Hi my 9 year old son hit his head on his teammate knee at soccer camp today. He have a big bruise the size of an egg.  The swelling is slowly going down. We are giving him motrin and applying a heat pad.  What else should we apply to decrease the swelling?The swelling has gone down but he still have a big soft bruise and we have place a heat pad on his head and he is taking some motrin.  What else should we apply to decrease the swelling?
You should be using ice, not heat, at this time. It takes a few days for the swelling to decrease. Motrin can be used for pain and headaches, but it will not heal the bruise itself. That is a matter of time and the bodies efficiency at healing itself, which is usually pretty good in child Chat Doctor.  Keep a close eye on him the next couple of days to be sure he doesn't develop any symptoms suggesting a more serious injury. He should be seen at emergency if he develops excessive sleeping, severe vomiting, change in personality, weakness or numbness on one side of the body, severe persistent headache, difference in size of the pupils, anything that looks like a stroke. These could indicate that the injury has affected the brain. Most kids do well with injuries like this and feel better within a day or two. The swelling should go down fast but the bruising color itself may take a week or so to go away. Hope this helps.