WWYD: Cut on the head

[jackie011]

DS just woke up screaming and crying. I ran to his room and found him on the floor. I assumed, correctly, that he fell out of his bed. It was dark and took me way too long to realize he has about a 1 inch cut on his scalp. I think he must have hit his head on the corner of his nearby dresser. I applied pressure and at wet wash cloth to clean up the blood, but I can’t really apply a bandage to that spot. Would you take him to the doctor when they open? DH, who I woke from a sound sleep, thinks he’s fine, but I’m not so sure.


Update: called our Dr when the office opened and the asked that I upload a picture to their patient portal. They called back and said it looks like he needs stitches and we’re heading the the ER. 😖

Update 2: My son has 3 staples in his head 😳

[Waffles]

I would go to the hospital to get it checked as it's his head.

[aspentosh]

I'd look at it in the light of day and see how deep/wide/long it is and go from there. If you're unsure, then definitely doctor.

Head wounds obviously bleed a lot, which may make them seem worse, but if it's pretty wide as well as 1" long it may need a stitch or two.

Anecdotally: DD fell at a playground last year and had a 1" gash on her forehead. The bleeding stopped somewhat quickly but I check with my brother (dr) and he suggested she go in because it was deep. So just because it's not very long doesn't mean it won't need stitches. She only needed one stitch.

[numbers]

jackie011 The same exact thing happened to DD1 a few years ago and she ended up needing a few staples on the wound. I would probably take him just to be safe.

[jackie011]

Oct 15, 2019 7:07:16 GMT -5 numbers said:

jackie011 The same exact thing happened to DD1 a few years ago and she ended up needing a few staples on the wound. I would probably take him just to be safe.

Did you go to your pediatrician, urgent care or the ER? When he fell at school last year, it was pretty clear he needed stitches on his chin, so we went to the ER at the children’s hospital. I’m not so sure what to do today.

The good news is that he’s off school and I took the day off to spend with him, but this wasn’t quite what I had in mind 😔

[numbers]

Oct 15, 2019 7:13:22 GMT -5 jackie011 said:

Oct 15, 2019 7:07:16 GMT -5 numbers said:

jackie011 The same exact thing happened to DD1 a few years ago and she ended up needing a few staples on the wound. I would probably take him just to be safe.

Did you go to your pediatrician, urgent care or the ER? When he fell at school last year, it was pretty clear he needed stitches on his chin, so we went to the ER at the children’s hospital. I’m not so sure what to do today.

The good news is that he’s off school and I took the day off to spend with him, but this wasn’t quite what I had in mind 😔

It was in the middle of the night, so we took her to the ER at the children's hospital.

Does your pediatrician have a nurse line? I'd probably call and ask their recommendation.

[jackie011]

Oct 15, 2019 7:16:55 GMT -5 numbers said:

Oct 15, 2019 7:13:22 GMT -5 jackie011 said:

Did you go to your pediatrician, urgent care or the ER? When he fell at school last year, it was pretty clear he needed stitches on his chin, so we went to the ER at the children’s hospital. I’m not so sure what to do today.

The good news is that he’s off school and I took the day off to spend with him, but this wasn’t quite what I had in mind 😔

It was in the middle of the night, so we took her to the ER at the children's hospital.

Does your pediatrician have a nurse line? I'd probably call and ask their recommendation.

I’m calling in 45 min when they open and I’ll see what they say.

[ohgillian]

Oct 15, 2019 7:18:06 GMT -5 jackie011 said:

Oct 15, 2019 7:16:55 GMT -5 numbers said:

It was in the middle of the night, so we took her to the ER at the children's hospital.

Does your pediatrician have a nurse line? I'd probably call and ask their recommendation.

I’m calling in 45 min when they open and I’ll see what they say.

Poor kiddo and poor mom. Let us know what they say. 

[luckystar2]

I guess it would depend on how bad it is. I’d definitely call and see what dr suggests. When Dd cut her forehead the pedi office couldn’t do anything so we had to go to ER. They could use glue in office but due to the size and swelling they didn’t think it would work. They did have me come in first but wish we would have just gone straight to ER.

Also just keep an eye out for any concussion symptoms. When Dd got the cut on her forehead it was from just a fall while running inside. She ended up throwing up several hours later and we ended up back in the ER.

[pooh8402]

I would look in the light to see how large the cut is. But head wounds bleed A LOT, even when they're very shallow. They look scarier than they are. I probably would watch for concussion symptoms but not call the pedi unless I was concerned.

[goldengirlz]

Poor baby.

Something similar happened to DD, only she slipped coming out of the shower. We applied pressure and then H made the call to take her to urgent care, where she got staples.

I hope he heals quickly. DD was sore in that spot for months (if we accidentally hit it while brushing her hair), but two years out, she’s no worse for wear.

[picksthemusic]

What did you all decide to do? If it were me, I'd take them to Urgent Care to get it looked at/stitched up if necessary.

[jackie011]

Oct 15, 2019 15:13:00 GMT -5 picksthemusic said:

What did you all decide to do? If it were me, I'd take them to Urgent Care to get it looked at/stitched up if necessary.

Update in OP- 3 staples in his head 😔

[jennistarr1]

This is helpful...before I read updates I was going to say "head wounds bleed a lot" so this was educational for me