What Would You Have Done? ER Visit vs Bandaid...

Your Mother instinct was the same I'd have done... plus you are an EMT (and I'm an LPN).

Men are almost ALWAYS like that... babies themselves but if someone else has the same thing ot similar, they tell you to suck it up.

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I would have taken her. I do not run for everything but we have had a scare or two and like the er staff tells me better to be safe. If you were uncomfortable with it bleeding at 2+ hours then that is your answer right there. You were right for taking her.

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Still bleeding after 2 hours? Absolutely go to the ER.

And it's on her face. Yes, you might not have "needed" stitches, but if it's going to minimize scarring, then it's totally worth it. You don't want her to have to explain a big scar on her forehead for the rest of her life.

I think you made the right choice.

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I would have gone to the ER.
My parents made a genius decision NOT to take me to the ER when my nose was broken as a child. Thanks mom and dad! Since it was never re-aligned, I have lived with a crooked nose that can only be corrected by thousands of dollars of plastic surgery.
:)

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I struggle with the whole ER issue myself, but I would have taken her if I thought she needed stiches, and since they did not just put more butterflys on it, you did the right thing, especially if it is on the face, you want to have it heal nicely.

I am usually not one to go to the ER, and try to make sure that we don't clog up the ER with anything that does not belong there, so I am glad to read that most posters would not go for every little thing, I wish everyone did the same. We would so have appreciated other parents not cloging up the ER last weekend...we sat for 7 hours with our daughter who slammed her hand in the car door and had an open fracture of her thumb, needed the nail removed, 5 stiches, and a splint. There were many kids who should have been at urgent care instead.

If I had been sitting next you you and your daughter, I would have thought you needed to be in the ER, just like the boy who had a broken tail bone, and the diabletic child who could not quit vomiting...but the ear aches and the coughs...kinda made me crazy. IMO, if you can get up and leave the ER in a huff after two hours because it is taking too long, it is not really an emergency! OK, my vent is over...

M.

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If my child got hurt and there was a medical professional (you, for example) nearby, who said "you might want to take your child to the ER, just to be safe", that's exactly what I would do. You seem to know what you're doing, if you thought a trip to the ER was warranted, you did right by taking her. Follow your instincts, they're usually right.

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We went through a very similar situation here last spring w/ our twins. The one pushed the other, resulting in the pushed one having a gash at the corner of her eye. After the blood was wiped away, we could see it was much smaller than it originally looked. However, it being a head injury and all, I took her to the ER. The ER Dr. stated that she'd do alright w/out stitches, but "she's too pretty to have a cut like that heal on its own...she'll have a horrible scar"...So it was 5 stitches for her. Looking at it now, I'm soooo glad we took her to get the stitches. You can barely tell she did anything.

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I say if you would have rushed to the ER at the first sign of blood, it might have been overreacting.

But bleeding for 2 hours? I think you did the right thing.

I'm sure that if you called your doctor and described the situation they would have recommended a trip to the ER.

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i loathe ERs with a borderline phobia and avoid them at ALL costs. but you know, i probably would have been with you on this one. sometimes you just gotta have it checked out.
khairete
S.

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I think it's wonderful that we have ER's but I already noted your own expertise and think it would have been fine if you stayed home. Sometimes there are people in the ER taking up time from people who really need it. You could have checked at the doctor next day if it was still looking bad. Like I said you have the background so you know if the blood loss was causing dizziness or vomiting so I think BF should trust his own instincts when he is by himself and you trust yours.Case by case situation of course.

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I'm with you. I did emergency combat med, and am in nursing school (trauma focus), and grew up in a medical family. (<laughing> and carry a penlight on my keychain... kids go headfirst a lot). I treat 95% at home BUT whenever I start doubting myself... I go for a 2nd opinion.

Case in point:

About a month ago my son was hopping around in a laundry hamper (typical kind of activity for my kiddo). He was fine until he decided to stop and watch a movie. He was sitting in it and at a funny part decided to "roll back" to laugh. And forgot we own a coffee table. And got a gnarly bump on the head. No depression before swelling set in, normal amount of head bleeding (aka a lot for the size), no signs of concussion, normal pupillary response, no other signs of neurological problems then or later (speech, midline, gross or fine motor, reflex, etc). I'd check it every day and after a WEEK I felt a ridge. Scheisse. TELL me I didn't miss a depression fracture.

So off to my doctor's office. Nope. No depression fracture. Just a little hematoma in a scary shape (aka to the gentle touch feeling like a divot in the skull. (Icewater can quit running through my veins now).

My doctor is great. He not only knows me well enough to ask what tests I did then and 48/72 hours later and kiddo's results, but also always eases my guilt.

Healthcare profs are the worst. We know so many things that it MIGHT be, that we often 2nd guess ourselves and THEN also feel guilty for that 2nd guess. But whenever there's that "doubt" whether it's instinct or 2nd guess... better safe than sorry.

