Among all childhood accidents, falls with head injuries are the most frequent. Without being alarmed, you have to pay special attention, even if they are slight because these blows can damage your child’s brain.
Children often have many accidents and hit their entire bodies. But when they hit the head, it is important to know how to take care of them and to be clear when to take the child to the doctor. We tell you how to act in each case.
When a child is hit in the head, we must monitor his condition for 24 hours or, better still, for the next 72 hours.
If you have any unusual symptoms or behavior, you should go to the doctor. It should also be used if the child suffers from unconsciousness, however brief it may be.
When head trauma occurs there may also be cervical injuries.
It is false that a child should not be allowed to sleep at night if he has been hit in the head. The best way is to wake him up every two or three hours to check that he is awake and responds in a normal way.
After hitting the head, the child can and should continue with his usual activity, that is, sleeping, eating and playing the hours he usually does. It is totally normal that he is a little dejected.
Types of blows
Blow with cut and wound
As the child bleeds it is important to observe if he has embedded foreign bodies and if the bones give way to touch; In these cases, you do not have to touch the wound and go to the emergency room.
If you have a cut on your skin, you should wash under lock and key, apply pressure to the wound with gauze (stop bleeding), and apply ice wrapped in a cloth.
If the wound is deep and large and may need a suture, go to the hospital within four hours.
If you have a bump?
It is normal for the child to have a headache. The way of acting is as follows:
– Apply local cold with ice wrapped in a cloth and give him a pain reliever.
– Observe if the bump is more, becomes long or soft; In that case, you should go to the doctor as soon as possible.
There’s a hit without a wound
In this case, it is also common for the little one to feel a headache. To avoid this, it is important to apply cold with ice wrapped in a cloth and give it a mild pain reliever.
It is important to check that purple and pain are reduced. If we see them increase, you should take the child to the emergency room.
What is a concussion?
It is a movement of the brain within the skull. It produces a slight loss of consciousness or memory, sometimes of very few seconds, it can even go unnoticed. Also, the little one may have dizziness, drowsiness, repetitive vomiting, headache, irritability, but must respond to stimuli better and better.
Even if the child wakes up right away, it should be examined by a doctor – to rule out that he has no internal injuries of any kind.
When could a skull fracture have occurred?
The child is bleeding from the ear or nose (without having been hit in that area), his eyes are black, he has a large bruise, or a rare bump that grows, the bones of the head give way to the touch, he has bloody vomiting and his behavior is abnormal: he is disoriented, he does not speak well.
What to do in this case?
1. Observe the child’s condition: if he has drowsiness, vomiting, irritability or any other symptom of concussion.
2. Call 911.
3. If urgently indicated, apply local cold (some ice cubes wrapped in a cloth) without squeezing.
We should go to the emergency room when the child has:
– Loss of consciousness
– Stunning, drowsiness or responding worse to stimuli
-Repetitive vomiting
-Asymmetry of pupils
-Seizures
The baby bumps his head
A blow to the head should alert us because the bones of the skull are very soft and have not yet closed. The doctor should be consulted before 24 hours. If any of the following symptoms appear, you should go to the emergency department:
– Loss of consciousness
– Vomiting
– irritability
– Tendency to sleep
– A soft bruise, which is growing
– Breathing faster than normal or complaining