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Children's health

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Original poster

OMG!! How have I not noticed this til now........??

26 replies

whattimestea · 07/02/2013 20:14

DS5 is 5 months old. He has up til now not been keen on 'tummy-time' so haven't really been doing it that much. But over last few nights he's not minded so he's been having a good old naked wriggle on his tum just before we get him dressed for bed. However tonight, as he was pulling his knees up underneath him I noticed that about 1-2 inches above his bum hole he's got what i can only describe as a 2nd bum hole!! It's not fully identical to it but it is a DEFINITE hole, no mistaking. I'll make an appt with GP tomorrow but does ANYONE know what this is/could be? Should i be worried?? He's a wonderful baby...no concerns really with any aspect of his health, so is it just natures little quirk?

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Dillydollydaydream · 07/02/2013 20:16

Sounds like a sacral dimple?

TheMightyLois · 07/02/2013 20:16

Oh that does sound worrying. Is it sore at all? Def see the gp tomorrow

Bimblepops · 07/02/2013 20:20

DS2 has this as well, sacral dimple. His was spotted at birth and checked out before we were discharged, all fine. Doesn't cause any problems, just need to make sure you keep it clean as it can collect poo and muck otherwise.

redspottydress · 07/02/2013 20:21

It is called a sacral dimple. My baby has one, and a little y shape above it. They are checked for at birth, so I wouldn't worry. Saying that I worried myself silly and pushed for an ultrasound on his back to make sure all was fine, which it was!

muriel76 · 07/02/2013 20:21

You need to see your GP (obviously) but a hole in the bottom of the back can be related to an extremely mild form of spina bifida which something like 15% of us are estimated to have. It's called spina bifida occulta, you can google it.

Try not to worry too much, let us now what the Dr says.

Original poster

whattimestea · 07/02/2013 20:22

I'll google sacral dimple, thanks dilly. No, doesn't look sore at all and it's not caused him any discomfort. He's a very content baby, nappies have always been normal. Never any fuss at changing time. I feel terrible that i've not seen it til now

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Original poster

whattimestea · 07/02/2013 20:25

Thanks everyone for your fast replies to me. Really appreciated I'll get him in with the doctor tomorrow and let you know whats said.

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ImGoingToCountToThree · 07/02/2013 20:32

Definitely a sacral dimple, both my DS and DD have/had them. My sons was deeper than my DS and when he was a baby they put a tiny probe into it(completely painless) to see how deep it was and to see if it was sealed which it was as he has got older (and DD too) they get shallow and become less of a dimple.
Make a GP appointment for reassurance, I'm sure if it wasn't sealed it would have been a problem by now.

ALovelyBunchOfCoconuts · 07/02/2013 20:33

yes to sacral dimple. my dd was born with one. hospital arranged an ultrasound within two weeks just to check her spinal cord was unaffected. it was all fine. i have a friend who has one too. when we were younger we used to bath together and she was very proud of having two bums nothing to worry about honestly

undertheboredwalk · 07/02/2013 20:44

I don't want to worry you whattimestea but please make sure you get him seen by the Dr, and if you're not happy with the GP's response see another. My DD who is now almost 12 was born with quite a mild sacral dimple, she does however have spina bifida occulta and a much more serious spinal condition called sacral agenesis. Sacral dimples can be signs of both of these conditions. This was all missed and passed off as nothing to worry about until she was 8 months old.

He is more than likely absolutely fine and lots of people have sacral dimples and no problems at all. But you have to get it looked at to be sure.

Goober · 07/02/2013 20:47

My DS, 18 had one. He grew into his skin.

Cakethrow · 07/02/2013 20:48

I have one of these and second what other posters have said about checking it out. I' ve had no problems.

Please ex it when he's older though as my parents didn't give me much detail so I went into a frenzy of worry when I got old enough to google!

Cakethrow · 07/02/2013 20:49

Oops, its eaten some of my post!

I have one of these and second what other posters have said about checking it out. I' ve had no problems.

Please explain it to him when he's older though as my parents didn't give me much detail so I went into a frenzy of worry when I got old enough to google!

slightlysoupstainedbabygrows · 07/02/2013 20:58

Okay, this has me worried now. DS has no dimple, in that there's no hole. But he does have a red groove just above his anus. Is this a mild dimple that I should be getting checked out?

Original poster

whattimestea · 07/02/2013 21:23

Should it have been picked up in his check before we left hospital?? Is this sort of thing looked for in the same way that hips, testicles etc are checked out before you're discharged?? GP picked up that he has Hydroseal(spelling?) which is fluid around his testicles at his 6 week check up but his bum wasn't looked at. Not looking to blame anyone for missing it, tho truthfully i feel awful that it's taken me 5 months to see this on him, if anyone should've noticed then it's me! Is it something that can start off small but grow? He's a really 'strong' little lad, always kicking his legs and when on his tummy he's starting to bring his knees up under him so this is reassuring me a little bit. Alot of the info on Spina Bifida point that weaker lower limbs are a sign and this doesn't seem to be anything that I can see in DS.

