Helmet or not......

[Sal1105]

Right, at the risk of opening a HUGE can of worms.... I'd really like some general opinions on whether or not to have a helmet fitted to my 6 month old son. I've done some research into plagiosephaly and have found interesting stuff. My DH and I are contemplating the helmet route (yes, £2,000) but I'd love to hear from people who've used one and also from people who chose not to use one and whether their babies heads did indeed slowly become more rounded (as HV and docs say). We're doing repositioning etc, but as far as I can see, there is little improvement. I've got to do it soon otherwise he'll get too old for it to be effective. Any stories and experiences would be much appreciated. Thank you

Thousands of threads on this.

What is the assymetry measurement?

My DD went from 1.7cm to 0.3cm after 3 months usage.

Has he got any other problems?

Yeah, thought there would be loads but I want to hear from the ones who didn't do the helmet. I haven't had him professionally measured. I thought I'd go for the initial appointment with the helmet people, which is free, and take it from there. Who else can I get to measure the assymetry? No, no other major problems. Took him to a chiro to help the movement in his neck. He still favours the flat side and is VERY windy. Are we the only people NOT stuffing our faces with Easter eggs?

You need someone with a special instrument to measure the assymetry. It looks a bit like salad servers.

Were the measurements you gave as a result of using a helmet?

When we went to Harley Street she was measured there as being 1.7cm. After a very short time (1 month iirc) she was down to 0.7cm and then after 2 more months she was 0.3cm and we decided to stop her wearing the helmet.

My sisters sons had a very flat head on one side and didn't know that helmets were available etc as it was a while back. Anyway, now she wishes that she looked about for a solution. She wears his hair longer as it is rather noticeable.

By 4 months old my sons head was very flat on one side, it was affecting his face - one side was more pushed forward. It took me a while to really notice how bad it actually was. We tried repositioning etc for about 6 wks but by this point his head was so flat his did not have the strength to push it to the overside.

Anyway we got him a helmet and have never regretted it. He wore it for 4.5 mths and were really please with teh results. I can't remember all the dimesions etc.

We toyed with the idea for a while, wondering if it was cruel/being vain. There are so many people with much worse health problems - but it is your child and your choice.

Thank you. I've just read through a couple of archived threads on this. I'm siding more and more with the helmet. Just get it over with. In the long run it's only for a short time and I want him to be happy and healthy in his life. Can someone lend me £2000?

good luck with it! i was gutted when my ds had his on, got upset with people staring etc, but that only lasted about 2 wks, some people have a life time of it unfortuantely, and it was "our" choice.

It goes so quickly and the younger you do it the better success rates. Where are you going?

Hi - sorry for delay in replying. I think I'll get a bit upset but needs must etc. I think he'll be ok. I'm gonna go to a company called Ossur who do the STARbands. Partly because they're the only ones I can find in London, which is the nearest to us. We're in Bournemouth but are moving to Worthing in a couple of weeks, so even closer. Where did you go?

Harley Street

We used Dr Blecher, who also has a London clinic -Ahead 4 babies I think it's called these days. (Cranio helmets) he was excellent. DD's head was a trapezium shape- it is now near perfect roundness (she is 3.2)
I know someone on my PNthread who didn't do the treatment- this is what she said last night....
"EPPM - DD's head is still obviously flat with her hair up. It is flat in the top right quadrant as you look at the back of her head and she can't keep hairbands on and her hair is unevenly distributed as result. Fortunately her ears are now level but I think cycle helmets might be an issue. People are always surprised when I point it out to them though so don't think it is noticeable unless you know what you are looking at now. "

We were talking about it because DS (10wo today) is going the same way He doesn't have tort though, so we are repositioning like mad atm.

The measuring instrument is called callipers... DH made his own to measure DD (bless) out of cardboard and a paper fastener!
DD went from 2.4mm to 0.2mm over 4.5 months (age 6mo-10.5mo)

Heheh- found my old post on one of those threads... apparently dd went from 2.9 to 0.4mm, sorry. (baby brain atm)