caffeine wears off, so wanted to point that out just in case. 

Oh, thank you!

[Katy]

He's adorable.  How's he adjusting to the idea of a couple weeks in a cast?

[ktgrok]

40 minutes ago, Katy said:

He's adorable.  How's he adjusting to the idea of a couple weeks in a cast?

HIs biggest issue is being able to game on his computer - he often needs to pick up the mouse and move it quickly I guess, and he can't. And using it in general is a little awkward, but doable. He can use the ipad a bit better. But even that - and this kid lives to game - hasn't brought out a single real complaint. He's such a good kid. And thank heavens we started treating the PANDAS flare before this happened - so that is pretty much under control, or this would be a nightmare. 

 

[Tap]

Such expressive eyes! LOL I love the Kaboom! on his shirt, like the cast is expressing itself. HAHA!

Glad you took him in. Sorry he is hurt. Glad he is getting excellent treatment ((((Hugs)))