Closed Finger Fracture (Child)  

Home care

Your child’s health care provider may prescribe medicines for pain. Follow the provider’s instructions for giving these medicines to your child. Don’t give your child aspirin or other medicine unless the provider tells you to.

General care

• Keep the hand elevated to reduce pain and swelling. This is most important during the first 2 days (48 hours) after the injury. As often as possible, lay your baby or toddler down and place pillows under the hand until the injured area is raised above the level of the heart. Watch that any pillows don't slip and move near the face of the infant or toddler. For an older child, have them sit or lie down. Put pillows under the child’s hand until it's raised above the level of the heart.

• Put an ice pack on the injured area. Do this for 20 minutes every 1 to 2 hours the first day to ease pain and swelling. You can make an ice pack by wrapping a plastic bag of ice cubes in a thin towel. As the ice melts, be careful that the cast or splint doesn’t get wet. Don’t put the ice directly on the skin because this can cause damage. It may be hard to use the ice pack because most children don’t like the feel of the cold. Don’t force your child to use the ice. This could make you both miserable. Sometimes it helps to make a game of it.

• Continue using the ice pack 3 or 4 times a day for the next 2 days. Then use the ice pack as needed to ease pain and swelling. You can place the ice pack directly on the splint.

• Care for the splint or cast as you’ve been told. Don’t put any powders or lotions inside the splint or cast. Keep your child from sticking objects into the splint or cast.

• Keep a splint completely dry at all times. Keep the cast out of the water when your child bathes. Cover the splint with a plastic bag and close the top end of the bag with tape or rubber bands.

• If buddy tape becomes wet or dirty, change it. You can replace it with paper, plastic, or cloth tape. Cloth tape and paper tape must be kept dry. Keep the buddy tape in place, as directed by your child’s health care provider.

Follow-up care

Follow up with your child’s health care provider as advised. Your child may need follow-up X-rays to see how the bone is healing. If your child was given a splint, it may be changed to a cast at the follow-up visit. If you were referred to a specialist, make that appointment as soon as you can.

Special note to parents

Health care providers are trained to recognize injuries like this one in young children as a sign of possible abuse. Several providers may ask questions about how your child was injured. Health care providers are required by law to ask you these questions. This is done for the protection of the child. Please try to be patient and not take offense.

Call 911

Call 911 if any of these occur:

• Trouble breathing

• Confusion

• Very drowsy or trouble awakening

• Fainting or loss of consciousness

• Rapid heart rate

• Seizure

• Stiff neck

When to get medical advice

Contact your child's health care provider right away if any of these occur:

• Wet splint

• Splint is too tight (loosen it before going for help)

• Swelling or pain gets worse after a cast or splint is put on the hand; babies too young to talk may show pain with crying that can't be soothed (if the splint is on, loosen it before going for help, as it may be on too tight)

• The injured finger, nearby fingers, or the hand becomes cold, blue, numb, burning, or tingly (if the splint is on, loosen it before going for help)

• Redness, warmth, swelling, or drainage from the wound, or foul odor from a cast or splint

• Cast gets wet or soft

• Fever (see Fever and children, below)

Fever and children

Use a digital thermometer to check your child’s temperature. Don’t use a mercury thermometer. There are different kinds and uses of digital thermometers. They include:

• Rectal. For children younger than 3 years, a rectal temperature is the most accurate.

• Forehead (temporal). This works for children age 3 months and older. If a child under 3 months old has signs of illness, this can be used for a first pass. The health care provider may want to confirm with a rectal temperature.

• Ear (tympanic). Ear temperatures are accurate after 6 months of age, but not before.

• Armpit (axillary). This is the least reliable but may be used for a first pass to check a child of any age with signs of illness. The provider may want to confirm with a rectal temperature.

• Mouth (oral). Don’t use a thermometer in your child’s mouth until they are at least 4 years old.

Use a rectal thermometer with care. Follow the product maker’s directions for correct use. Insert it gently. Label it and make sure it’s not used in the mouth. It may pass on germs from the stool. If you don’t feel okay using a rectal thermometer, ask the provider what type to use instead. When you talk with any provider about your child’s fever, tell them which type you used.

Below is when to contact the provider if your child has a fever. Your child’s provider may give you different numbers. Follow their instructions.

When to contact a health care provider about your child’s fever

For a baby under 3 months old:

• First, ask your child’s health care provider how you should take the temperature.

• Rectal or forehead: 100.4°F (38°C) or higher

• Armpit: 99°F (37.2°C) or higher

• A fever of ___________as advised by the provider

For a child age 3 months to 36 months (3 years):

• Rectal or forehead: 102°F (38.9°C) or higher

• Ear (only for use over age 6 months): 102°F (38.9°C) or higher

• A fever of ___________ as advised by the provider

In these cases:

• Armpit temperature of 103°F (39.4°C) or higher in a child of any age

• Temperature of 104°F (40°C) or higher in a child of any age

• A fever of ___________ as advised by the provider