My 5 yr old son has swelling on his forehead. We noticed it last night and took him to the ER,?

Question

they made no big deal of it, and wouldn't even do a CT scan. He did have a 102 degree temp for 5 days last week, and a sore throat. Those symptoms are basically gone. Still has a low grade temp. Also he did not fall that we are aware of. They seemed to think it maybe was a bug bite, but I am not too comfortable with that. I am worried.

Also I realized after we left, that they didn't even check his B/P. Anyway, I am a nurse, but don't know a whole lot about this stuff, I have tried to do some research online with not much luck.

Well today, when he woke up I noticed it spread from yesterday's V shape to the left side of his forehead and left side of upper nose. Otherwise he is acting normal, and has no complaints.

I will probably take him back again, but wanted to know if anyone had any ideas about this.

Answer 1

it does sound like a bite maybe he's allergic to whatever bit him  

Answer 2

It could possibly be a bug bite, but they usually won't swell like that after the first 24 hours.  There's also a possibility that it could be cellulitis which is a skin infection.  You can get cellulitits from lots of different bacteria.  it's most commonly found on the feet and legs, but there are cases of it occurring in the face.  The first thing you need to do is mark his face with a marker where the swelling is.  Watch it for the next few hours and see if the swelling expands.  If it does, you definitely need to take him to the ER again.  You should also take him if he starts to run a fever again or if he complains of pain in the area. Cellulitits usually needs to treated with IV antibiotics because it can spread very quickly and cause septicemia. Hope this helped.  Like I said, just keep an eye on it for now, but if any other symptoms occur, definitely get him to the doc.