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mommy0604
My Son is my world...
Member since 10/07 3270 total posts
Name:
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Flathead Syndrome...
One of my best friends has an adorable little boy that just turned 1. He's had a flat head since he was a newborn. My friend said it was mostly from lying on his back all the time because he is a heavy baby and she had to put him on his back because he wouldn't stay in any other position and that's how he got the flat head.
I've heard of babies getting a flathead from being on their backs a lot when sleeping but when is it supposed even out? She's concerned because her DS is almost 13 months and the back of his head is still flat. She went to the doctor and he told her not to worry about it. Meanwhile she did some reading on it and it said that if his head doesn't even out or become round by the time he's 18 months then it would be too late to do anything cuz the head starts to harden. She doesn't know what to do cuz the doctor told her not to worry but at the same time she's concerned that his head won't round out by the time he's 18 months and then she'll feel horrible cuz she could have done something.
I told her to get a second opinion. She did mention that they have these helmet things they put on their heads to make it rounder?
Message edited 12/9/2007 1:20:28 PM.
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Posted 12/9/07 1:17 PM  |
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mommy0604
My Son is my world...
Member since 10/07 3270 total posts
Name:
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Re: Flathead Syndrome...
Message edited 12/9/2007 1:37:54 PM.
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| Posted 12/9/07 1:17 PM |
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mommy0604
My Son is my world...
Member since 10/07 3270 total posts
Name:
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Re: Flathead Syndrome...
<<<Bump>>>
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| Posted 12/9/07 1:38 PM |
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Mommy2Boys
My Boys!!!!
Member since 6/06 14437 total posts
Name:
C
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Re: Flathead Syndrome...
Did she see a neurologist? If so, I would get a 2nd opinion.
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| Posted 12/9/07 2:12 PM |
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yankinmanc
Happy Days!
Member since 8/05 18208 total posts
Name:
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Re: Flathead Syndrome...
My son has a flat head in the back, we have been to see doctors about this and they feel its fine. My father has a very similar shaped head, so we figure its hereditary. She should see another doctor if she is concerned.
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| Posted 12/9/07 2:25 PM |
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Diana1215
Living on a prayer!!!
Member since 10/05 29450 total posts
Name:
Diana
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Re: Flathead Syndrome...
My son had the beginning of flathead when he was two months old. For the entire month I kept him off his back. Three months - he was fine.
At 12 months, I personally would go for a second opinion.
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| Posted 12/9/07 2:32 PM |
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Tine73
Member since 3/06 22093 total posts
Name:
*********
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Re: Flathead Syndrome...
Posted by Diana1215
At 12 months, I personally would go for a second opinion.
Me too.
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| Posted 12/9/07 2:34 PM |
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Tanaholic
My Big Boy!
Member since 10/05 2383 total posts
Name:
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Re: Flathead Syndrome...
Ds got a flat head from being on his back when he was a few months old. We went to a nuerologist when he was 6 months old, who said it would round out on it's own. At 11 months when it still did not, we went back and again he said the same thing.
We decided that at that age we did not want to take a chance that it did not correct it self and told the dr we wanted a prescription for the helmet, before it got to late, b/c they won't put a child in one after 18 months.
DS got it on 9/4 and is getting it off this Tuesday!!! Best decision we ever made! His head looks great and we started seeing results in a few weeks!
Ds did great with it and had no problems wearing it.
I would tell your friend to go for a second opinion. I found most drs say it will correct itself, and sometimes it does, but not always.
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| Posted 12/9/07 2:38 PM |
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Re: Flathead Syndrome...
Posted by Diana1215
My son had the beginning of flathead when he was two months old. For the entire month I kept him off his back. Three months - he was fine.
At 12 months, I personally would go for a second opinion.
Sorry to hijack, how do you keep your child off their back for a whole month. Im afraid dc is getting a flat spot but likes the bouncer seat, and swing etc.
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| Posted 12/9/07 4:06 PM |
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mommy0604
My Son is my world...
