Child Got Hit On Head. Swelling Appeared With Red Skin. Is This Normal?

Posted on Mon, 5 Nov 2012

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Mon, 5 Nov 2012 Answered on

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 Last reviewed on

Question : Hello Doctor, 4 days ago, my 3 and half years old daughter hit her leg from the front (a little bit below the knee) and at the same moment it got really swollen and turned red and blue, she totally refused that we put ice on it or cool water and she kept screaming, 5 mins after she stopped crying and the swollen area became somehow smaller.
From the first minute we were concerned to see if she can stand and walk normally and she did without complaining.
Now she is perfectly and normally using her leg but my concern is that the area is still swollen with blue/green/yellow shadows.
Is this normal? I know that the bruises are colorful and the color keeps fading until the skin goes back to normal, but is it normal that the area is still swollen and that it still hurts her when we press on it?
Any possibility she got a bone fracture? if so, how can she normally walks, run, dance with no minimal pain??
I am using a cream for bruises and trauma twice/day, please let me know if i should be using something else or if it sounds like an X XXXXXXX is needed.
Thanks

Answered by Dr. Saurabh Gupta (30 minutes later)

Hello,

Thanks for posting your query.

In addition to the bruise, I think she might also have a Inflammation resulting from injury is the most likely cause of swelling. This should slowly fade away too.

Though fracture is less likely, there is possibility of fracture (torus fracture) where the fracture can cause buckling of single cortex of bone. As this is common in children, if the swelling doesn't subside, you need to consult an orthopaedician nearby for a detailed examination. X-ray of the area affected under his/her guidance to rule out possibility of fracture is entailed.

In the interim restrict her from putting weight on the affected limb and rest well.

Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if you have any more concerns

Wishing her good health...

Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad