My Baby Slipped in the Tub and Bonked His Head Should I Be Concerned

When we hear the awful thud of a child's head, our jiff catches. A prompt cry after the injury is reassuring but tin can be scary too.  Kids may cry very intensely and even find it difficult to take hold of their breath after a difficult bump.  In fact, a hard caput crash-land is a common cause of a breath-holding spell in younger kids. Your first chore afterwards a head bump is to check the surface area for any bleeding or open up wounds. Then, comfort your child by hugging them, picking them upwardly and speaking calmly to them. Information technology may accept as long as 10-15 minutes for them to calm down.  As they are calming downward, bank check for the symptoms listed below.

The following is a list of signals that tell y'all that you need to talk with your pediatrician after your child hits thier caput.

If your child hits their head and is (or has):

• Under vi months of historic period
• Unconscious, even briefly
• Crying for longer than 10 minutes or prolonged irritability
• Vomiting repeatedly
• Bleeding or other liquid draining from the ears, mouth, or olfactory organ
• Rapid swelling just above the ear
• Bruising around the ear or eye
• Unable to walk or talk normally
• Acting strangely or drowsy
• Unequal pupil size
• Severe, worsening headache
• Neck pain or stiffness
• Seizures
• Skull indentation or large bump
• Great forcefulness of injury (motorcar accident, long autumn, baseball bat, etc.)
• Worsening symptoms or symptoms improve then worsen

What side by side?

If any of these symptoms or situations are present or if you accept any concerns, call your doc right away. Your kid may be fine, but you lot should be in affect with an good. If your child is unable to become up past herself or is unconscious immediately later on the head injury, don't move her. Telephone call 911 and wait for emergency help to arrive.

What else?

If none of these symptoms are nowadays, it is fine to let your child sleep, as long as you are nearby to consistently check on her.  Sleepiness or drowsiness can be mutual immediately after a head injury. Many physicians recommend waking your child to see if they are oriented afterwards the initial two hours of sleeping. Later this, awaken her at your bedtime and again 4 hours later on to check on her status. Later on 24 hours it is fine to return to a normal sleep routine.

Other common symptoms include headache and mild tummy upset. . . Lookout your child closely for the get-go two hours subsequently the injury and avoid pain medications for these outset couple of hours. In general we also recommend avoiding heavy foods that may cause vomiting during this time.  If at any fourth dimension your child seems to develop a suspicious symptom, telephone call your physician immediately.

It is mutual for head bumps to develop big "goose eggs" or swellings; this is because of the large blood supply to the scalp.  The big swelling does non indicate encephalon swelling.  This area of swelling may be uncomfortable when touched, only as long as your child is otherwise acting commonly, it is generally not a cause for concern.  Using ice packs on the area may assistance reduce the initial swelling.  During subsequent days, the swelling may drain down the face up causing swelling and even bruising underneath where the original injury was.  If you ever become concerned near new symptoms or increasing pain, please telephone call your pediatrician for an evaluation.

A quick note on concussion

A concussion is an injury to the brain usually caused past a jolt or bump to the caput which causes the brain to move back and forth.  For more detailed data on signs of concussion please get to our commodity on concussion here.

Did the information in this article aid to answer your questions? What else could we include here to help other parents who are wondering if they should call a doc later their child has hit their head?

References and Resources

CDC – Caput Injury

Gelineau-Morel, Rose, et al. Pediatric Head Trauma: A Review and Update. Pediatrics in Review September 2019, xl (9) 468-481.

Note: Dr. Greene has provided the in a higher place information for parents and caregivers subsequently a child has hit their head. Doctors use these guidelines as the basis for determining if a child needs to exist further evaluated. Because they are general in nature, readers often have specific follow-upwardly questions. Unfortunately, Dr. Greene tin can not provide individualized diagnosis or treatment suggestions. If you still have questions after reading this, contact your child'due south pediatrician.

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Source: https://www.drgreene.com/call-doctor-child-hits-head

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