I'm Sorry...What?

[Lucy]

Is it violating her privacy if I show a picture of her hand on here?

I would think not. As long as there's no face showing.

[Kaddidle Care]

Uh yeah..I'm not sure what to think about this.

I called mom and got no answer. I texted her and let her know what happened and also that the cut might need dermabond or a stitch because of the location.

Her response: "okay thanks for letting me know"

??:confused:

I tell you I think she might need dermabond or a stitch and that's your response?

It's not bleeding and I have it covered but I don't understand why she wouldn't come and see what she thought?

I wrote up an incident report and included that she was advised that it might need the extra care. This makes me uncomfortable.

It almost sounds to me like she expected YOU to take the child to the Dr.

I had a 2 year old child fall in my home - hit the corner of the end table and the cut was in the eyebrow area (T.G. not her eye) and when I inspected it, it would open up like an eyeball. EEEK! She was the only one in my care so I called the parents and told them it looked like it needed stitches so they told me where to bring her (I already had her medical information on hand.) So I brought her to the clinic and stayed with her while they stitched her up. (6 stitches inside and 6 outside) It was very traumatic but her parents were 30-40 minutes away and I felt she needed the care immediately. It was all done by the time they arrived.

I personally feel the quicker stitches are done, the better. This girl is an adult now and they did such a wonderful job - you cannot see a scar at all.

A text doesn't get through to people's heads like a phone call as they can't hear the urgency in your voice.

[Solandia]

To be completely honest...if an injury looks like it "only needs a stitch or two", I wouldn't be taking my kid to the ER for it. MAYBE on the face. Maybe. The hand...it isn't worth the $1500 for maybe 2 stitches. 5+, yeah, ok...possibly

I JUST took my own 3yo to the ER 2 nights ago for a scratch on the ear that spilt open(no cartilage, only superficial). 24hrs later the dermabond is picked off, and it is "gaping" again. It is going to heal regardless...the doc can't put stitches there anyway...and it is about $2K down the toilet. My 2yo split open his chin a 1/2inch last summer just walking & tripped....the dermabond worked like a charm, and barely a scar. BUT...it wasn't super serious, and a butterfly bandage would have worked ok, too. I don't think I would take him in again, if it happens another time. A more serious laceration...of course, but really wasn't necessary & would likely scar regardless if he does it again. Which is likely. I would be in the ER once/mo for injuries that only need one stitch. If I had free healthcare, yes....why not. But I do not.

[SquirrellyMama]

Anyone else think that NOT taking your child to the dr is neglect? Sometimes it isn't so cut and dry, but if it continues to bleed and isn't going to close easily/heal properly, I would rather take them in and get a stitch or two! Insane!!!

No, I don't necessarily think it is neglect. My son has a small scar on his lip because we didn't get stitches. It isn't very noticeable and I thought stitches on the lip would have been a lot more painful than a small scar.

My youngest dd has a small scar up by her eye. It probably could have used 2 stitches. Again, I felt the small scar (it looks like a cute dimple) was less painful than the stitches would have been.

My oldest dd could have had stitches on the back of her head. Her scar is covered by her hair.

Just because a doctor can put stitches in a cut doesn't mean they need stitches. I cleaned up my kids' wounds and made sure they were safe from infection and they healed. Yes, they have some small scars but stitches can also leave scars.

K

[momofboys]

To be completely honest...if an injury looks like it "only needs a stitch or two", I wouldn't be taking my kid to the ER for it. MAYBE on the face. Maybe. The hand...it isn't worth the $1500 for maybe 2 stitches. 5+, yeah, ok...possibly

I JUST took my own 3yo to the ER 2 nights ago for a scratch on the ear that spilt open(no cartilage, only superficial). 24hrs later the dermabond is picked off, and it is "gaping" again. It is going to heal regardless...the doc can't put stitches there anyway...and it is about $2K down the toilet. My 2yo split open his chin a 1/2inch last summer just walking & tripped....the dermabond worked like a charm, and barely a scar. BUT...it wasn't super serious, and a butterfly bandage would have worked ok, too. I don't think I would take him in again, if it happens another time. A more serious laceration...of course, but really wasn't necessary & would likely scar regardless if he does it again. Which is likely. I would be in the ER once/mo for injuries that only need one stitch. If I had free healthcare, yes....why not. But I do not.

