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Symptoms: transient inflammation of the joint
Le hip cold is manifested by limited movement of the hip joint, associated with pain of varying intensity when the child stands up. It always appears in the morning when you wake up. Your child can limp slightly, only manage to walk on tiptoes or refuse to put your foot on the ground altogether. He has no fever, nor any local signs of redness or swelling, but complains of pain usually in his knee.
How to diagnose a hip cold in babies and children?
Only an ultrasound can make a reliable diagnosis of the common cold. It detects the presence of abnormal fluid in the joint called an effusion and which causes discomfort. If the inability to walk is accompanied by a fever and the blood results are poor – increased white blood cell count, very high C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and very high sedimentation rate – you should go to the hospital immediately. ‘hospital. It may then be a septic or purulent arthritis the consequences of which are much more serious.
How do you catch a hip cold?
The origin of hip cold is not yet well defined. However, we know that, in the majority of cases, it occurs a few days after an ENT viral infection of the nasopharyngitis type. This pathology is the most frequent cause of pain in children between 3 and 8 years old and mainly affects little boys, without knowing why.
Hip cold: rest as the best treatment
In most cases, it is sufficient to put your child to rest and keep him or her in bed for 24 to 48 hours and the hip cold disappears. The doctor can also prescribe paracetamol against the pain, or even nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. If the effusion is large and very painful, then your child will be put under traction, that is, their hip will be stretched with a weight to prevent it from under too much pressure. Healing usually occurs after two days and without leaving any sequelae, but recurrences are frequent.
Recurrent hip cold in children: a necessary control
If you hip cold of your child is not cured after 48 hours, it is advisable to have him perform other tests to clarify the diagnosis. A control x-ray must be carried out, in any case, within six weeks of the onset of symptoms to exclude any risk of osteochondritis, complication rare characterized by poor development of the core of the head of the femur.