Apology was: Need advice urgent for 6 yr old dd

[SweetGuayaba]

Yesterday in the late afternoon my dd (6 1/2 years old) was rollerskating and fell seated. The fall was very hard but she did not cry or seem severely affected. Later in the evening she complained it hurt to bend and run but she was walking and talking and functioning fully otherwise. She did not have and does not have a bruise bump or any physical sign of the fall so I figured it was just some pain from the fall but no big deal. I am still unsure the rest of her current symptoms are related to the fall. Btw she never hit her head or back just her bum. We went to Costco and came home she bathed and never complained or asked to be seated in the cart etc just when she had to bend to pick up something and when she ran she said it hurt.
Today she woke up with a severe headache (related?) she complained the headache is worse when she stands and walks. When she is lying down her headache is still there but it is less painful. It is hard for her to tell me how the headache feels she is unable to describe whether it is dull, sharp or throbbing. At that point I called the DR who said Children's Advil and if she continued or got worse to go to the emergency room for x-rays. I am very natural and reluctant to use advil so I have been giving her Herbs for Kids Temp-assure and Traumeel. However later in the afternoon I touched her and she felt extremely hot. Her temp has been and is 103.7 the highest she has ever had. She has only had a high fever once before and it was not accompanied by the other symptoms. Because DR already said x-rays and emergency room I called a naturopath to see if he could give me alternatives. The Naturopath seemed ultra conservative and was an alarmist stating I needed to get to the ER right away to get x-rays. He said he does think the fever is related to the physical trauma. I am unsure his advice is actually true or just being careful so he does not get sued if something happened.
I am not happy with the idea of exposing my dd to radioactivity if it is not absolutely necessary. So how can I know I absolutely need to go to the emergency room? Anyone educated in natural medicine and know how serious these symptoms are. Again the symptoms are:
Lower back pain when she bends or runs which has improved since last nigth
Headache made worse when she stands or walks, by light and certain head movements
Dizziness when she stands and walks
Fever of 103.7
Tired
So far I have given her 2 doses of Herbs for kids Temp-Assure
2 doses Traumeel
1 dose Echinacea
Please any toughts and advice is much appreciated. I don't want anything to happen to my dd because I did not act in time but I don't want to go to the ER unnecessarily and expose her to all those risks. If you have natural remedies that would be helpful to keep her healing and from getting worse that would be great. Also any home tests to know or rule out severe conditions like meningitis or concussion would be helpful.
Hope this made sense I am a bit flustered from worrying.

Thanks
Carla

[gsd1amommy]

the high temp and headache made worse by certain head movements and photophobia would be alarming to me.
I would definitely seek out some imaging (xray, CT) because of the fall and associated pain.
My cousin fell while climbing out of a deer stand (about 2 foot fall), flat on his butt and caused an injury to his spinal column in which the spinal fluid leaked, causing a severe headache and fever (as high as your daughter's). Meningitis was first suspected. Definitely worth evaluating further.

[guestmama9917]

i agree with the pp, you need to take your daughter to an emergency room or urgent care centre. i believe that you are worried and you should trust your instinct.

[Gitti]

There may be two completely different things going on in her body but it might be a wise idea to take her to the ER and at least get an expert opinion.

You can still decide for yourself as to what tests should be run.

If they offer you the tetanus shot, abx, or pain medication, you know they are pretty sure it is not related to the injury.

[Cygnet09]

The impact of her fall could certainly have traveled up her spine which is what absorbed the trauma and may have resulted in compression.

Please take her to the ER - her symptoms do not strike me as minimal.

[AquariusHome]

A spinal fluid leak was my first thought when reading the OP. Of course it could be a fleeting virus that just happens to be on the heals of the fall but I wouldn't want to chance it. I can understand not wanting to over-react and submit your already uncomfortable child to being poked, prodded, x-rayed, etc. But given the symptoms I think and ER trip is warrented.

Mama. Keep us updated.

[KatWrangler]

Originally Posted by Cygnet09

The impact of her fall could certainly have traveled up her spine which is what absorbed the trauma and may have resulted in compression.

Please take her to the ER - her symptoms do not strike me as minimal.

This is what I was thinking. I would take her to the er to be on the safe side.