Member since 10/07 3270 total posts
Name:
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Re: Flathead Syndrome...
Posted by Tanaholic
Ds got a flat head from being on his back when he was a few months old. We went to a nuerologist when he was 6 months old, who said it would round out on it's own. At 11 months when it still did not, we went back and again he said the same thing.
We decided that at that age we did not want to take a chance that it did not correct it self and told the dr we wanted a prescription for the helmet, before it got to late, b/c they won't put a child in one after 18 months.
DS got it on 9/4 and is getting it off this Tuesday!!! Best decision we ever made! His head looks great and we started seeing results in a few weeks!
Ds did great with it and had no problems wearing it.
I would tell your friend to go for a second opinion. I found most drs say it will correct itself, and sometimes it does, but not always.
DH and I both told her to get a second opinion. It doesn't hurt to do that and it's her right to do so. I told her that she is the mommy and mommy always knows best.
So your DS had the helmet on for 3 months? I should let my friend know about this. Cuz if it takes 3 months for the head to get round again then she needs to decide now what to do.
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| Posted 12/9/07 4:53 PM |
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donegal419
St. Gerard, pray for us.
Member since 7/07 7650 total posts
Name:
K
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Re: Flathead Syndrome...
my nephew has this problen and he just turned 2! SIL peditrician told her it was nothing to worry about and it never got better. turns out my nephew now has problems with musicles in his neck stemming from the flathead issue. in addition he has speech language problems. he recently was approved for early intervention and the speech-patholigist actually gave a medicanl name for "flthead". i 'm sorry i don't remember what it is, but she said several children with flatheads often develop language problems, and in my nephew's case, it may be related.
also, it may just be heriditary, his body type, etc. and it may be nothing to worry about!!! however, i would get a second opinion . . . my SIL now wishes she did.
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| Posted 12/9/07 5:06 PM |
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dm24angel
Happiness
Member since 5/05 34581 total posts
Name:
Donna
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Re: Flathead Syndrome...
Noah has a flat head since birth...We got two opinions on it as I was worried too. My ped basically said, he will have a flat head for life, but its just cosmetic...and there are things they can do cosmetically ( certain helmets) but once he has lots of hair it wont be too noticable.
Im not putting my son through that for cosmetic reasons.
Thats the difference, if its purely cosmetic or sometimes theres a medical reason it needs to be corrected.
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| Posted 12/9/07 5:30 PM |
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mommy0604
My Son is my world...
Member since 10/07 3270 total posts
Name:
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Re: Flathead Syndrome...
Posted by dm24angel
Noah has a flat head since birth...We got two opinions on it as I was worried too. My ped basically said, he will have a flat head for life, but its just cosmetic...and there are things they can do cosmetically ( certain helmets) but once he has lots of hair it wont be too noticable.
Im not putting my son through that for cosmetic reasons.
Thats the difference, if its purely cosmetic or sometimes theres a medical reason it needs to be corrected.
That's why I told her to get a second opinion. That why if she does and they too tell her that it's nothing to worry about then maybe she can feel better.
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| Posted 12/10/07 11:52 AM |
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Tanaholic
My Big Boy!
Member since 10/05 2383 total posts
Name:
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Re: Flathead Syndrome...
Posted by mommy0604
Posted by dm24angel
Noah has a flat head since birth...We got two opinions on it as I was worried too. My ped basically said, he will have a flat head for life, but its just cosmetic...and there are things they can do cosmetically ( certain helmets) but once he has lots of hair it wont be too noticable.
Im not putting my son through that for cosmetic reasons.
Thats the difference, if its purely cosmetic or sometimes theres a medical reason it needs to be corrected.
That's why I told her to get a second opinion. That why if she does and they too tell her that it's nothing to worry about then maybe she can feel better.
Most of the time it is cosmetic, as was my DS case, but I never wanted to regret not doing anything about it later, and I never wanted to have him maybe come to me one day and say why did you never do anything! Even after he gots lots of hair it was very noticiable to me.
