Would I be unreasonable to leave my daughter sleeping even though I think her arm is broken?

[user1475350703]

Hi my daughter fell off a swing at the park this evening and it hurt she cried for a bit but was then fine. It has swollen a bit and she can't move it properly but she has fallen asleep. Would you wait until tomorrow or wake her up now?

Having had many, many late night a&e visits and on the last one waiting with a shattered 6 year old with breathing problems for 6 hours!!! I'd say let her rest if she can, get to bed now and pack a bag you can grab with drinks n snacks and money to grab quick if needs be. hospital this time of night is zero fun with a child, I spent most of my time hiding horrible sights from my son

I would sleep near her in case she wakes. You'll both feel better for a night's sleep. Take her first thing in the morning

I'd let her sleep but check on her regularly i.e. to make sure the arm hasn't swollen more, is warm and the right colour etc. It can't be too painful if she is sleeping. I'd be prepared to take her in at any time in the night though if she were to wake up in pain. Assuming she sleeps until morning I'd then take her in first thing tomorrow morning.
We have a special children's a and e but at busy times the emergency doctors will help out the adult a and e next door. It can mean you end up waiting a while in the children's area at times you would assume it is quiet.

My friend missed her DC's broken arm for nearly a week! The arm was never horrifically painful - just achey and not right.

I think the medics often don't put a broken limb into plaster straight away if it's swollen.

Perhaps phone 111 for advice.

Calling 111 will be a waste of time. They ask lots of questions as dictated by a computer and then they'd tell you to go to a&e. You also can't answer some questions if your DD is asleep. Broken bones are often less painful than people think, sprains can hurt more due to the tissues and nerves involved. A break which isn't obvious is unlikely to be an emergency, it isn't life threatening and won't cause any lasting damage. Get everyone to bed after packing a bag and go to a&e when she wakes in the morning. Calpol will help if she wakes with minor pain.

I'm at the "children's a&e won't be busy" comments. 3 years ago now but DD2 with chest infection and fluid in both lungs, sats 80 once she was admitted, turned up at children's A&E with a referral from out of hours at 5pm on a Saturday afternoon, admitted 9pm, antibiotics first administered at midnight. Honestly, I would wait till morning, a&e is always a nightmare so you both might as well have some sleep behind you to prepare for it.

I wouldn't like to advise, but when I broke my arm it was put into a temporary bandage and I was told you have a window of 7 days to get it set properly - after that it's well on its way to healing over. So unless the child is in pain, I think it would be fine to leave it til the morning. As long as it's not a head bump? I would get that seen to.

If she hasn't bumped her head and is managing to sleep I doubt it's broken.

My son came back from a friends house at 9.30pm with a very sore elbow and crying after a fall on the trampoline (not off it or onto the springs). He went to sleep but cried all night. My instinct in OP's situation was to let them sleep - because you cant tell if its broken - but honestly if it is then they will have a horrible painful night. To be fair, Saturday night aint the night to be in A & E but Sunday morning is a good time to go. A & E have tons of signs telling you basically not to waste their time, but with kids they ask them to say without parental explanation what happened (obviously to protect them from abusive parents) and were slightly critical I hadn't gone in sooner, till the point when I said his Dad thought it was nothing and then they all laughed and said 'Dads always say that.' All ended well, no cast, just painkillers, but limits on school sports. Tiny fracture chip at the end of the elbow.

If it wasn't Saturday night I'd say go. But if dd is asleep then it could well be she'd be waiting hours and hours to be seen in A&E. DD took 10 month old dgd to children's A&E as she didn't know if she'd had some sort of fit or not. . I thought they'd be seen quickly but it took hours for her to be seen by a doctor. They were kept in for observation over night in the end but didn't get to a ward for hours after being seen. it was around 3am i think by the time they got a cot for dgd. Dgd was in a right old state. Didn't have any further episodes on the ward and was discharged next day with am urgent paeds appt.

Please wait until morning.

Did she bump her head too? If so, I'd wake her and make sure that she isn't unconscious rather than asleep. Otherwise, I'd wait until tomorrow, and have Calpol ready for when she wakes. She might well sleep through, and nothing terrible is going to happen to the wrist if she rolls over in the night. Most children's fractures like this are not full thickness, so it won't shift out of alignment or do anything weird.

All the people saying wait and see can't see your daughter's injury so don't listen to them

Equally, the people saying wake her this second and rush her in can't see the injury...

Nobody has said to wake her this second and rush her in, but to go to A&E as soon as possible.

I have broken my arm and my leg... Trust me you would know if it was broken. The pain is so bad it hurts to breathe!!! I hope she is OK X

Doctor here. If she's sleeping soundly, leave her be. Take her in the morning when it'll be quieter in A&E. A few hours won't make a difference when she's asleep in bed.

Oh and yes, 111 will tell you to go to A&E so don't bother. Just take her when she wakes up.

I've also broken bones before and haven't been in agony, so I suppose it depends on the break/person.

I've left her to sleep, as I went in and checked on her and her arm is laying next to her (she's on her back) so no damage to it.

If she wakes, I'll take her if she is in lots of pain. Thanks everyone

I would do the same as you in this case

my son almost severed a toe, needing plastic surgery to reattach- we went home overnight with it bandaged up and went back the next day for surgery. he slept through like nothing was wrong and didn't even have any calpol. seriously, people are ridiculously dramatic!

So much conflicting advice. I've had a broken arm that wasn't seen for a couple of days because it took that long for it to become apparent that it was more than a sprain. I was in screaming agony and said so!!

I've had my kids fall off/fall over bloody everything. If she's asleep, I would probably monitor til morning. You can obviously call for advice in the meantime. If still in pain a.m. take her to A&E. I really wouldn't wake her now.

I used to work in both A&E and 111. If you want to let her sleep, just keep checking her injured arm - that her hand is pink and warm - if not then she needs to be taken straight to A&E. They prioritise children anyway. If she vomits, or complains of a headache then get her straight to A&E as they are signs of head injury.

My friend is a police officer and he has had to sit in a and e with suspects many a time. He said its The last place anyone wants to be.

Some people do talk utter tosh. Social services will not be interested in this. If you're asked "why didn't you take her?". You say that she was sleeping, not distressed, nothing visibly looked bad and you decided to reassess in the morning. It wouldn't be even on a social worker's radar because it's a non-issue unless there is massive back story of repeated neglect which involves refusing to get medical care. Waiting 12 hours until A&E is less busy does not contribute denial of medical treatment. I'm an experienced social worker btw.

If she's asleep I'd leave her be and look In the morning