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Kids are active, spontaneous—and bound to…
Date Recorded
December 02, 2019 Health Topics (The Scope Radio)
Kids Health Transcription
Dr. Gellner: Kids are bound to get hurt at home. It's inevitable. So what are the five most common pediatric home injuries? How do you treat them and what can parents do to prevent them from happening in the first place?
Announcer: Keep your kids healthy and happy, you are now entering the "Healthy Kids Zone" with Dr. Cindy Gellner on The Scope.
Dr. Gellner: If you have kids, you know how active they can be and how despite how hard you try as a parent to protect your kids, unless you have them in one of those inflatable bubbles, they're going to get hurt. There are five common home injuries that actually can be fatal but are quite preventable.
The first is drowning. It's the leading cause of death in one to four-year-olds. Whether this is because there's a swimming pool that they have access to or they're left alone in the bathtub, little kids can drown in just inches of water. If your home has a pool, make sure there is a gate around your pool that is locked and that your child can't open the lock. Some parents install pool alarms to be able to detect if something is in the pool. As for bathtubs, if your child is taking a bath, stay with them. Don't leave, not even for a second. Stay with them until they're old enough to bathe themselves or shower themselves.
The second injury is actually the overall leading cause of death for children at home and that's suffocation. That's why we recommend nothing in a baby's crib or bassinet. They can roll right into a teddy bear and can't roll away. Older preschoolers can get caught up in cords for blinds or drapes. There are hooks that parents can install higher up than a child's reach to keep the cords out of the way and prevent this.
Third are fires and burns. It's amazing how many parents don't keep up with changing the batteries on their smoke detectors. That's a simple way to protect the whole family. Thermal burns are trickier because kids are really fast at getting into things you don't want them touching like hot beverages, soups, and hairstyling devices. Close supervision in the bathroom and kitchen are crucial with young children. In the bathroom, there's also the risk of thermal burns with hot baths. Never leave a child in a bathtub with water in it, and make sure your hot water heater is set to 120 degrees Fahrenheit to prevent hot water burns while bathing little kids.
Next is falling, specifically downstairs. Baby gates at the top and bottom of stairs are a must if you have a little person in the home. We get calls at my office all the time about how parents turn their backs for just a second and their toddler fell down the stairs, and parents are concerned about concussions. While kids are tougher than we give them credit for, hitting their head on something hard at just the wrong spot can cause significant injuries. And also remember windows. Many parents think that if a window has a screen on it, it's okay, but screens are not meant to bear the weight of a toddler or a preschooler. And if they fall out of a second story or higher window, it could be fatal.
Finally, poisoning. Each year over 10,000 calls are made to the Poison Control Center. Many of them are for children. If you think your child has gotten into anything potentially toxic, call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Don't wait and call your pediatrician's office as that may delay treatment. We have a saying in toxicology, "The dose makes the poison." The experts at the Poison Control Center will be able to tell you how much your child will need to have ingested or gotten onto their body for it to be a concern and will be able to give you advice on just what to do, whether it's something that you can do at home or if they have to go to the emergency room and we don't recommend syrup of ipecac anymore.
The best thing is to keep anything dangerous or poisonous out of sight and out of reach of curious little kids. Cleaners should be kept high up or behind locked kitchen cabinets. Medications, even children's vitamins should be kept where kids can't get to them. Remember, for all of the hazardous situations, the best thing you can do as a parent is prevent them from happening in the first place.
Childproof even before your baby is able to crawl. Get down on your hands and knees and see what your baby or toddler sees from their point of view to get a better idea of how high you need to put things out of reach. Be sure to lock doors and cabinets that need to stay shut and above all else, keep an eye on your child. It's hard work to always be right there, but it is so worth it to make sure your child is safe.
Announcer: Have a question about a medical procedure? Want to learn more about a health condition? With over 2,000 interviews with our physicians and specialists, there's a pretty good chance you'll find what you want to know. Check it out at thescoperadio.com. MetaDescription
Learn how to prevent the most common injuries your child may suffer from in the home.
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When kids are playing outside or competing on…
Date Recorded
August 24, 2015 Health Topics (The Scope Radio)
Bone Health
Kids Health
Sports Medicine Transcription
Dr. Gellner: It's time for back to school and sports and that means it's time for ankle sprains. How to help with this frequent sports injury is today's topic on The Scope. I'm Dr. Cindy Gellner.