I knew I may regret not getting the helmet, but I would never regret getting it.
I did not put him through anything....It has been so easy on both of us. He never minded it for a second! And this is a kid who won't leave a hat on his head!
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| Posted 12/10/07 12:01 PM |
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Tanaholic
My Big Boy!
Member since 10/05 2383 total posts
Name:
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Re: Flathead Syndrome...
Posted by mommy0604
DH and I both told her to get a second opinion. It doesn't hurt to do that and it's her right to do so. I told her that she is the mommy and mommy always knows best.
So your DS had the helmet on for 3 months? I should let my friend know about this. Cuz if it takes 3 months for the head to get round again then she needs to decide now what to do.
Yes 3 months he had to wear it...the longest a child will prob have it on is 4 months, b/c as the child's head grows they grow out of it.
Time in it varies with each kid, the younger you get it through the less time you prob need to wear it b/c the head grows faster.
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| Posted 12/10/07 12:05 PM |
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EmmaNick
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Member since 12/06 16001 total posts
Name:
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Re: Flathead Syndrome...
Posted by dm24angel
Noah has a flat head since birth...We got two opinions on it as I was worried too. My ped basically said, he will have a flat head for life, but its just cosmetic...and there are things they can do cosmetically ( certain helmets) but once he has lots of hair it wont be too noticable.
Im not putting my son through that for cosmetic reasons.
Thats the difference, if its purely cosmetic or sometimes theres a medical reason it needs to be corrected.
That is exactly what my doctor said too.
Nicholas spent a lot of time sleeping in his swing when he was a baby and his head was always tilted to the side. As a result, his head is still not perfectly round in the back, but you can't tell unless you feel it since his hair covers it.
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| Posted 12/10/07 12:32 PM |
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Kris
LIF Adult
Member since 5/05 1051 total posts
Name:
Kristine
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Re: Flathead Syndrome...
The medical term for "flat head syndrome" is plagiocephaly. There are also some instances where it is a premature fusion of skull bones called craniosynostosis- this requires a lengthy and very involved surgery.
My son has plagiocephaly, and while some would deem it posmetic- like his first pediatrician- I and many others do not. It can lead to an array of other complications both physical and emotional.
For those of you who say it is purely cosmetic- would you not put your child in orthodontia to correct crooked teeth? Just because it is more commonplace doesn't make it any different. It is the same thing, IMO.
We chose to have him wear 2 helmets- he looks so much more normal but still not perfectly round. We now feel that we did all we could for him.
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| Posted 12/10/07 12:42 PM |
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Tanaholic
My Big Boy!
Member since 10/05 2383 total posts
Name:
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Re: Flathead Syndrome...
Posted by Kris
The medical term for "flat head syndrome" is plagiocephaly. There are also some instances where it is a premature fusion of skull bones called craniosynostosis- this requires a lengthy and very involved surgery.
My son has plagiocephaly, and while some would deem it posmetic- like his first pediatrician- I and many others do not. It can lead to an array of other complications both physical and emotional.
For those of you who say it is purely cosmetic- would you not put your child in orthodontia to correct crooked teeth? Just because it is more commonplace doesn't make it any different. It is the same thing, IMO.
We chose to have him wear 2 helmets- he looks so much more normal but still not perfectly round. We now feel that we did all we could for him.
Exactly, after the nuero told me it was just cosmetic....I got the letter of medical necessity from him for the helmet and it listed many things that can happen as a result of flat head. Migraine headaches, TMJ, and vision problems to name a few.
Why he did not tell me any of this at the evaluation is beyond me!
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| Posted 12/10/07 12:56 PM |
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mommy0604
My Son is my world...
Member since 10/07 3270 total posts
Name:
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Re: Flathead Syndrome...
I am going to definitely tell my friend to take her DS to a neurologist and see what he says...
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| Posted 12/10/07 2:08 PM |
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