Is it ok to wait one more day?

thunderstorm

Sun, Apr 01 2018, 9:39 pm

On Friday afternoon my inlaws noticed that my DS age 7 was limping. It got worse as the day came to an end. He said it hurt behind his leg where the knee is and couldn't bend it fully. Yesterday I saw a slight bruise and noticed definite swelling. Again today the same story but the pain shifted to his knee instead of the back of his knee. He has been on the couch with his leg up besides for going to the table for meals and to go to the bathroom. He doesn't have any other pain or symptoms . No fever or sore throat either. I'm not home . We are about two hours away from our pediatrician . I need to go into work on Tuesday and figured I'd take him to the doctor then, rather than go back and forth two hours each way two days in a row. Do you think it's neglectful to wait one day or should I just go tomorrow? It doesn't seem to be an emergency but something is definitely not right. He didn't injure himself or fall so this is a total mystery as to why his knee would swell and hurt .

ra_mom

Sun, Apr 01 2018, 9:42 pm

Do not wait until Tuesday!
Go to an urgent care center now. If that's not possible the latest is very early tomorrow morn but I'd be afraid to wait even that long. Sometimes such symptoms can mean a serious infection in the body.

thunderstorm

Sun, Apr 01 2018, 9:48 pm

ra_mom wrote:

I'm out in the boondocks and there isn't an urgent care anywhere around. We need to wait until tomorrow . I guess that's what we will do. Thanks for the input.

thunderstorm

Sun, Apr 01 2018, 9:59 pm

smileyface:) wrote:

we had a similar thing a few years ago - it ended up being VERY serious.
I would find an urgent care.

also, im not a doctor goer normally

I had a different child hospitalized for a week this summer with swollen joints and something serious but that came with fever and strep. So it's not like I haven't experienced anything like this. Comparing the two, this is nowhere near as alarming to me. He feels fine otherwise and there is no redness, heat or additional swelling and no fever. It's basically just swollen and painful. Our doctors office has walk in hours in the morning. We will leave at six am to get there first thing. Let's hope it's no big deal.

amother

Black

Sun, Apr 01 2018, 10:08 pm

My ds tripped and fell today
He probably broke a bone in his foot. He has a black and blue mark and he can walk. Based on these symptoms and past experiences with other DC's, I believe he broke his little bone on the outside of his foot.

Hoping to go to Dr tomorrow morning.

amother

Linen

Sun, Apr 01 2018, 10:38 pm

One of my daughters had bad joint pain once with literally no other symptoms, and no known history of injury. My pediatrician, who is not an alarmist at all, sent me to the emergency room. It ended up being cellulitis, which was BH successfully treated with antibiotics and we were home after a couple of days. However, their initial concern was an infection in the joint itself, which is very serious. That was ruled out with an MRI.

thunderstorm

Sun, Apr 01 2018, 10:43 pm

amother wrote:

Since I'm familiar with cellulitis as I'd ha it a few times myself I kept checking for pink or spots that felt warm but didn't find anything. My other son was rushed to the ER because they thought he had a bone infection But that was also warm to the touch and he had fever. I will definitely take everyone's advice and see the doctor ASAP. I just don't have anywhere to go around here. I will leave early morning to get this checked out . I really hope it's nothing major.

amother

Linen

Sun, Apr 01 2018, 10:44 pm

thunderstorm wrote:

As I mentioned, my daughter did not have any symptoms aside from pain. No changes in color, temperature of skin, no fever, etc. Sudden pain without a known injury is cause for concern.

WhatFor

Sun, Apr 01 2018, 11:34 pm

Notsobusy wrote:

Does your doctor have an after hours answering service? I would call and see what they say or if they will pass the question on to him.

This. What if it's chv a blood clot? This would make me very nervous and better safe than sorry. Or can you at least call hatzalah and ask if they think it's ok if you wait until the morning?

Kiwi13

Mon, Apr 02 2018, 4:56 am

miriamfraa wrote:

I would wait for the doctors office to open, just because going to the emergency room is simply a waste of time!

Bad advice. Emergency room is the right choice for emergencies. If you’re not sure, err on the side of caution and GO. Time consuming does NOT mean “waste of time!”

Please don’t discourage people from seeking proper medical attention. Waiting for a doctor’s office to open is risky, and b sides that, unless it is your regular doctor, you can’t expect to get in immediately with some other doctor as a new patient with an emergency anyway.

Go to the ER.

thunderstorm

Mon, Apr 02 2018, 7:39 am

Thank you all for your advice. I was already sleeping or at least trying to (I've been a nervous wreck after reading all this), by the time I read all your posts. I agree that this needs to be addressed immediately. Had I been home I would've taken him last night to urgent care. There is no Hatzolah or doctors office that's open in the area that I'm staying. The medical office is only opening at 11 today. And I don't trust the local hospital here.
I left early, it is snowing the roads are treacherous. My goal is to be the first patient at walk in hours. I breathed a sigh of relief a bit when DS just told me his throats is hurting. If it is strep it will be more clear cut as to what this is. I prepared myself in case they send me to WestChester Children's Hospital. At least he is not feeling worse . He said it all feels the same which is also a good thing.

thunderstorm

Mon, Apr 02 2018, 10:29 am

We are in the ER at Westchester Medical Center. His pediatrician took a throat culture this morning hoping it was positive but it was negative. So she sent us to the ER . Now they are going to run other tests. First X-ray and ultrasound of the knee and blood work and then they will take it from there. Thanks for checking . They took us in immediately no waiting Baruch Hashem