Announcer: Keep your kids healthy and happy. You are now entering the Healthy Kid Zone with Dr. Cindy Gellner on The Scope.
What Is a Sprained Ankle?
Dr. Gellner: We're seeing a lot of kids that are going to back to school training camps for football, soccer, all sorts of sports that can twist up the ankle really quickly. So what exactly is an ankle sprain? Well, it's an injury that causes a stretch or tear in one or more ligaments in the ankle joint. Ligaments are strong bands of tissue that connect bones to the joint. There are many ligaments in an ankle.
The most common type of sprain involves the ligaments on the outside part of the ankle. That's the lateral ankle sprain. Ligaments on the inside of the ankle may also be injured, those are medial ankle sprains, as well as ligaments that are high and in the middle of the ankle, those are called high ankle sprains. Again, a sprain is caused by twisting your ankle. Your foot usually turns in or underneath you as you're walking, running, jumping, but it may also turn to the outside as well.
Sprains can be mild, moderate, or severe, but they all hurt. Symptoms of a sprained ankle include anything from mild aching to sudden pain, swelling, and bruising, which may look quite severe. You may have pain in the ankle even when you are not putting any weight on it.
Sprained Ankle Symptoms
To diagnose a sprained ankle, your child's pediatrician will ask about your child's symptoms and how the injury occurred. So it's very important you know what happened at the time of the injury. That's very important to the pediatrician. They'll also examine your child's ankle and if needed, X-rays may be taken depending on the severity of the symptoms. Treatments for a Sprained Ankle
Treating a sprained ankle depends on how bad the sprain is. It can be remembered as the letters RICE, rest, ice, compression, and elevation. When your child first sprains their ankle, have them rest. Then, put an ice pack or package of frozen vegetables wrapped in a cloth on the area every three to four hours, for up to 20 minutes at a time. Raise the ankle with a pillow when sitting or lying down. And for compression, you can use an elastic bandage or even a brace that you can buy at your local store. Finally, keep your ankle elevated as much as you can for the first 72 hours.
If the sprain is severe, your child may need to use crutches until they can walk without pain. For the pain, your child can take an anti-inflammatory such as Ibuprofen or Naproxen, which is Aleve. Unless recommended by your pediatrician, do not take this pain medication for more than 10 days. Rarely, severe ankle sprains with complete tearing of the ligaments will need surgery. Your pediatrician will refer your child to an orthopedic doctor if that's the case. After surgery, your ankle will be in a cast for four to eight weeks.Sprained Ankle Recovery Time
Recovery time depends on many factors such as how old your child is, what kind of health they're in, if they've ever had a previous ankle injury, and the severity of the sprain. A mild ankle sprain may recover within a few weeks whereas the severe sprain may take six weeks or longer to recover even if it doesn't require surgery. Recovery also depends on which ligaments were torn. The lateral sprain, remember those outside ligaments, takes less time to recover than a medial sprain, the inside ligaments, or a high ankle sprain, the high middle ligaments.
We often get asked, "When can my child go back to playing sports?" Well, everyone recovers from an injury at different rates. Your child can return to the activities depending on how soon the ankle recovers, not by how many days or how many weeks it's been since the injury occurred. In general, the longer your child has symptoms before he starts getting treatment, the longer it will take to get better.
The goal is to return to his normal activities as soon and safely as possible. If your child returns too soon, they may worsen their injury. Your child may safely return to normal activities when they have a full range of motion in the injured ankle compared to the uninjured ankle. Also, they need to have full strength in the injured ankle compared to the not injured ankle and they need to be able to walk straight ahead without pain or limping. How to Prevent Ankle Sprains
For kids who are very active in sports, it's really important to try to remember how to prevent ankle sprains from happening in the first place. Be sure to have your child wear proper, well-fitting shoes, stretch before and after sports, avoid sharp turns and quick changes in direction, and consider taping their ankles or wearing an ankle brace during strenuous sports, especially if they've had a previous injury. If your child is a very athletic child, I can guarantee you they're going to have an ankle sprain. The most important thing is to address it right away, not wait, and let them recover before they get back out on the field.
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