That's fair - and understandable. I am lucky that we have great insurance - the only caveat is we can't go to the ER for such things - because if we did for something "minor" like stitches, unless it was life-threatening, we would be out for the whole visit - our insurance would make us meet our deductible which we normally don't do (dr visits/urgent care is exempt from our deductible). Whenever we need stitches (& with 3 boys it has happened a time or two or three ) we go to Urgent Care & we end up paying a small amount (usually less than $20). Can I ask why you chose the ER-why not a cheaper resource or do you not have urgent cares near your home, we have to travel 20-25 min to get to one & a hospital is one block from our home but there is no way I will go to the ER unless it is a true emergency (life or death).

[Solandia]

That's fair - and understandable. I am lucky that we have great insurance - the only caveat is we can't go to the ER for such things - because if we did for something "minor" like stitches, unless it was life-threatening, we would be out for the whole visit - our insurance would make us meet our deductible which we normally don't do (dr visits/urgent care is exempt from our deductible). Whenever we need stitches (& with 3 boys it has happened a time or two or three ) we go to Urgent Care & we end up paying a small amount (usually less than $20). Can I ask why you chose the ER-why not a cheaper resource or do you not have urgent cares near your home, we have to travel 20-25 min to get to one & a hospital is one block from our home but there is no way I will go to the ER unless it is a true emergency (life or death).

Urgent care is only open until 7pm, this happened right at 7pm. For stitches (or dermabond) to work, it needs to be done soon after. No point in waiting until 7am when urgent care opens...it makes it a wasted effort. As it was, the dr was subpar, didnt' wait for the wound to stop oozing, and then did a ****ty job applying the dermabond...totally a waste of time & resources. And the urgent care would still be $300-400 for this particular issue, even if it was during their hours...still not worth the expense in this case.

[momofboys]

Urgent care is only open until 7pm, this happened right at 7pm. For stitches (or dermabond) to work, it needs to be done soon after. No point in waiting until 7am when urgent care opens...it makes it a wasted effort. As it was, the dr was subpar, didnt' wait for the wound to stop oozing, and then did a ****ty job applying the dermabond...totally a waste of time & resources. And the urgent care would still be $300-400 for this particular issue, even if it was during their hours...still not worth the expense in this case.

That makes sense, and I know that timeframe - you really can't wait hours for stitches!

[Texasjeepgirl]

Several years ago I had a little girl trip on the driveway and bite her tongue... nearly IN HALF... it was HORRIBLE... I called the grandmother that worked about 2 blocks away... she seemed unconcerned... I insisted that it was just awful and she acted like she was being 'put out' to come check this child...

AMAZING

[CedarCreek]

Sorry for the delayed response, I was trying to enjoy the weekend!

So this is what her hand looked like when she barely moved it. It opened and what you see there is fatty tissue. This is why I told her that I thought she might need a stitch.

She came this morning and told me that she just put more antiseptic and liquid bandaid on it. She sent some but I wont be using it. I covered her hand so she wont pick at the liquid band aid. I wasn't going to harp on her parenting choice this morning but it's not the choice I would have made for sure.

[SilverSabre25]

ouch! I'm really lax when it comes to injuries and stuff, but I think that would have warranted an urgent care visit even in my book!

[Blackcat31]

Sorry for the delayed response, I was trying to enjoy the weekend!

So this is what her hand looked like when she barely moved it. It opened and what you see there is fatty tissue. This is why I told her that I thought she might need a stitch.

She came this morning and told me that she just put more antiseptic and liquid bandaid on it. She sent some but I wont be using it. I covered her hand so she wont pick at the liquid band aid. I wasn't going to harp on her parenting choice this morning but it's not the choice I would have made for sure.

Honestly, that looks serious enough that I don't think I wouldn't have accepted her back into care without a Dr's note.

There is way too much liability there.....

It looks awful and I am not so sure I would be putting anything on it besides a covering to keep it clean. Ugh, what a bad spot to be injured in.

[Unregistered]

I would've probably responded the same way, not everyone gets to leave work if their child gets hurt. I wouldn't leave work to get my son for that. Doesn't mean the mom didn't care, just can't drop everything all of the time

[CedarCreek]

Who said she didn't care?

I said it was not the parenting choice that I would have made and I didn't say anything to her about that choice.