I not only would have done the same thing you did... I often do the exact same thing.

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I would always err on the side of caution, but that being said, I have no medical expertise whatsoever, so every time something like what you described happened to my kids it meant a trip to the ER. I always felt it was better to be safe that sorry, and of course (thankfully) it usually turned out to be nothing major. Ironically, the one time I didn't rush to the ER, my son turned out to have a broken wrist! Boy, did I feel bad! I think with your background you are better-equipped to deal with these situations when they arise, and not automatically treat everything as an emergency. But in the case you described I think you were absolutely right to take her in for the stitches - it was certainly not something you could have done yourself, and in the long run will probably result in less scarring. If I were you, I would just trust my instincts in the future and take it from there.

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I would think that getting stitches (liquid or otherwise) will allow it to heal better with less scarring as opposed to simply bandaging.

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R., for many reasons, I would have taken her to the ER. They see lots of head injuries, and can catch subtle things you might miss, not seeing this particular thing as often. They usually use one of their penlights to check how the pupil reacts to light - I doubt you did that, and not actually being a doctor, you may not have that particular expertise. Just being "off" a little might spur them to have a CT scan done. If they were to find something that you would have overlooked, you would know for sure that you did the right thing.

All my best,
D.

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He R.,
I would have done the same thing! I'm a nurse, I understand all of that, too, but when it's your kid you don't take chances. Best to cover all the bases rather than learn something was really wrong that you had overlooked. My daughter fell out of a hammock and cut her lips. I didn't take her to the doctor, then after it healed the doc said she probably would have had a plastic surgeon look at it. I felt so guilty so next time I'll be overly cautious instead. (Her lips healed just fine, BTW). :) You're a good mom!

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I would have took my daughter to the ER too. Always on the safe side.

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I would have gone to the ER as well. I worry about scars on the face and that alone would have prompted me to go.

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2 hours of bleeding.. ER..

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I don't mess with head injuries, so I would have taken them to the ER if it was still oozing blood through 2 bandages 2 hours later. You are a good mom making sure everything is fine.

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I'm a firm believer in fixing it at home, but when in doubt go to the doc.

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I definitely would have gone to ER. Why take a chance with your most precious gift?

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Wow....that is a tough one. The one issue that would have caused me to tip the scale towards going to the ER would have been the idea of minimizing scarring. If it was within her hairline...and probably wouldn't show...I might have waited. It sounds like you have the expertise and knowledge needed to have taken care of it on your own. BUT...it had been 2 hours and it was still bleeding....it was probably time to have seen an expert. (How was that for a non-answer?? lol)

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Head wounds to do bleed alot but it is always better to be safe than sorry. Since you seem to have not over reacted and allowed your training and not emotion to guide, I definately think you did the right thing.

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I would have gone to the ER just to set my mind at ease.

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You did the right thing. You listened to your mommy instincts and followed through. It's her face, so better safe than sorry.

Good job, mom!!

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I'm with you. I would have taken her to the ER after you saw the blood oozing out. And especially since its your daughter and I know they all get bumps, bruises, and scars along the way, the preventable ones (such as this with the liquid stitches) especially in the face area I think when possible should be avoided. I only wish they would have done that with my son, they gave him regular stitches (for right between his eyes) and he has a horrible looking scar now and you can even still see where the stitches went in!!

I think you did the right thing, because while you used to be an EMT you are also a Mama. Mama's instincts are pretty on the nose most of the time. Its your call, especially with the training you have, if you take them to the ER. Plus depending on the severity of the wound, some wounds are hands down "okay get in the car/ambulance we're going to the ER." Best thing I can say is trust your Mama instinct and remember your EMT training.

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I have a good friend who is a nurse, I call her for a lot of medical advice if I'm not completely sure myself... we would go to the ER too, for that one (thank goodness for insurance!!!!) We didn't have insurance growing up so my parents home fixed us. Some things I'll make a nervous call on treating at home, some things I seek medical advice and assitance. It was fine with the ER - I would have too..

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I try not to take my daughter for every little thing, but we did take her to the doctor recently when she cut her head and it wouldnt stop bleeding. She also needed liguid stitches, which I'd never even heard of!

In your situation, I would have taken her to the ER if her pediatrican's office wasnt open.

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I would always take a face laceration that will not stop bleeding to the ER and request a plastic surgeon-- especially on a girl. My daughter split her head open on the banister on April Fool's Day (yes, April Fool's day) and it would NOT stop bleeding. Nanny was at home with her and my son (DD was 2 years and 9 mos and son was 18 mos) -- and ended up having to call the ambulance because there is no way she could convince the 2 year old to keep pressure on it to get to the hospital a few miles away and deal with my son too. My daughter ended up needing 9 stitches under full sedation with irrigation by a plastic surgeon (it was DEEP and about an inch long on her forehead despite the ambulance guy saying 1 cm....hmmmm needs to check his English versus metric eh?). Now, I am not saying I would take them for every little thing (I worked in an ER for 5 years and HATE them)....but if a head injury is deep, on the face and won't stop bleeding after about an hour or so, there are signs of concussion, etc., I would take them to the ER.