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ALovelyBunchOfCoconuts · 07/02/2013 21:34

yes it usually is picked up when the Dr comes round on the ward after you give birth but these things can be missed. please don't worry yourself it is very rare for this to cause a problem.

Original poster

whattimestea · 07/02/2013 21:46

Im more reassured from reading these posts. Im not a very 'flappy' mum...with 5 DS's it takes something big for me to worry!! Tho then sometimes (like now) i worry that i maybe don't get concerned enough!! It was more complete suprise than anything....DH thought I was seeing things/going mad i think...just announcing in the middle of him watching The One Show "DS has got 2 bum holes!!" GP tomorrow then we'll take it from there...

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DoodleAlley · 07/02/2013 21:51

DS has a sacral dimple. They are incredibly common but can occasionally indicate a problem so it's just best to get a double check.

What the doctor will be looking at is whether they can see the 'base' of the hole I.e does it have a bottom to it.

When DS had his 6 week check they weren't sure it did and booked him for a scan. By the time he got his appt they could see the base of it and scanned him anyway.

It is common so try not to panic. I know it easier said than done.

VivaLeBeaver · 07/02/2013 21:54

I have one and dd has a matching one. Dd's is definitely spina bifida occulta, she has the red mark just above it which is a bit hairy which is another sign of spina bifida.

Neither me or dd have had any problems. It does tend to collect fluff though so remember to nag your DS to keep it clean when he's older or he could get a nasty boil type thing. I did when a grotty teen. Could barely sit down.

Dd's wasn't spotted at birth. We were still in the hospital when Dh announced that she "has a second bum hole just like you"

So a paed came and looked and said it was a sacral dimple. But I've since been told by a dr its spina bifida occulta. The dr didn't look at mine but said its likely I've got spina bifida occulta as well which I'd never been told before. My mum had also been told it was a dimple when I was a baby. Dr said if I had more kids I should take extra folic acid.

tazmo · 10/02/2013 14:45

Defo likely to be sacral dimple. 1/20 have them - my ds has one and so does his best friend. Get it checked by all means but only an issue if 'open'.

Original poster

whattimestea · 11/02/2013 09:26

Well, I took DS to GP on Friday. Definitely is a Sacral Dimple. I automatically assumed we'd get a straightforward referral to go and see someone at hospital. However whats happened is that GP has written to Peadiactric consultant up at hospital for something called an Assisted referral (or something like that!!) Which means they're asking consultant - based on what they've been presented with in surgery - whether they feel the need to see him. The Spina Bifida link to these doesn't concern me as such because DS is such a strong baby - his legs don't appear weak at all. Tho, is that something that could still be an issue even if DS appears ok? Plus GP commented that the bottom of the hole couldn't be seen either. Should that be investigated??

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muriel76 · 12/02/2013 21:52

Spina Bifida Occculta is often symptomless, around 15/20% of us are said to have it, most people don't know. But one of the markers is this little hole at the bottom of the spine, sometimes it has a bit of hair growing just above it which can be also noticeable.

If your son does have this it does not mean it will adversely affect him now or in the future, however I would be insisting on a referral myself just to get things clarified - hope you get a positive response once GP has heard back from the hospital.

VivaLeBeaver · 12/02/2013 22:07

With dd's spina bifida occulta I was told to be aware that it could rarely cause bladder control problems. She potty trained fine though.

yummum19 · 13/02/2013 13:45

As many of the other posters my DD has a sacral dimple aswell, we are currently waiting for it to be checked out. However i'd just like to say try not to make yourself feel bad about not finding it out sooner. My DD was 4months before i even noticed she had one. I also was concerned about why the Dr's do not check for these dimples. They are clearly common as shown by this thread so would be helpful just to put the parents mind at rest at least as many I'm sure worry when they find a random hole in their babies backs!

FrankWippery · 13/02/2013 13:54

My oldest DD (now 19) has Spina Bifida Occulta and had terrible bladder problems until she was about 11 - we basically ended up having to sort of re potty train her over a few years. No problems at all since 11/12 though.

It's funny as she was totally dry day and night at 2½ and stayed that way for a couple of years. It all went downhill from when she was about 5 and she became horribly 'loaded' - x-rays looked like she'd swallowed a cotton wool ball factory iyswim. Once dx'd and on the right meds and training it was a terribly slow process, but we got there eventually. Interestingly, there was never any problem at night; it was only ever during waking hours.

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