My ten-year-old daughter has had a swollen knee for just
over three weeks. She is not aware of sustaining any injury
to it, eg a knock or blow, but she had been going swimming
regularly before this happened. The knee seems to have
fluid on it and she is unable to straighten it fully or
bend it back further than about 90 degrees, and
consequently she is limping quite badly. She does not seem to be in any real pain. We have seen the
GP twice: they agreed there was fluid on the knee and it
seemed inflamed, and advised we give her children’s liquid ibuprofen. They also did a
blood test, but this didn't seem to show anything beyond
normal response to inflammation. There was no infection. At
the moment, we have not being giving her ibuprofen because we have
some concerns about it. At the moment we are seeking the
advice of a physiotherapist. Do any parents have any
thoughts on this?

My eleven yr old sister had a similar type injury. Her elbow was swollen for no reason and she saw a bunch of different doctors and basically her unofficial diagnosis (since they didn't really find anything wrong) was a sports injury. She was the pitcher for her softball team. She had to take it easy and not pitch for a few weeks and it went away on its own. It still occasionally flares up, but not as bad since she doesn't play softball anymore. She plays basketball now... and now she's getting a similar thing in her knees!

that sounds like what I have.
My doctor said it was bursitis. I did not injure my knee in any way. One day it just sort of swelled up, and I was was unable to walk on it. Now, the swelling, comes and goes. Its annyoing. But if it becomes painful, he prescribed medicine that I can use for it, and the swelling/pain will go away, usually.

what are your actual concerns regarding ibuprofen?she very obviously has inflammation and this is what ibu actually treats.if the inflammation does not settle down,this will continue to become much worse with much more fluid accumulation to have to deal with,its the bodies natural response to inflammation,fluid production and the area generating heat,eventually.

she may also have to have the present fluid aspirated just to get rid of it,espescially if the actual trigger does not settle down for her.this also happened with my son when he was around 12 or 13? can't remeber tha exact age but his was of unknown cause as well.his doc figured that he probably just overstrained a ligament or something somehow and thats what started the inflammation to develop.your daughter could have easily done this while actually swimming.if she kicked or pushed off a little too hard it could have possibly caused some sort of a strain on a ligament or tendon.it just needs some rest and ibu and possibly a needle aspiration just to help relieve the pressure inside the knee itself.

three weeks with this is a pretty long time,just howis she doing right now?Marcia

I had the same thing when I was her age (both knees). My fingers would also swell. At the time they never really did figure out what was wrong. I would also get cold uticaria. If my legs got cold I would get really itchy hives. Now as an adult I have figured out that I have all kinds of allergies and now I look back on that and wonder if my joints were swollen from allergies (I can't remember the name for this swelling/allergic reaction).

Are they considering arthritis? Rheumatoid arthritis does not always get picked up on a blood test or xrays. And, it's not always in both joints at the same time.

I have it, but it's mostly in what I think of as remission - bothering me from time to time and it's nothing I can't manage on my own with ace bandages and aspirin (usually 4-5 at a time). So, I have it mildly. But my first symptom was a swollen knee with no pain or other symptoms when I was 15. I would and still get it in one joint at a time (predominantly my knees). It seems to be on one side for a year or more and then it switches to the other side for awhile.

I don't test for the rheumatoid factor. I'm not saying that is what your daughter has, but keep an eye on it just in case. Sometimes as an adult I get a swelling flair up with or without pain. I sometimes find that an ace bandage wrapped tightly for a couple of hours sometimes brings the swelling down (don't know why and who knows, maybe it just works for me). Within two years after the swollen knee, I started having soreness, heat and joint locking with the joint.

My toddler has already started complaining about her knees and I've been told it's probably growing pains, but I'm keeping an eye on it.