Children Head Injuries

Would you know what to do if your child fell and hit his/her head? Thankfully, most head injuries that children have are not severe. Most of them are, yes, merely a bump on the head and is nothing serious. Yet, you need to know what to do when your child does hit his/her head. You also need to know when your child needs to see a doctor and when he/she just needs a reassuring hug.

The first thing you should do is make sure that the child is able to respond to you. If the child immediately begins crying and is able to respond to you, than usually there is nothing seriously wrong. Apply a cold compress to the head, especially if there is swelling and then watch the child for a while. Yes, the child may continue to cry for a bit. He/she is probably frightened over the fall and bump. You should be monitoring your child for these symptoms:

1. A headache that seems to become worse.
2. Slurred speech or confusion.
3. Dizziness that does not go away
4. Abnormal behavior such as extreme irritability
5. Vomiting more than twice
6. Stumbling and having trouble walking
7. Oozing blood or watery fluid from the nose or ears
8. Difficulty waking up
9. Unequal size of the pupils
10. Unusually paleness that lasts over an hour
11. Convulsions or seizures
12. Difficulty recognizing familiar people

If you child begins showing these symptoms, than you should call your pediatrician’s office or go directly to the Emergency Room.

What should you do if your child bumps his/her head and loses consciousness? If this happens, you should call your child’s pediatrician or go directly to the Emergency Room. Tests will be needed to be run as soon as possible to indicate just how serious the injury is.

A CAT-Scan will probably be taken if your child has lost consciousness. A CAT scan can show brain injury and even minor injuries that do not warrant treatment. A head X-ray can only show bone breaks. That is why most doctors will have a CAT scan taken on the head if any head injury and resulted in a lost of consciousness.

If you take your child to the hospital and a CAT scan has revealed that everything is normal, the doctor will still probably want an adult to supervise the child closely for 24 hours up to a few days. While supervising, this adult should also stay ready to take the child back to the doctor or Emergency room if a problem arises. Be sure to ask the doctor if it is okay for the child to sleep or if he/she should be awaken every few hours to make sure everything is normal with him/her, such as movement, ability to speak, and memory. You should also call your pediatrician or return to the hospital if your child begins to have the following symptoms, possibly again.

1. Vomit, especially if it is more than twice
2. Cannot stop crying
3. If the child looks sicker
4. Has a hard time walking, talking or seeing
5. Is confused or is not acting normally
6. Becomes more and more drowsy or is harder to wake up than usual
7. Seems to be moving abnormally

Do not worry about being a panicky parent. If you sense something is wrong with your child, make sure he/she gets the attention he/she deserves.

Yet, watch about showing signs that you are panicky in front of your child. Children sense our panic. If we panic, they will, too.