Fontanelles - bulging - Treatment

Alternative Names

Soft spot - bulging; Bulging fontanelles

Home Care:

If the fontanelle returns to normal appearance when the child is calm and head-up, it is not a truly bulging fontanelle.

Call your health care provider if:

Immediate, emergency care is needed for any infant who has a truly bulging fontanelle, especially if it occurs along with fever or excess drowsiness.

What to expect at your health care provider's office:

The health care provider will perform a physical examination and ask questions about the child's medical history, such as:

Does the "soft spot" return to normal appearance when the infant is calm or head-up?
Does it bulge all the time or does it come and go?
When did you first notice this?
Which fontanelles bulge (top of the head, back of the head, or other)?
Are all the fontanelles bulging?
What other symptoms are present (such as fever, irritability, lethargy)?

Diagnostic tests that may be done are:

Skull of a newborn

Bulging fontanelles

Reviewed last on: 1/24/2011
Neil K. Kaneshiro, MD, MHA, Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Kinsman Sl, Johnston MV. Congenital anomalies of the central nervous system. In: Kliegman RM, Behrman RE, Jenson HB, Stanton BF, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier;2007:chap 592.

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