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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To not take DS to A&E

178 replies

AtSea1979 · 06/09/2016 19:20

His teacher said to get it looked at but I doubt they'd do anything.

DS might have broken his finger, it doesn't look bent, it's swollen and sore though, he can't straighten the end joint. I doubt A&E would do anything other than splint it which I can do. AIBU not to take him and sit there for hours?

OP posts:
Original poster
AtSea1979 · 06/09/2016 21:39

He did it slamming car door on it. Those asking why I didn't take him, it wasn't swollen this morning when I removed the loose strapping and sent him to school. I asked him to go to first aid and get it re dressed and get a second opinion. He didn't go because it was 'fine' until I told him I was taking dressing off then he went nuts (this is not unusual for him).

OP posts:
WankingMonkey · 06/09/2016 21:40

Clearly you shouldn't presume what the hospital will or won't do unless you have a medical degree .

Of course.

I wouldn't take any kind of risks when it comes to my kids health. I may do with my own but its me that deals with the consequences if it all goes wrong. But really unless you are qualified in that sector, you do not know what a hospital would do.

StillMedusa · 06/09/2016 21:40

My DS1's finger looked identical 3 weeks ago... broken and because it was the end that was broken it has had to go in a plastic splint for 6 weeks... not just be strapped to the next one.

DS2 also broke his (don't ask!) but his was further down so just strapped to the other finger, but he took the strapping off as he hated the feed... his finger now looks like it will be permanently bent :/

Fingers matter!!

Nospringflower · 06/09/2016 21:41

We (well, my partner despite me telling him to - they were on holiday and I had come home) didn't take my son to hospital when he came off his bike and hurt his thumb. Turned out it was broken in 2 places plus dislocated and he had to be admitted for an operation. Despite this he was playing table football waiting for his x-ray!

Having 3 children and lots of breaks (and false alarms) I am told to take them if it is stopping them doing things that they should be able to do e.g. dressing, writing etc.

That definitely looks like it needs seen.

Original poster
AtSea1979 · 06/09/2016 21:42

He's managed to do PE and writing with it. No one rang me from school just one of his teachers said get it looked at. DS said others weren't concerned.

OP posts:
ephemeralfairy · 06/09/2016 21:42

Ye gods. Just take him!! I'd go like a shot if my finger looked like that.

MsJudgemental · 06/09/2016 21:44

I cut my finger badly and went to A & E. No one noticed I couldn't bend the end of my finger and by the time they did it was too late to fix the tendon without major surgery which would have involved my hand being in a cage for 9 months. I declined as I was doing a design degree. I have since had to had 3 operations on it due to complications- GET IT SORTED NOW.

ThirdTimeLuck · 06/09/2016 21:45

Take your child to A&E fgs. If there's a minor injuries unit then go there instead but I don't think it's right or fair to leave him like that.

ThirdTimeLuck · 06/09/2016 21:47

And since the injury didn't occur at school they probably think give sought medical attention for it already, it's not their responsibility to ensure you've done so.

Original poster
AtSea1979 · 06/09/2016 21:47

Those being rude about why I haven't taken him, how often do you attend A&E with your DC? We go at least a couple of times a year with DS so called breaks and not once has he ever broken anything, just twists his ankle etc and 'can't walk' so I do tend to give it a bit of time first to see as more often than not he's fine after a day. It's bound to be sore, it's swollen and bruised. I will take him tomorrow if the swelling hasn't gone down. Like I said, it's sore but not enough to give calpol, just when I tell him I'm going to look at it!

OP posts:
serin · 06/09/2016 21:49

OP you are making me so annoyed.
I splint hands for a living.
To me it looks like he has sustained a mallet finger injury but there is no way of knowing without a proper x ray. If he has and you do nothing he is likely to have a lifelong extensor lag in that finger, which may interfere with the function in that hand for the rest of his life.
What you are doing is neglectful.

SalemSaberhagen · 06/09/2016 21:53

Why start an AIBU if you are so sure you are right?!

GabsAlot · 06/09/2016 21:53

oh thats ok as longa others arent concerned Hmm

clam · 06/09/2016 21:54

So he injured himself on "your watch," and you sent him in to school and told him to get them to sort it out in First Aid?! Shock
They're a SCHOOL, ffs, not a hospital. I'm not surprised they passed it back to you to get him checked out. It's their way of saying you should have done that in the first place!
You do realise you're probably on a "list" somewhere at school now, don't you?

insan1tyscartching · 06/09/2016 21:54

I have five dc and have been to A&E six times in the last 29 years (age of oldest) One asthma attack, a broken thumb,three times for stitches and once because I was convinced ds was very ill (he was and needed an operation) when the GP didn't believe me.

StrattersHasACunningPlan · 06/09/2016 21:57

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rosesarered9 · 06/09/2016 21:59

The whole point of a medical system is so you can get checked over if you are hurt or ill. I once went into A&E because of a bruised knee when I was convinced I had torn a ligament! If it's alright all you'll lose is an hour of sleep.

rosesarered9 · 06/09/2016 21:59

Posted too soon!
Meant to say that no-one at the hospital told me off for wasting their time!

rosesarered9 · 06/09/2016 22:00

^^^
What clam said.

Wolfiefan · 06/09/2016 22:00

My DD trapped her finger in a door. They thought she may have chipped a bone. Her symptoms sounded less serious than your child's. Seek medical advice. FFS.

clam · 06/09/2016 22:07

We almost qualified for our own named chairs in A&E when my kids were younger. Never wasted journeys, though, in that each time there was an injury that needed treatment.

wanderings · 06/09/2016 22:08

I'm just curious about A & E. In my whole childhood I only ever went to A & E once (falling and hitting my head on something hard), aged seven. That time a teacher took me there in her car - oh for the days when teachers could take sensible initiatives! The rest of the time I was frequently spraining ankles, falling over in the playground, falling off playground slides, falling off my bike, etc. I was labelled un-coordinated, so by rights, I should have been there frequently.

Should I have been going to A & E for every playground accident? Or didn't children get whisked there at the drop of a hat in the 1980's?

As an adult I've only been to A & E when accompanying someone else, and yes, the hours and hours of waiting would make me hesitate to go.

alltouchedout · 06/09/2016 22:08

Have you read read the nhs page on (suspected) broken fingers? www.nhs.uk/conditions/broken-finger/Pages/Introduction.aspx Call 111 for advice (and then take it, even if it's to take him to a&e which you seem really reluctant to do).

Lelloteddy · 06/09/2016 22:09

So he didn't even injure it at school ? And you told him to go and get it checked out by 'first aid' at school?

Seriously OP I hope this is a wind up.

mineofuselessinformation · 06/09/2016 22:12

Have you ever had a similarly bruised nail, OP? I'm betting you haven't because otherwise you'd know it hurts like a bastard. That alone is enough to warrant a visit to minor injuries or A&E just to get the pressure released.
Report me if you must, but you're a dick for leaving your child in pain when you could do something about it.