What causes sunken fontanel?
Sunken fontanelles are caused by the following:
1) Water entering the hull of ship through cracks or holes in the hull.
2) A hole in the side of ship where water enters from above.
3) A leaky pipe in one part of ship’s structure causing water to enter into another area.
4) An explosion in a room where water entered.
In some cases, the cause may be unknown. In others, it is possible to determine the exact cause.
How do I know if my vessel has sunken fontanelle?
If your vessel has sunken fontanelle, there will be two things that you need to check first: 1) Is your ship afloat?
If so, then the second thing you need to check is whether or not there is any water inside your vessel. You can test this by filling a bucket with seawater and placing it over the top of your boat. If the water level rises, then your vessel has sunken fontanelle.
What are the symptoms of sunken fontanel?
The most common symptoms of a sunken fontanelle are:
1) Low bridges, overhead signs or door frames.
2) Door knobs, handles or faucets that are at eye level.
3) The need to duck when walking through doorways or beneath hall lights.
4) Ducking on a regular basis even when you don’t notice it.
5) Headaches or back pain that waxes and wanes with changes in barometric pressures.
6) Difficulty bending over to tie your shoes or sitting cross-legged.
7) Difficulty reaching overhead.
What is the treatment for sunken fontanel?
The only known treatment for a sunken fontanel is to do exactly what you should have done in the first place and that is to turn back. It is not possible to fix a sunken fontanel. Attempting to do so could end up being extremely dangerous and even cause more damage than good. Don’t take chances with your life. Return to port immediately and get the proper repairs completed by a professional.
What causes a sunken fontanel?
A sunken fontanel is caused by a hole in the hull of your vessel. This could be a small hole or it could be a gaping hole the size of a truck. It doesn’t matter how big or small the hole is. What matters is that water is getting inside your vessel and there is nothing keeping it out anymore.
What are the symptoms of a sunken fontanel?
The most common symptoms of a sunken fontanel are:
1) Water inside your vessel.
2) Degradation in performance.
3) Difficulty controlling your vessel.
4) Difficulty seeing out of your vessel.
5) Unusual sounds coming from your vessel.
What is the treatment for a sunken fontanel?
There is no permanent treatment for a sunken fontanel. The only way to fix it is to find and repair the hole, replace the entire section of damaged hull or in extreme cases, scrap the entire vessel. Even if the damaged hull is repaired, the problem may return at a later date and that will require the vessel to once again be taken out of commission for repairs. If damage is extensive, it may be less expensive in the long run to scrap the vessel rather than attempt to repair it.
How do I know if my vessel has a sunken fontanel?
If your vessel has a sunken fontanel, there will be two things that you need to check first: 1) Is your vessel afloat?
If so, then the second thing you need to check is whether or not water is coming inside your vessel. You can do this by searching for water inside your vessel. If you find it, then you have located the hole. If you can’t find it, then you will need to check for water inside your vessel more systematically by following these steps:
1) Check the flooring.
2) Check around the edges of the hull where it joins the decking.
3) Check around the hatchways.
4) Check around the hinges of all removable panels.
5) Check the electrical wiring.
6) Check the lighting.
7) Check the compass.
If you find water inside your vessel and can’t account for it, then you have located the problem and you need to do something about it immediately. You will need to either fix it or remove all of the water. Remember, as long as there is water inside your vessel, no matter how little, your vessel will never be able to perform at peak levels. It is not possible to operate a submerged vessel for any length of time. At best, you may be able to get your vessel to a place where you can tow it ashore and repair it properly.
What is the best way to treat a sunken fontanel?
There are several steps that you will need to follow in order to correct a sunken fontanel:
Step 1: Find and fix the hole.
Step 2: Get rid of all of the water inside your vessel.
Step 3: Make sure the hole is fixed good this time!
For the average person with average resources, steps 1 and 2 are all that is required to correct a sunken fontanel. If you have access to a good welder and a lot of spare time, then step 3 can be added as well.
