Adventures with Hyzyd and Beyond – Nursemaid’s Elbow…what a nightmare!

Nursemaid’s Elbow…what a nightmare!

You’re having a good time playing with your toddler one evening. You’re just sitting down while your toddler sat on your lap facing you. You’re holding his arm while you both shared laughter because you’re playing “Where does this kiss land?” (your planting kisses on your tot’s body parts) . Then suddenly, your tot screamed and cried painfully! He can’t move his other arm and keep holding it against his body. As far as you know, you’re just playing …he hasn’t fallen or twisted his arm. What’s going on?

This is exactly what happened to us. A year ago, the same thing happened to Hyzyd while playing with his dad – swung by the wrists while playing but after an hour he was fine and can move his affected arm. But this time, it was different. He cried furiously every time you move him . He’s really in pain! It’s a sleepless night for us!

We went to Rajyindee Hospital the following day (after my Summer English class) and see an orthopedic doctor. When I mentioned about our play (I remembered that he suddenly pulled away from me to avoid my ticklish kiss) , the doctor told us that there’s a good chance he has a pulled or slipped elbow, also called nursemaid’s elbow. It’s a fairly common mishap for children under age 4 or 5. Nursemaid’s elbow occurs when the ligament that goes around the top of the radius bone in his arm slips off. If that’s the case, your child may cry and hold his elbow bent against his tummy. His elbow won’t look distorted, and it may or may not continue to hurt, but he’ll probably protect it and refuse to move it.

The photo shows exactly what the doctor did to Hyzyd to treat the pulled elbow. (photo credit: MedScape Reference)

The doctor decided that Hyzyd has nursemaid’s elbow — based on the exam and how the symptoms came on — he manipulated his arm in a specific way to put the ligament back into place. The doctor did this quickly and easily, and Hyzyd was uncomfortable for only a moment. Afterward , my tot was able to use his arm normally. We’re given ibuprofen to ease any swelling and pain. Thanks be to God, Hyzyd’s back to himself and there’s no any trace of pain on his arm.

The next time we’ll play, I must remind myself not to do things that might cause nursemaid elbow especially during our playtime. It may not have been anything out of the ordinary. Sometimes young children get nursemaid’s elbow if they’re grabbed or jerked by the wrist, picked up by one arm, or swung by the wrists while playing. It can also happen if your toddler suddenly pulls away from you or drops to the ground while you’re holding his hand or arm, or if you lift him by one arm onto a curb or step.While you may not be able to completely avoid activities that can cause nursemaid’s elbow, you’ll reduce the chances of it if you avoid jerking or pulling on your toddler’s arms or wrists and take care to lift him from under his arms rather than by his arms.

3 Comments

kaye t

May 7, 2012 at 8:51 pm | Permalink

Oh wow, glad I dropped by and read about this. My daughter loves to play swing around with her dad and I’m always worried about her getting hurt or (‘knock-on-wood’) accidentally get her arm pulled off. Glad your baby’s all better now.

Tammy Webb

October 29, 2012 at 11:17 pm | Permalink

This happened to my little girl last night, she is 3. We were at a very crowded theme park and she wanted to run off into a gift shop. Her dad grabbed her hand and she proceeded to have a major tantrum but obviously as it was a very crowded place her dad didnt want to let go of her hand! She started hangin off of his arm and refused to stand, then a momant later she started crying her arm hurt, then refused to let anyone touch her arm and screemed if we attempted too. We took her to A&E and the nurse was so lovely, she knew straight away what she had done, and calmed both me and my Husband down, who was devastated and felt to blame. She explained how easilly this injury occurs in toddlers and young children. we did however wait 3 HOURS for a doctor to pull it make into place, and it took him seconds to do, but as soon as it was done she was using it no problems. Worse experience of my life as she seemed to be in agony!!

- genefaith
  
  November 9, 2012 at 5:27 am | Permalink
  
  Thanks for sharing your experience Tammy! Since that time we’re extra careful when it comes to holding his arm. It’s really a nightmare to us!