I am sorry to hear about your DS' nasty bumps. I wish his head a swift recovery and your poor nerves too. My DS (now 8) fell in the corner of our front doorstep when he was 2.5yrs. The gash was significant (i can confirm he has a skull underneath his forehead!) and he required 2hrs in an operating theatre to sew it all back together. The plastic surgeon that looked after us gave me a few pieces of advice to reduce the long term scaring. The sun is the worse thing for scars as it burns the new and vulnerable skin. So DS spent the first two years after his accident wearing a hat which physically covered his scar at all times. When he was swimming or for any reason couldn't wear a hat, we put on surgical tape (less uncomfortable than a plaster).

We were told that the scar would look red for at least a year if not longer and then it would fade. This was true, his scar although most definitely there is now the same colour as the rest of him rather than the angry red colour you see now. It blends neatly into the natural creases in his forehead.

Finally we were told about scar massage, but somehow I suspect your son's wound is not deep enough to require this. Oils are great (but not combined with the sun!) and if a scar has depth (ie sticks out) there are techniques to help reduce the 'bumpiness' of a scar. However it can be painful, especially for a small child. We didn't do it and instead just let our son rub oil into his own scar which worked v well.

DS is rather proud of his 'Harry Potter' scar and takes great joy in recounting the ambulance / surgery story.... It still makes me feel ill! I am sure over time the story will become embellished and there will be sharks and a captured princess involved!

I am sorry to hear about your DS' nasty bumps. I wish his head a swift recovery and your poor nerves too. My DS (now 8) fell in the corner of our front doorstep when he was 2.5yrs. The gash was significant (i can confirm he has a skull underneath his forehead!) and he required 2hrs in an operating theatre to sew it all back together. The plastic surgeon that looked after us gave me a few pieces of advice to reduce the long term scaring. The sun is the worse thing for scars as it burns the new and vulnerable skin. So DS spent the first two years after his accident wearing a hat which physically covered his scar at all times. When he was swimming or for any reason couldn't wear a hat, we put on surgical tape (less uncomfortable than a plaster).

We were told that the scar would look red for at least a year if not longer and then it would fade. This was true, his scar although most definitely there is now the same colour as the rest of him rather than the angry red colour you see now. It blends neatly into the natural creases in his forehead.

Finally we were told about scar massage, but somehow I suspect your son's wound is not deep enough to require this. Oils are great (but not combined with the sun!) and if a scar has depth (ie sticks out) there are techniques to help reduce the 'bumpiness' of a scar. However it can be painful, especially for a small child. We didn't do it and instead just let our son rub oil into his own scar which worked v well.

DS is rather proud of his 'Harry Potter' scar and takes great joy in recounting the ambulance / surgery story.... It still makes me feel ill! I am sure over time the story will become embellished and there will be sharks and a captured princess involved!

Our little boy had 2 rather large bumps on the head about 4 months apart when he was 2 1/2. One the corner of a coffee table, one a concrete step. Both creating what can only be described as proper gashes which looked liked holes in his head. A&E jobs with one butterfly stitched which he kept pulling off calling them 'doctor stickers' (wouldn't recommend as had to keep putting on replacements) and one glued. Mrs Northcote Dad applied the Bio Oil religiously for a week or 2 and now 18mths later you can hardly see the scars.

Our daughter cut her forehead quite badly when she was 17 months (fell over on a pavement). She was treated the same way in a&e with the strips and told it will heal. I was really worried as the cuts were large and right there in the middle of her forehead. It took a long tone to heal and she was left with a large red marks. I was really worried and even got her fringe cut so it will cover it . Fortunately they disappeared after just over a year.
She is 5 now and I can't even tell where she had the cut.
So don't worry. It will take a while but should heal completely.

Back in the 1980's pre-Bio Oil era, my little brother slipped on snow and cut the middle of his forehead on the corner of the open car door. He has a tiny mark now which I only notice because I know it's there. Young skin heals very quickly, and with the advances in skincare since my brother's accident, I'm sure it'll be a distant memory very soon. Poor you, it must have given you such a fright, I hope it doesn't put him/you off trampolines for life!

Bio Oil is fantastic, keep using it and the main thing is to make sure you use high factor sun screen on his face, if you don't the scars will be more noticeable.
but you will also be surprised by how well kids heal.

good luck.

oh dear sorry to hear about that, I think boys and accidents do go hand in hand.

My nephew had a bad cut on the bridge of his nose/between the eyes from when he bashed into the corner of a coffee table. It was a pink scar for quite a while but has now completely gone. After the scab came off I'd say it took 6 months to look less pink and after a year or less had completely gone. There won't be a lasting scar.

My son knocked out his front tooth at 18 months and won't be getting a new one for quite a few years!! Arghhh!

Hello,
Our son had an accident recently and it has been worrying me ever since. We were out at someone's house and he fell from a height off a trampoline and onto a gravel patio. He is 20 months old. In hindsight he should never have been on the trampoline in the first place and needless to say a concrete patio is NOT the place to have a trampoline. Anyway, we took him to A&E and he was given butterfly strips on the cuts. I am now so worried about how well the scars will heal up in the long run. Does anyone have experience of this? I have bought bio oil and vitamin E cream to put on these cuts (which are now healing well). The doctor said that our son would probably have pink marks where these cuts were for around 6 months but then they should fade away and be hardly noticeable. I am still really worried about this. Look forward to hearing from you if you can relate to my concern and whether you have any experience of how well the skin heals in very young children.
Thank you.