Thursday, September 27, 2012

Nursemaid elbow- information





 My daughter has a bad habit of climbing on my desk here at the house and jumping from desk to bed. Somehow yesterday afternoon she hurt her elbow/arm. Or maybe i did it when i pulled her off the bed, we are not sure could of been a combination of both ( sad face) We took her to a walk-in clinic to see what they could do. They took Xray and said it was a nursemaid elbow. They tried to pop it back in place but couldn't hear or feel the pop. Send her home with pain meds, and said if it gets worst to call a specialist and gave me there number. She is three years old and said that its very common at this age because there bones are still so soft. Thought i would share some information i learn from this experience.




 Nursemaid Elbow is a common injury in children. It usually occurs when a child tries to pull away from someone holding their hand or when someone lifts the child by the hands. The injury is due to subluxation ( slight dislocation) of a ligament in the elbow joint. The injury is usually easily fixed, but occasionally requires the attention of a specialist.

What to watch for:
  1. not using the hand,forearm, or arm
  2. swelling of the area
  3. discoloration or bruising of the area
  4. loss of feeling in hand or forearm
What to expect:
  1. if your child's injury was reduced (fixed), he/she should have no further problems
  2. you should be careful not to pull on your child's arms, and it is a good idea to limit use of the arm for a few days
  3. if we have been unable to reduce the injury, you must see a specialist. 
What to do:
  1. Observe your child carefully, if she seems to not to be better by the next day follow up with Orthopedic surgeon.
  2. Avoid lifting your child by the hands or pulling on the hands.
  3. Do not let your child play on monkey bars, or hang by the hands until cleared by your care provider.
  4. give Tylenol in the normal dose for any discomfort
What NOT to do
  1. Do NOT lift your child or swing your child by hands, or pull on the hands.


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1 comment:

  1. I'd never heard of Nursemaid elbow before but it must hurt. I really hope your daughter feels better soon. Poor little thing :(

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