I hope I made the right decision...

[Miller1412]

My DS (4) took a tumble down the stairs tonight. It was not a "slip n slide" more of an a** over teacups all the way down. Kind of looked like when kids try to somersault down a hill.

I remained calm, scooped him up and hugged him tight. That's when the blood started flowing. Remaining calm, I carried him into the kitchen, got ice on the back of his head and tried to gently clean the blood to see what I was dealing with.

He actually settled pretty quickly...a lot quicker than his sister (6) who was scared and crying too. After a little while of the bleeding, I got a good look at the cut. It's about 1 inch long and wider than the average scratch, but not a gaping wound. It was on the back of his hairline, and the bleeding was slowing so I opted not to take him to emergency. I'm not sure if would require stitches or not, but at that point, I didn't think it would be worth having him go through the stitching process. I also thought that if it scarred, it would be under his hair and not noticeable.

I hope I made the right choice, I don't want to be too hyper about it if it's not a big deal, but I'm not sure if I did the right thing.

Anyone else have experience with a wound on the back of the head that they didn't have stitched? Did it heal well? What do you think?

 

[paigevz]

I'd be more worried about his neck/head than the cut. I think you should call your peds on-call service. Most peds have one.........I just call my son's pediatrician's number and there's an option to leave a message with the on-call staff. They call back very quickly and settle your fears or tell you what else to do.

 

[LanaJayne]

I'm not a doctor, but I would suggest that any head injury, especially one that caused a laceration, be seen by a doctor. I would be concerned about and brain injury/swelling that might result from the fall. Is there any way you can call your son's Dr. and get an opinion. I know our Dr. is on call and will answer these types of questions after hours if needed.

Best wishes for your DS

 

[Miller1412]

I'd be more worried about his neck/head than the cut. I think you should call your peds on-call service. Most peds have one.........I just call my son's pediatrician's number and there's an option to leave a message with the on-call staff. They call back very quickly and settle your fears or tell you what else to do.

Yeah...my first thought was of his neck too. He had great range of motion, so it hasn't surfaced yet. But that's not to say he won't be sore tomorrow. I've been keeping an eye on his actions because I was also thinking about a concussion...but he's been rambunctious as always and hasn't even complained about the gash.

I didn't even think of calling my ped's service. Duh...I'll definitely do that and see what they think.
The only thing that came to me was taking him to the ER and having them decide. I just don't want to have to put him through stitches unless it is absolutely necessary.

 

[paigevz]

Yeah, I'm a bit worried. Especially since he is only 4 and won't know to tell you if he feels funny...........even that "settling fairly quickly" might not be a good thing..............did he go to bed?

I know when my son hit his forehead hard on the floor and got a knot, the dr. wanted me not to let him sleep for two hours after and then wake him up every two hours through the night.

Not to alarm you, but I do think a call is in order...............

 

[megan4777]

I totally understand what you're dealing with b/c we just went through it with DD#1 in Feb. She took a spill during dinner, though. She smacked the back of her head against the top of our big, heavy dining room chair.

I was taking care of DD#2 (7m old) so DH grabbed her and calmed her down. He checked her head and said she was fine. We gave her a bath about an hour later and that's when I noticed the chunk missing from the back of her head. How the heck DH didn't see it is totally beyond me

It wasn't huge, probably a bit bigger than 1/2" x 1/4" but I freaked and ran to google concussions and head injuries. We thought of taking her to the ER but it wasn't bleeding plus she had calmed down and I didn't want to put her through the stitches since she seemed ok.

We checked in on her frequently all night and she was fine. You definately can't tell she has a scar on the back of her head.

I'm sure your DS will be fine and he'll be healed in no time. It sounds like you did everything you should but I would just watch him to make sure he doesn't have a concussion (that's the totally paranoid mom in me talking) if he really smacked his head good.
Good luck

 

[MoniqueU]

I would be calling in for sure at the very least and if not waking him up every hour and looking to make sure the pupils are both dialated normally.

 

[Fan2CSkr]

What did he hit his head on? What caused the cut? Did he black out? Did he complain of stomach upset or was there any vomiting? Confusion? Obviously he may have a headache but complaints of his head hurting consistantly warrants attention.

A call to your pediatrician would be a good idea. Since he calmed easily and the bleeding stopped quickly it is most likely nothing and really heads bleed, lots!

You will second guess yourself to death unless you call. Hope all is OK so you can get some rest too.

 

[Miller1412]

It happened earlier this evening, around 5:00. We kept him up until 9:30, and he was acting very normal, high energy, full range of motion. I'm not overly concerned about a head injury, but I just put in the call to the on call doctor to be safe. I'm waiting on the call back. Going to check on him now...

My concern is more about the necessity of stitches...I'm not sure what the rule of thumb is for the size of a gash, but I'll check with the Dr. on that as well.

Thanks for the feedback...

 

[paigevz]

Okay, but see, now you have to let US know what they say too. That's your responsibility as the OP! (Kidding, of course, but do try to update tomorrow?).

 

[tinatark]

My ds 10 cut his finger recently - the Peds Er gave him the option of stitches or the surgical tape to help it heal together quicker... he (he's had stitches 2x already) chose the tape - you can buy it at the drugstore - may be worth it to get that to use on it.

 

[momrek06]

I am not a doctor and I do not play one on the DIS.. (sorry, I just kill myself)...anyway, isn't there a set time for stitches...don't you have to have them done in so much time following the accident...

My DS had an accident where he opened a door (which was in a pool area and the bottom of the door was ALL RUST)(DS was 10yo) and the rusty door portion TOTALLY ripped off completely his nail on his big toe...talk about blood. We were at a hotel and they took us to emergency...this hospital was a JOKE...they put a BANDAID on it and sent us on our way...this toe bled all night long...we got up early and checked out (great mini NO vacation) and drove to UMASS MED CTR and the first thing they said was WHY didn't that hospital stitch his foot or at least use stirry(sp) strips
AND at this stage it was too late to STITCH the wound!!!

So, OP, it may be a bit late for the stitching but at least they should take a look at it. Do this just to put your mind at ease! UPDATE US ON THE LITTLE FELLOW!!!

 

[ChristmasElf]

I believe the window for sutures on a wound is just a few hours. The emergency room/doctors will not stich you up for fear of a mighty infection past the window.
Your Dr may want to see him and make sure it's kept clean with an antibacterial wash and also to make sure there is no concussion. Kids at 4 are pretty flexible though and bend easier than an adult doing the same kind of fall.
I hope your little guy is feeling much better in the morning. A box of popsicles on the front porch will do wonders!!

 

[Stacerita]

The sweetpea fell the other day off the slide at the park and although everything looked ok and we didn't think she needed a stitch or anything she was hurt pretty bad. I was glad I took her to the ER to be sure. She still has memory loss for a two days this week and still can't recall them. I would make sure the pediatrician addresses possible head injury as well as the need for stitches. But at this point, it might be too late to get it stitched. Still ask about possible head injury.

 

[Fan2CSkr]

Bumping this to see how your son is today and to find out how you made out last night. Hope all is well!

 

[Beth76]

I know this happened yesterday and you've probably already talked with your doctor. But, my younger son split his head open a few weeks ago. I called the doctor right away and we determined that stitches were not necessary.

The cut was on the back of his under the hair. It was about an inch long and wider than the normal cut, but it stopped bleeding within a few minutes. She told me that if was still bleeding for awhile or started up again, that stitches would be necessary. But since the bleeding stopped it should be fine. Hope the little guy is ok today!

 

[Becky2005]

I hope he's doing fine today. It's so hard to tell with the head wounds since they bleed a lot even if it's a small cut.

I'm kind of a neurotic mom -- the evening after we got home from Disney World my little guy *somehow* banged his head on the corner of a stair (I wasn't home -- just came in just in time to hear screaming & see blood.)

I couldn't tell 100% sure if the gash on his head was deep enough to worry about or not, so I ended up taking him to ER. By the time we got seen the bleeding had stopped and I was thinking we probably would have been fine with staying home. They just put 1 staple in his head (they didn't do stitches, it was a staple). It was on the back of his head and he probably didn't really need the staple.

 

[Miller1412]

Thanks for your replies everyone, I talked to the on call pediatrician late last night and after a round of questioning, he basically left it up to me. My son was sleeping by then, and I figured I'd check on him through the night.
He also said it was probably too late for stitches.

This morning, DS was 100% ok. After a warm bath this morning, you can barely even see the gash, it's not so big and hidden very well by his hair. Let's hope this is the last flirt with stitches and the ER (though I see more in my future )j

I really appreciate your kind thoughts and suggestions!!

 

[Steamboat Marti]

Glad to hear he's back to normal - and that you made the right decision for you. Must have been such a long night!!

 

[paigevz]

Yes, I'm happy he's fine. I figured he would be, but you just never know, and not being able to see it myself, I was just worried. I am a worrywart, even for kids I've never met!