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Original poster

Blisters on baby's fingers - social services referral - worried

29 replies

theressomethingaboutmarie · 10/03/2013 15:57

My 6 month old son was left in the care of a CRB cleared nursery worker babysitter last week for a couple of hours. We have a five year old and have used this babysitter before - she's super.

We popped out for dinner and son was asleep without issue. When we came back, after about ten minutes we (friends, DH and I) noticed a big blister on each of my son's fingers. There were no signs of distress and the babysitter said that she hadn't noticed them. He was happy and content (well I got home anyway - he's BF and was annoyed when he woke up and I wasn't there - first night out in about 2 months). The babysitter said that he had been chewing his fingers non-stop and until we bought a Sophie the Giraffe, had been chewing his hands alot. I figured that they were friction blisters from the constant chewing.

They were healing nicely but I thought to pop to the GP just to check that there was no infection. Next thing I know, I get a paediatric referral to the hospital and there is a concern that our son was deliberately burned!! My son didn't express any distress all week, no indication that he was in pain which reinforced our belief that his blisters were due to chewing.

I've checked with both the babysitter and our friends (they spent the day with us) as to whether any of them could have exposed him to a hot drink, or perhaps got him too close to a radiator but they have said no (and I trust them completely).

My question is this, has anyone else ever had blisters on their baby's fingers (not small foot and mouth ones) from teething?

OP posts:
Ahhhcrap · 10/03/2013 16:00

Not blisters as such but my DD used to constantly chew her fingers and nails, to such an extent she'd make them red raw and bleed. It was usually as soon as she was stressed, tired, hungry, shy etc her fingers went into her mouth. At one stage she actually bit her thumb nail off Shock

I hope you get this sorted

elliejjtiny · 10/03/2013 16:01

DS3 sucks/chews his fingers a lot. He's never had blisters but he often has teeth marks on his fingers. My sister had a blister on her thumb once from sucking it I think, although she was older than your ds, about 18 months I think.

MyNameIsLola · 10/03/2013 16:35

My DS gets loads of blisters on his thumbs as he constantly sucks and chews them, in fact, I think they've been a permanent feature for about 9 years now (he has ASD and it's self stimulation).

So yes, it's definitely possible that he's caused them himself. I hope this all gets sorted soon, sounds very distressing for you Hmm

VivaLeBeaver · 10/03/2013 16:38

Dd definitely got sucking blisters on her fingers when she was a baby. She's a teen now so can't remember how old she was or ow big they were.

VivaLeBeaver · 10/03/2013 16:40

You need a second opinion ASAP IMO. Your problem is that a doctor has said they look like a burn type of blister. I'd be taking loads of photos and looking to see a paed from a different hospital privately if you can afford it.

VivaLeBeaver · 10/03/2013 16:41

Agh, pressed send too soon. Have you taken legal advice? Hopefully it comes to nothing but you can never be too prepared and I'd be taking a solicitor on. Maybe double check with them about getting a second opinion? They might be able to recommend an expert witness, etc?

dikkertjedap · 10/03/2013 16:48

I think you need to get a second opinion asap, preferably privately. I would look whether there are any private paediatricians where you live and make an appointment for tomorrow/Tuesday. Many NHS hospitals have paediatricians who also take on private patients.

justabigdisco · 10/03/2013 16:53

Have you seen the paed yet? Chances are they will believe you, and that will be the end of it. The GP was just going his/her job.

5madthings · 10/03/2013 16:59

Yes my ds4 has had sucking blisters and dd had some random ones on her finger, I never too her to the gp and never did find out how she got them.

IShallWearMidnight · 10/03/2013 16:59

DD1 got a blister from sucking her thumb, she must have been nearly two at the time.

Original poster
theressomethingaboutmarie · 10/03/2013 17:46

Thanks for the messages of support and understanding. The person who suggested that they were deliberate burns was the consultant paediatrician. It really is just ludicrous - I understand that they are doing their job and I know that there are reasons to follow the procedures that they do. However, DH and I have discussed and hypothesised every scenario that we can think of - we spoke with our friends at length (friends of 20 + years standing) and the trusted, qualified babysitter.

I do have private medical cover so will try to get in touch with a private paediatrician ASAP. We actually saw one privately many years ago to discuss DD's non-walking and he was the head of child protection too!

The fact that our son was happy and well when we came home and did not react with any indication of pain or distress when we looked at his hands (touched the hand obviously so as to examine it thoroughly says alot).

Additionally, out of concern, we visited a pharmacist at a branch of Boots on the Sunday morning to check that we were treating the blisters appropriately. He said that he had never seen anything like it but that there was no indication of a burn.

When speaking with my friend again a few minutes ago, she reminded me that we photographed the blisters when we got home so as to show DS what a little sucker he was when he was a baby! I might take those pictures down to the consultant tonight if he's still around.

Thanks again for the support and belief in me - this has been so distressing. I love my son and would never harm him, nor would I ever leave in in the care of anyone who would harm him.

