My mom called me yesterday and asked that i check alex out that his skin seemed stretched to the limit to her.She mentioned his hands and feet to be exact she explained it to me it looked plastic like he was busting out of his skin.I looked last night and i think his feet look worse than his hands..but his hands do have some swelling in them = ( so i'm off to the doctor at 3pm when i called that's the only appt. i could get.He's only 10 so i'm wondering why he would be retaining water? I guess i will find out then = ( he hasn't had a change in diet.I will post tonight after work unfortunately i have to work tonight = ( if you pray please do that nothing is seriously wrong.Thanks

By Enchens on Thursday, April 12, 2007 - 11:39 am:

Hope everything turns out ok.

By Trina~moderator on Thursday, April 12, 2007 - 11:47 am:

Alex will be in my thoughts and prayers, Brandy. I hope it's nothing serious. Please keep us posted.

By Nicki on Thursday, April 12, 2007 - 12:41 pm:

I'm keeping Alex in my prayers. Let us know how he's doing.

By Annie2 on Thursday, April 12, 2007 - 01:14 pm:

Please let us know how Alex makes out today. Hope he is okay

By Debbie on Thursday, April 12, 2007 - 01:38 pm:

I will keep you in my prayers. Yes, let us know how is goes. Hopefully, it will be nothing serious.

By Dawnk777 on Thursday, April 12, 2007 - 02:18 pm:

Will keep you in my prayers.

By Sandysmom on Thursday, April 12, 2007 - 02:46 pm:

Poor sweetie. Please let us know how he's doing.

By Justanaunt on Thursday, April 12, 2007 - 03:46 pm:

I'll keep him in my prayers.

By Brandy on Thursday, April 12, 2007 - 04:14 pm:

well we just got back and he said it's nothing .He was a little puffy but that's it? I asked about his weight and he said he's a little chunky but it's okay.I think i'm going to go somewhere and get a second opinion.

By Debbie on Thursday, April 12, 2007 - 04:59 pm:

Brandy, did he run any tests, or just look at him, and come up with that? I would keep an eye on it. Also, maybe watch his sodium intake, and have him drink more water?? See if that helps. I know if I eat pizza, or something really salty, I get puffy. But, if I drink more water for a day, it goes away.

By Karen~admin on Thursday, April 12, 2007 - 05:21 pm:

Brandy, I'd definitely get another opinion. Like Debbie, I was thinking sodium. At the least, I'd think some routine blood work is in order. Did he press on the puffy spots at all? When you press firmly with a finger, does the imprint of the finger remain for a minute or two afterwards? If so, that is pitting edema, which a child should not have. *If* he is retaining fluid, I'd be concerned about it.

I am very sensitive to salt/sodium, and have been since my teens. I try to eat things with very minimal sodium because I swell badly. Particularly in women, waking up with swollen fingers is common and usually goes away after you're up for a while. However, fluid retention around the ankles/feet can signal other problems. I take Lasix when I have a lot of fluid, and I get the pitting edema sometimes, and yes, it worries me.

If he eats a lot of junk food, or salty food (and you'd be surprised how much salt is in so many things!), that could be causing his problem. But again, a child should not be retaining fluid.

Please, take him to another doctor and get a second opinion.

Does Alex say his skin feels tight where it's puffy? Does he have any headaches? Is his blood pressure normal?

Soo many questions, but this would concern me!

By Dawnk777 on Thursday, April 12, 2007 - 05:24 pm:

Ditto Karen! When people come into the walk-in where I work, with strange stuff, our docs usually run basic bloodwork. It seems that ER docs don't want to do that stuff. I think he needs some kind of bloodwork to see where he stands, too.

By Claire on Thursday, April 12, 2007 - 05:25 pm:

Ditto Karen.

By Ginny~moderator on Thursday, April 12, 2007 - 07:11 pm:

No blood tests? No urinalysis? Did he at least check his blood pressure? I am thinking - shame on your doctor.

Do the skin press test Karen describes - I would do that with my dad to help monitor his blood pressure, and it really shows.

I would definitely cut out as much salt as possible - which means all salt except what is in any prepared foods.

My middle son, at about age 10, was at the very high end of "normal" for blood pressure at his checkup, and his ped was concerned. I realized that he was putting salt on almost everything except his breakfast cereal. So I took the salt off the table, stopped adding salt to cooking, and have done that ever since (he's now 40). His blood pressure was a bit below the mid-level at the next checkup. And frankly, except for scrambled eggs, baked potatoes and french fries, I don't miss the salt. When my mom was alive she would sometimes use salt in cooking and I could taste it and, because I'd gotten so used to low salt, didn't much care for it.

I would definitely get a second opinion. Is there another doctor in the practice? If not, think seriously about changing doctors. And, in the meantime, cut out as much salt as possible from his diet.

By Brandy on Thursday, April 12, 2007 - 11:17 pm:

He pushed on his foot and that was all...i'm definitely taking him to another doctor.I only took him to this one because he was my doctor all my life well i didn't have nick go to him when he was a baby but my mom took him one time for eczema and he cleared up within 24 hours so i started going back to him and then we had to get tri-care and he wasn't covered under them.Now that Danny's back home we have regular insurance again so i just didn't think anything of it and took him back to his normal doctor = ( ...I'm also going to be talking to my sister in law and my cousin. My sister in law is a nurse and my cousin is a doctor.Thank you all for your concern and i will let you know more when i know more.

By Ginny~moderator on Friday, April 13, 2007 - 03:07 am:

Not even a blood pressure check? I'm astonished. That is such a normal part of any office visit. I'm glad you are taking Nick to another doctor and yes, as you have those family resources, do talk to them. And kudos to your mom for noticing and calling you.

By Debbie on Friday, April 13, 2007 - 08:39 am:

I agree that you should definitely take him for a 2nd opinion. I don't think your doctor took it seriously.