Helmet use for Plagio/Brachycephaly

[concernedandconfused]

Hello all. I've tried to do a quick trawl through the various threads on plagio to find out what other people in our situation have done. It seems the debate we're having here at home is being played out across the country so it's good to know it't not just us.

After my GP advised me to look into helmets (uncommon for a GP to do this, I now realise, so I wonder whether I'd be looking at things differently if I'd seen a different doc that day) we are now in a position where we've forked out 2 grand of our savings, tried the blasted thing out and found that he sweats like anything in it - especially on his first night's sleep in it, which lasted all of 1.5 hrs before we took it off through feeling so sorry for him sweating that much.

We are now wondering whether to persevere or not. And if we do, whether to use it overnight too, as we're meant to. He just SWEATED so much in it (we had him in a vest with one sheet over him - his body was a nice cool/warm temp but his head was wet with sweat).

Shall we persevere or stop? Like all parents, we want to do what's best for the little mite (he's 7 months old) but we don't know what "best" is.

Have you seen a paed?Is there a likelehood that his head shape will right itself as he gets older?My dn had an odd head shape (twin) in the early months but it is looking more "normal" now. (Sorry for ignorance).dd has a helmet but more for her sn as she has a tendency to be wobbly and fall due to her low muscle tone.She has it on for outside,obv very different circumstances.Maybe worth a post in the SN section??

Hello concernedandconfused

My DS (now 4.5) had a helmet as his head was flattened on one side particularly and I couldn't imagine it would right itself as it was so extreme. Other friends of mine did not use helmets and I can still see the flattened parts of their children's heads, even though they have hair. But maybe I look for it more as my DS had a flattened head? I had a lot of negative comments and lots of assurances that he would grow out of it, but I do not think he would have done. He wore the helmet for 5 months from 6-11 months old and the change was incredible, just short of a completely rounded head.

It was unpleasant putting the helmet on him, although it didn't seem to bother him. But it quickly became such a part of his routine that it became the norm. And the time does go pretty quickly.

I would say to perservere for a while to see if you and he can get used to it. Does he cry or seem distressed by it? If so, perhaps it needs to be refitted. It shouldn't hurt. I don't remember my son sweating particularly, although we did clean it every day and his head was a bit hot underneath.

My DS2 also had a flat head at the back but it was evenly flat and much less extreme and has now almost rounded out (he's just turned 1).

There are quite a few support websites. One is plagiocephalycare.org which may help you decide what to do. Good luck.

Hi there

My little boy is currently wearing a helmet for severe brachy (so completely flat at the back of his head) and has been wearing it for 6 months now. We expect atleast another 3 months of him wearing it due to the severity of his condition.

For the first 2 weeks of the babies wearing it, they really do sweat alot and it can be quite distressing to see how hot they are under those helmets! My son had to start wearing his beginning of June when it was terribly hot and I was quite worried and it was a very difficult time. However, no need to worry as they do adjust the heat. They really do acclimatise very well and everything evens out. Have they put holes in the back of the helmet yet? They normally do this after the first week or so and also really helps.

Every baby is different when they first have the helmet fitted and some are fine after a day but others can take longer - some up to 2 weeks but they all do adjust. It's amazing how they do adjust in the end and it's the parent's that worry!

The decision has to be yours as to whether you continue with helmet treatment but all I can say to you is seriously try and peservere. It is without a doubt the best thing I've ever done for my LO and his head looks amazing now, even though we have a long way to go! This is really the one and only time to go ahead with helmet treatment as the older they are, the harder it becomes.

As a previous post suggests, come onto www.plagiocephalycare.org where you will get lots of help and support you need and you'll ffind so many other people that have been through what you're going through now.

Once you start to see results (which you will do very quickly) you'll realise it was the best 2k you could have spent...trust me!

I wish you all the best and if you need to talk because it all gets too much, please feel free to PM me as I'm a good listener and have been through it all in the last 6 months of my LO wearing the helmet so I may be able to help!

Take care X

Gleno

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