Splints May Work As Well As a Cast In Young Children
One of the most common serious injuries in children is a fractured wrist. While it is a problem that is considerably easier to heal from (even if uncomfortable) with a few weeks in a cast, the time can be hard for the younger set. Casts are itchy and uncomfortable, and they can be worse for younger children who don’t always understand why they must not itch or even be in the cast.
Doctors are finding that for the common injury, a simpler splint may be more comfortable for children and work as well as a full cast. In testing the splint versus the cast, researchers have found that when it comes to healing right- there isn’t any real difference between the two.
Opting for a splint can be much more comfortable for children, and it is also more hygienic than the normally used cast. A splint can generally be taken off for a bit at a time, for bathing purposes especially. This was one of the many problems faced by casts, they are on until the injury is healed.
The only issue faced by splint wearers out of the study was an additional two weeks in it. Nobody in the study however needed surgery for issues related to their fractures.
Itchiness was the most common complaint (reported by 88 percent of children in the splint group, and 72 percent in the cast group), followed by irritation (60 percent in the splint group, and 40 percent in the cast group). Those differences were not significant in statistical terms.
There are a number of advantages that splints have over casts for children’s wrist fractures, according to lead researcher Dr. Kathy Boutis, a staff physician at the Hospital for Sick Children.
Splints make hygiene easier and allow children to scratch the itchiness that so often comes with an immobilized injury, Boutis told Reuters Health in an email. And, unlike casts, she pointed out, splints do not require a saw for removal — which can be a scary experience for younger children.(Source: FoxNews)
Related posts:
Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically to your feed reader.