Sounds like yoiu did what was right for you at the time... and each time it will feel/be different.

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If someone was an EMT, I think that I would trust their knowledge, unless my gut says go, and then I would just say, sorry, it would just make me feel better to go, and go. This is a team effort, and you both need to feel comfortable. The continual bleeding after the butterfly bandages, would have done it for me. So would the age, and reaction of the child.

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I'm an advocate of taking children to the dr. Things can change so quickly with children and it's just another set of eyes that I find very helpful. You didn't overact.

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I absolutely would have gone to the ER! If something is still bleeding after an hour -particularly a gnarly head wound -I would always err on the side of caution and go to the ER or a minute clinic if available. Especially since you used to be an EMT, I think you probably have a pretty good idea when some extra medical attention may be warranted. When it comes to health issues -especially with my kids -I had ALWAYS rather be safe than sorry!

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It sounds like you made a very good educated decision. I wouldn't advise you to do anything different and should probably be the one asking your advise for these types of situations.

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My daughter just had two stitches put in her forehead because she ran into the wall. I called the ped because I wasn't sure what I should do. They said, "Remember that we are dealing with a girl here, how much are you worried about scars?" Then they told me, to take her to the ER, because they wouldn't do stitches there in the office. When I got to the ER they looked at it and said, yep she's gonna need a few stitches and scarring will be minimal. Therefore, I think you did the right thing. If you didn't have it stitched/glued back together, she would have had a worse looking scar which could effect her confidence when she gets older.

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Since I'm not an EMT, a blow to the head and lots of blood would have me taking my son to an ER.

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You did exactly what I would have done :)

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I work in the medical field...I don't think you are right or wrong on this one. Forehead lacerations bleed a lot, and while scars are often not a big deal, in a girl they may be in the future. So, if it were me, I would have gone to the ER for better management than the laceration. I probably would have asked for a plastic surgeon to stitch up the scar, depending on where it was located (in the middle of the forehead or other highly visible area of the face vs. off the side where it could be covered by hair). You are right, a liquid sealant will minimize scarring more than butterflies.

In terms of a serious concussion -- if you have already had a concussion recently your next concussion could have more serious side effects (like increased risk of post-concussive syndrome). I would say that if you are not comfortable it would be best to go the the ER to get evaluated -- but, since you have some medical background, you could have stayed home and watched her for more symptoms and you would have been fine.

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Any injuries to the face should be handled by a plastic surgeon. Especially-ones aroung the lips and eyebrows. Plastic surgeons use sub-cutaneous stitches and are perfectionists about their work-after all- it is your child's face! Some intern in the ER will not care about how the injury heals-just that they got it closed and you on your way and that your insurance company will pay a disproportionate amount of money for your child to be seen in the ER.

I would have taken her, as you did. The fact that it continues to bleed was obviously a sign to you (with medical knowledge) that it needed something more.

In my experience, any cut on a child that requires butterfly tape to keep closed may be a candidate for stitches no matter where it's located. Whenever oozing blood for more than 15 or 20 minutes, definitely have it looked at. But particularly on a child's head or face, it is always best for a doctor or ER visit to rule out problems and get stitches if necessary. You can always request a plastic surgeon to do stitches in the face and most hospitals will comply, particularly if it's during the daytime hours when they are most likely to be on duty. You sound very level headed, but in a case like this, better to be on the safe side.

If blood was coming through bandages after an hour or so, I would have gone to the ER. This is your CHILD - better safe than sorry.

I would have taken her for stiches

I would have gone to the ER to get stitches -- no question, because the stitches minimize scarring and help it heal. I'm kind of on the side of -- if there's a question -- doctor or hospital. My Mom, who was always very good about taking us to the hospital, but once she didn't because she assumed that a finger I had injured was not broken. It was though and it's now permanently crooked. It's not a big deal, but some things are.

Updated

I would have gone to the ER to get stitches -- no question, because the stitches minimize scarring and help it heal. I'm kind of on the side of -- if there's a question -- doctor or hospital. My Mom, who was always very good about taking us to the hospital, but once she didn't because she assumed that a finger I had injured was not broken. It was though and it's now permanently crooked. It's not a big deal, but some things are.

I always say, better safe than sorry. While you may feel as if you over-reacted now (which I personally don't think you did), you will get over it soon enough. If, however, there had been something more seriously wrong and you DIDN'T take her, you would regret it forever. I am like you...pretty laid back when it comes to injuries and illness....and I would have taken my son if it was him.

I hope this helps!

:)
M.