10 Signs of Dehydration In Toddlers
Reviewed: Dr. Mera
Sign Of Dehydration In Toddlers #6: Sunken Fontanelle
When a baby is first born, their skulls are made up of bony plates held to together with soft joins. This allows the shape of the skull to change during birth, allowing it to fit through the birth canal. The skull will then begin to harden overall as the child gets older.
These softer spots in the skull are called fontanelles. A child has many soft spots in their skull, eventually, they should fuse together to give the hard and firm consistency to the head. The last one of these soft spots should close at the age of 18 months. Until then, they are a useful tool to diagnose dehydration in pediatric patients, as the fontanelle sunken during dehydration.
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