How do I find and fix a hole in my vessel?
If you have located water inside your vessel and need to fix a hole, you will need to figure out where the hole is. Three of the most common places that the hull suffers damage are:
1) The hatchways.
These are often damaged when a vessel runs aground or sustains damage from flying debris.
2) The hinges on any removable panels.
These can come off in very bad weather or from careless handling of panels.
3) The welds that hold the hull panels together.
These welds can weaken from age and repeated flexing.
Once you have located the hole, you will need to fix it. If you don’t have the proper equipment, your best bet is to get some welding supplies, grab yourself a welding mask so you don’t burn your face off and find someone who knows how to weld. If you have the equipment and personnel available, welding is by far the best way to fix a hole. If you don’t have access to welding supplies or personnel, then you will need to resort to whatever means are available. Common fixes for a damaged hull include:
1) Screws and bolts.
If the hole is very small, it may be fixed by covering it with a metal plate and securing it in place with screws or bolts. This method is very time consuming, requires a lot of maintenance and is vulnerable to repeated strain on the screws or bolts.
2) Planks.
If the hole is fairly large, planks can be used to smooth out the hull over the damaged area. A layer or two of planks held in place with metal strips (commonly called a plug) can work well to strengthen the area around a hole. This solution isn’t as strong as welding and it isn’t permanent, but it can give you enough time to get back to a shipyard for repairs.
3) JB Weld or other epoxy solutions.
If you don’t have access to proper welding supplies, you can use JB Weld or some other metal epoxy to fill in the hole. This is far from ideal, but in a pinch it can be better than nothing at all.
4) Tarps and straps.
If the hole is small enough, you can cover it with a tarp and secure it in place with straps or bungee cords. While this method is certainly the cheapest option, it provides no real protection against water.
How do I get rid of all the water inside my vessel?
The method you will need to use to get rid of all the water inside your vessel depends on where the water is located. If you have taken on water in the middle of the ocean and are fortunate enough to still have working engines, your best bet is to use them until you reach shallow waters. Shallow waters tend to have more sandbars and reefs near the surface and are less likely to have strong currents taking you deeper underwater. Once you have reached a known depth, you can use tools like a bucket and hose to start removing large quantities of water from inside the vessel. If you do not have any working engines and are still in deep enough water, you can bail with buckets. Bailing can take a very long time, so in most cases, using the vessel’s engines is the better choice.
If the water inside your vessel is located in another area (like a submerged wall or floor), you can try a Scuba tank to drain the water out with positive pressure. You can also open up the walls and floor to the outside and use a drain plug to pump out the water. This solution isn’t ideal, but it can work in a pinch. If opening up the wall or floor would cause more flooding, you can instead build a temporary barrier in order to keep the water trapped in one section while you pump out the water using positive pressure from a scuba tank.
Sources & references used in this article:
The abnormal fontanel by J Kiesler, R Ricer – American family physician, 2003 – aafp.org
Caida de mollera: Perceptions of Hispanic migrant farmworkers related to the recognition of” sunken fontanel” in infants. by PA Darling – 1993 – elibrary.ru
Culture and Dehydration: A Comparative Study of Caída de la Mollera (Fallen Fontanel) in Three Latino Populations by LM Pachter, SC Weller, RD Baer… – Journal of immigrant and …, 2016 – Springer
The acidosis of acute diarrhea in infancy by B Hamilton, L Kajdi, D Meeker – American Journal of Diseases of …, 1929 – jamanetwork.com
Understand folk medicine’s role in prehospital care of many Mexican-Americans by B Bledsoe – Journal of Emergency Medical Services, 2009 – jems.com
Awareness of Hispanic cultural issues in the health care setting by GC da Silva – Children’s Health Care, 1984 – Taylor & Francis
A case study of infant feeding practices in Guatemala by J Burns – 1981 – agris.fao.org