[purplepaisleymama]

I would get her to the children's hospital ER ASAP. Those were the exact same symptoms that I had with my spinal headache, mine was caused by botched spinal anesthesia but the results were the same as if it were blunt trauma, I suffered with severe pain for More than two years and have only recently started to feel better.
I was in a very bad place from the pain for a long time and the worst was that the start of the pain was not immediate after the spinal, it took almost 24 hours for the leak to become apparant.
Please update is with news, I will be thinking of you and your dd
laura

[odie]

I'm just a lurker here but thought I should say something here. I hope that the lack of response by the original poster means you've brought your daughter to the hospital. As parents, we all try to do the best for our children however, don't take the advice from strangers over doctors who you can actually verify their credentials. I don't think this is minor, and does require a visit to the ER. So if you haven't gone yet, and if you are willing to take a stranger's advice, then I strongly urge that you do bring her in. I know you would much rather go all natural however you can't test for meningitis at home or test for fractures, neither can you diagnose your daughter without proper testing and medical knowledge which a hospital could do, unless you're a doctor yourself?

I strongly urge you to take both of these doctors advice. They each approach medicine differently, but have given you the exact same advice.

As a side note, your daughter will have been exposed to the same amount of radiation from an xray within a few weeks to about 2 months from background radiation as she will be exposed to from the x ray itself. Depending on what they xray, some don't require as much radiation, there is also incredibly limited risk if your daughter is only exposed to x rays for her first time, and my guess is unless it is something absolutely serious she won't be having to take x rays again for a long time, which is fine. However, her fever combined with the headache directly after her fall is a major cause for concern.
Don't brush it off because you think a doctor is afraid you'll sue. They have malpractice insurance for a reason.

[tiffani]

hoping your little girl is ok...

I feel the same way about unnecessary medical junk, but there are certain areas where western medicine shines, and this sounds like one of those times...

do let us know how she's doing when you can...

[KatWrangler]

any word?

[AquariusHome]

Waiting for an update and hoping everything is okay...

:

[jassyp101]

Sending good thoughts and hope your daughter is ok. Hope you got her to the ER/hospital to get checked out.:

[Gitti]

What is going on? Hope everything is alright.

[sbgrace]

Is she doing ok? I hope you'll update her condition.

[mbravebird]

Yeah, the xray seems worth it in this situation. I know it's confusing when faced with all those decisions. It seems like you must have gone. Sending you good thoughts, and healthy healing to your little girl... I'm another one who will check back to hear any updates...

[William's Mom]

I'm also wondering how things are going.... When you have time, we'd love an update.

Sending and : to you and your dd.

[FireWithin]

I have grown a great deal on this site in terms of natural health. My family is in a better place because of it.
there are a couple of topics that I have found that even here people worry about and suggest going a more medical route, spinal health and menagitis. Also, many have concerns about strep, and you will often have suggestions about abx for that. Maybe it is still a cultural medical response, or maybe there is real concerns about the above. I do know that many of my natural health books say to take the two very seriously.

I am glad your daughter is doing well.
yes the mamas here care about other mamas and children, even if they don't know them. I feel lucky to be a part of this community.

[tiffani]

Personally, I don't take western medicine's advice over a naturopath, but it seemed to me that SOMEONE needed to actually have a look at her and see if the high fever and pain she was experiencing was from a serious spinal injury or if she had an unrelated illness. Often, time is of the essence with these things, and waiting until the next day can end up being deadly if we misjudge. I assumed that the ER was your only option to have SOMEONE check her out, but monitoring her all night and going to a clinic you felt more comfortable with early in the morning seems to have worked out well for you, so that's great. Some people would not have been comfortable waiting to have her looked over, which is why the recommendations for the ER were happening -- it sounded to me like that was your only option for immediate medical attention, and from the symptoms you described, it seemed to ME that immediate medical attention (from a doctor, a naturopath, a shaman, whoever you like) was a good idea. As it turned out, your mama instinct was telling you it was ok to wait, but from the sound of your post, if it had been me, I wouldn't have worried *in this case* about the potential damage from x-rays, though she wouldn't have ended up with them anyway, as a quick ear and throat check would have determined the problem anyway... Clearly, you could tell that she could wait until morning, and I'm glad you were right! I've had one incredibly painful fever in my life, and it's no fun!! Hope she feels better soon!!!

[mamajama]

I'm glad you were right and that your daughter is ok!

I am not one to run to the doc for everything either. I can count on one hand the number of times I've taken my kids in and I've been a parent for ten years and a member of MDC for 7(ish) years. But in that case, I would certainly have taken my child in to the ER. It's a risk/benefit analysis for me. Possible discomfort, slight risk from x-rays, and some poking and prodding and maybe dealing with pushy or irritating HCPs at the hospital would not have outweighed the very real and extreme risk of a spinal leak or compound fracture. It's just not a risk I'd be willing to take.

Anyway, this ended up for the best. I'm glad she's well