My 8 month old DS suffers from plagiocephaly. He was born with a flat spot on his left side of the head. This became the most comfortable spot for him to sleep on, and so it has remained flat.

At 6 months of age he went to a pediatrician who said he would 'grow out of it'and a helmet would not help. Regardless, we decided to buy a helmet and at 7 months he started wearing it 23 hours a day. He has been wearing it for exactly a month.

I would like to hear from parents who have been through this, as I have so many questions. I mainly want to hear how successful the helmet was, or perhaps if the flat spot recovered on its own. All experience welcome!

Hi,
Have not used the helmet but my six mth old has a mild one as he favours his right side. He is currently seeing a paediatric chiropractor (for a diff reasons) who is doing his masters in paediatrics. His thesis is on plagiocephaly and treating it with chiro. my sons is actually improving would you believe.
bel

Hi. My DD had a flat spot on the left side of her head when she was born and it gradually got worse. At four months old we decided to get a helmet for her and she was in it for 11 weeks. I couldnt believe the change it made,the flat spot is now just about gone. I was very scared about it all then but now i'm so glad that we chose to get the helmet for her. If you have any questions, let me know.....I'm happy to help.

Thanks for the response guys.

Saltnic- what did the chiro do? He has an appointment on Oct 22nd, so hopefully that will help too. HOw long did it take to get results?

Charligirl08- did you get measurements before and after wearing the helmet? how often/long did she have to wear it for each day? While wearing the helmet, did she still sleep in the same position (on the side of the flat spot)? Once the helmet was taken off did a bit of the flat spot come back?

I have so many questions. Was also wondering if either of you saw a physio? Was there anything else you did to help?

I have the rolled up towel under the cot mattress, but he STILL sleeps on the flat spot (with his helmet on). Its also hot where we live, and he sometimes gets a rash from the helmet so I am having to take it off. I can't wait until his time is up, but I want it to get as better as it can.

Thanks for your help guys!!
[Edited on 12/10/2009]

Hi,
The chiro basically assessed him and noted that he had some issues with his lower back and neck which were causing stiffness which ment he was not moving his head around much causing the flatening of the head. am not sure of the process he goes through for the plagiocephaly kids he is treating but i saw results in a month. If the chiro your seeing is not much help and your in Sydney i could pm you the name of the guy i am seeing as he is great.. also if your chiro is interested in the studies he's doing and finding out what he dose i can pm phone number etc
Hope it goes well for you

Hi again. They measured her head when they made the cast for the helmet and that was the only time they ever measured it.She had to wear the helmet 23 hours a day every day....and all up it was 11 weeks. She got used to it rather quickly and when i would take it off for the hour each day she used to rub her head as if she was missing something. At first she did sleep in the same position (on the flat side) but then realised she could turn the other way because the helmet helped her positioning alot. The helmet has been off for 4 months now and all I'm seeing is more improvement, know more flattening at all. We didn't see a physio, because she wore the helmet for a while she just learnt to move her head both ways (and while sleeping) all on her own.

Before we got the helmet I tried so many different ways to try and get her to sleep on the otherside but nothing worked then when we found out about these helmets I was scared about it at first but now I truly believe that this was the best way to fix it. It does get hard sometimes but it really is all worth it in the end.

P.S: As your little one is 8 months he may have to wear the helmet for a little longer because they say the best age for wearing one is between 4-6 months because their skull is still pretty soft at this age. Then as they get older it starts to harden.

Saltnic- dang, I'm in Brissy. I have never been to a chiro before and our first appointment is tomorrow. I had to wait 3 months to see him, apparently he is that good. Hopefully he will be able to help, although I am not too sure what he even does. I will ask the chiro to see if he is interested- sounds like you have a good guy!

Charligirl- you say that your LO used to still sleep in the same position while wearing the helmet, for a while- how long? My DS has worn the helmet for 6 weeks and he has just started looking up rather then sleeping on the spot...doesn't turn the other way while asleep though.

QUESTION- did your LOs head return to normal? Or was the flat spot mostly gone? How normal is it now (10 being VERY round and 1 being really really flat) compared to what it was originally? I don't want to get my hopes up for a full recovery if its only going to get a bit better....not really sure what to expect!

I just wanted to say well done mummy2zac for listening to your instincts!
My DS also had plagiocephally from sleeping on his back and I wasn't relieved when my MCHN and GP told me he 'should' grow out it and appear perfectly normal when he was a toddler. I went to my GP and demanded a referral to the Royal Childrens Hospital Cranio Facial Clinic and luckily for him, he didn't require a pressure helmut. He's now 2 and you can only see a slight bit of flatness when his hair is wet and his overall head shape looks great.
I've heard of so many parents told that their kids will be fine once they're walking and running but it's simply just not the case for a lot of kids.

I hope the helmut makes a big improvement for him smile

I really couldnt say how long it was before she would lay the other way but by the end of her time wearing the helmet she could sleep on the other side. I'm sure your chiro will help with this.

When DD was finished with the helmet, her flat spot was almost completely gone. The Doctor said the rest will fix itself as she grows and since then I have noticed more change in the flat spot. Now it is only a slight flat spot but once her hair is grown you wont notice any sign of a flat spot. Out of 10 at the the moment i'd say a 9. When they took her helmet off, I would have given it a 7 back then.

omg, me and my son are going through the exact same thing!!
the doctors and his pediatrician told me that he would grow out of it and finally by 7 n a half months i decided enough was enough and i was going to listen to my own instinct and get my son the helmet. he only got it when he was 9 months old, now 11, and they are saying he will prob still have to wear it awhile longer. i have only noticed a slight differents so far, but aidan was having alot of trouble sleeping in it at first and has only recently started wearing it full time through (i was taking it off around 2am, putting it back on 7am).
feel free to email me, id love to chat to someone goin through the same thing as me.
jade_trestrail@hotmail.com

Thanks for the messages of support everyone! And Mel, thanks for letting me know how it improved.

It is hard to believe but DS has been wearing his helmet for 8 weeks now. We have seen huge improvements, I am really happy with it! We have been told that he needs to wear it for another 6 weeks, and there should be 1 to 2 mm difference at the end.

I will email you aidan's mummy, would love to chat about it all and swap notes.

If anyone else can tell me whether the helmet 'fixed' the flat spot I would be grateful. I am still unsure if it is meant to totally disappear... I would love to hear from people at the other end of the tunnel hehe.

Hi my name is marcia I have a 9 months baby with flat head he probably needs a helmet,What was your doctor,where can I get the helmet?Do you know how much is it?my phone number is 0210480971,thanks