OP posts:
DeWe · 10/03/2013 19:41

Surely burn blisters look totally different from sucking/friction blisters? When I've burnt myself, the burns are red and angry looking and tender to the touch. Friction and sucking blisters are much more skin coloured and not really sore unless you fiddle with them.

I used to get a blister on my thumb, where I sucked, I can still see the place slightly where it used to come up, very slightly discoloured.

I would have a worry about how quickly they seem to have come up. Are they on every finger? And how big are they?
But you left him for a couple of hours and then immediately noticed? That implies to me they came up quickly. Is it possible he touched something he reacted to-as in not a burn, but a skin reaction? I come up in blisters from touching some leyland conifers, and it is where I touch and a hour or two would be about the time scale for blisters to form.
Worth talking to the baby sitter, was he crawling round a new rug, or playing with something new to the touch.

Hope you get it sorted.

dikkertjedap · 10/03/2013 20:02

Maybe it is better to see a dermatologist rather than a paediatrician or a paediatrician who specialises in skin problems?

xigris · 10/03/2013 20:09

Surely if it was a burn it would be red and very painful? I burnt my arm the other day and ended up with a massive blister. It hurt like fuck an awful lot. I had to take a lot of painkillers. Best of luck. What a horrid situation for you Thanks

duchesse · 10/03/2013 20:13

A friend's GP mistook impetigo (or was it ringworm?) for a cigarette burn and made a SS referral. Hmm "Luckily" the ring just kept on growing and by the following week it was pretty obvious it wasn't a cigarette burn. Unfortunately they were in the system by then and still got a visit from a social worker. This was about 15 years ago so might be different now. My point is, it could very well be that the doctor has misdiagnosed. Since Baby P I think they've been very reactive even on the off-chance of abuse. Which I suppose is a good thing.

I hope you resolve this quickly. My first thought was hand foot and mouth but as you say they are very small blisters.. There's no chance he could have touched an urticant plant is there? A euphorbia, or even parsnip leaves could cause burns. Wrong time of year for parsnip leaves of course but worth mentioning anyway.

duchesse · 10/03/2013 20:15

Here's a picture of a parsnip burn. Beware googling, some are not for the faint-hearted. I discovered about parsnips the hard way when both DS and I came up in ugly blisters.

dikkertjedap · 10/03/2013 20:35

There are a whole host of plants who can cause burns. Is there any chance he has been touching plants, eg in the garden, plant pots, vase with flowers?

If it is on all his fingers it kind of suggests he has been grabbing something.

Original poster
theressomethingaboutmarie · 11/03/2013 09:25

The blisters are on each of his fingers but the photos that we have do not show any redness or the like. It just looks like blisters and that's it. The fact that the pharmacist said that it didn't look like a burn and didn't recommend that we visit our GP says something I hope.

I've tried a few paediatricians so far but no appointments available for today or tomorrow so far.

It really is an awful situation. I'm not sleeping with the stress of it. It's also the idea that the paediatrician thinks that not only did my baby get burned, but that I neglected to do anything about it that really bothers me. My son has been using the hand to play and has been sucking and chewing on it as usual all week (well, until I remove it from his mouth as I didn't want him to burst the blisters and I wanted it to keep dry).

OP posts:
Original poster
theressomethingaboutmarie · 11/03/2013 09:26

No plants that he could have touched. He's not crawling yet either. Our friends did bring their dog along but we kept him away from my son. My son was also in my arms for about 95% of the time as he's a real mummy's boy.

OP posts:
FloatyBeatie · 11/03/2013 09:29

My son once managed to blister his forehead by deciding to place it on the bulb of his bedside lamp. Is there any chance she might have grabbed at a hot lightbulb?

dikkertjedap · 11/03/2013 09:50

Not sure if you are close to London, but otherwise you can try the Portland Hospital and also Portland Consulting Suites, they have loads of paediatricians so there is bound to be one who can see you today or tomorrow. They also often evening appointments as many work during the day in NHS hospitals.

Alternatively, you may be able to put a post on mumsnet asking for recommendations of paediatricians in the area where you live or maybe try your local mumsnet site as well.

Chigley1 · 11/03/2013 09:57

My son burnt his finger by getting it stuck momentarily behind a radiator when he was a baby. And my daughter recently touched a metal desk lamp and her finger blistered. On both occasions they screamed blue murder for a few minutes and it was obvious that it was a burn as finger was red and warm. It doesn't sound as though that's the case with your baby.
Much more likely to be chewing, I would have thought.

dikkertjedap · 12/03/2013 17:27

Could it be hand, foot and mouth disease?

NorthernLurker · 12/03/2013 23:35

I did my child protection update at work the other week. One of the pictures shown featured burns to a child's hand. I can see why the paediatrician has flagged it up. It's an unusual finding, especially in a baby who cannot move about under his own steam. Grante baby's can do all sosrts of weird stuff to themselves but really? Two big blisters in the space of a couple of hours when you hadn't noticed anything at all previously?
I know this is very upsetting for you but as well as getting a second opinion I would be making sure I did not leave my child with that babysitter again.

idiot55 · 13/03/2013 21:22

hand foot and mouth can just manifest itself on the fingers, it lokks just like blisters.ope you get sorted out

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