The child fell head first on the floor. What to do if a child hits his forehead hard and gets a lump, how long does it take for the hematoma to go away? How to protect your child's head from blows

A child fell and hit his head - first aid Due to their physiology, young children are constantly on the move. Bruises, scratches, abrasions and hematomas are commonplace, and parents know how to provide first aid to their son or daughter. But what to do if a child falls and hits his head, how to recognize the seriousness of the problem, not many people know about this.

After reading the article, you will learn what a concussion is, how to identify its symptoms and help your baby. Answers to important questions will help you make the right decision in difficult situation and will preserve the precious life and health of the baby.

What to do if your baby constantly falls and hits his head?

The world around us is full of dangers, children can encounter them everywhere. To protect your fidget from harm as much as possible, try to follow a number of simple requirements:

    1. When transporting babies in a car, use special car seats and seat belts.
    2. To ride an adult bicycle, purchase a high-quality and safe bicycle seat.
    3. When rollerblading or cycling, make sure that young athletes wear protective helmets.
    4. Teach kids that swinging swings, carousels, and iron exercise equipment are dangerous and can cause injury during movement.
    5. Do not leave infants under 6 months of age on changing tables without adult supervision. Remember, babies 1 year of age very often roll off beds, sofas and get concussions.
    6. While walking on the playground with a child under 3 years old, carefully monitor him, never leave him alone near swings, high iron slides, or horizontal bars.
    7. Teach your kids the rules of the road from infancy.

If the baby hits his head, this can lead to dire consequences. Despite the fact that the cranium reliably protects the brain from external factors, strong mechanical impact can disrupt the integrity of bones and brain structures.

Hurry to the doctor!

If a fidget falls and hits his head, this is always bad. Ideally, after an accident, you need to go to a clinic and undergo an examination by a pediatrician, ophthalmologist, or neurologist.

Young explorers aged 1 and 2 years are just beginning to master the capabilities of their bodies; they learn to walk and run. In the process of learning about the world, babies often fall and hit their heads on the floor. This is a cause of concern for parents.

Moms and dads should know in which cases mandatory medical assistance is necessary, and when they can limit themselves to self-observation.

Call an ambulance, If:

    The child is one, two, three months old and he hit his head when falling from a high changing table.
    The baby was injured in contact with a sharp object (the back of a chair, the corner of a bed, a door).
    The kid was in a car accident.
    The mischievous boy fell from his stroller and adult bicycle onto the asphalt.
    The baby suffered an injury to the back of his skull.
    There is a violation of the integrity of the skull bones.
    The baby cries loudly and cannot be calmed down for a long time after an accident.
    The little mischief-maker hit his head hard on concrete, iron, or an asphalt surface; there are significant tissue cuts.
    The baby experiences disturbances in the functioning of the central nervous system (confusion, fainting, lack of breathing, coma, lethargy, lethargy, etc.).
    There is an open wound, severe.
    The kid was hit on the head by a swinging iron swing, an exercise machine.

Carefully monitor the baby if he: fell and hit his head from a height of his height on a soft carpet or linoleum, his health and consciousness have not changed, there are no signs of brain damage.

If your little fidget hits his head, pay attention to his behavior, vision, pain, and external injuries. Vomiting, nausea, sleep disturbances, changes in behavior are an unfavorable sign.

Symptoms of a concussion

Nature took care of man. She created the child and made sure that when he learned to walk, if he fell, he would only suffer minor abrasions and bruises. The softness and plasticity of the skull bones helps protect the brain during an accident and reduce the risk of complications. That is why babies 1 year of age, often falling from sofas, beds, changing tables, do not receive serious injuries.

Most often, minor falls in everyday life pass without leaving a trace, but sometimes young mischief-makers can be seriously injured. The severity of the injury depends on: the height of the fall, the hardness of the surface, the presence of sharp corners, the age of the victim, and the strength of the traumatic factor.

Signs of a concussion:

    1. Lack of consciousness.
    2. Nausea, vomiting, in children infancy- frequent regurgitation.
    3.Pale or blue discoloration of the skin.
    4. Children under 3 years of age exhibit behavioral disturbances. They become lethargic, moody, drowsy, or hyperactive.
    5. Children aged 4, 5, 6 years and older complain of pain in the head, which intensifies with sudden movements and bending.
    6. An unstable body position is observed.

Signs of severe brain damage: coma, lack of consciousness, respiratory failure. In addition to general symptoms, a violation of the integrity of the skull, facial asymmetry, and paralysis of the limbs may be observed.

If parents notice at least 1 dangerous sign, call an ambulance and take the baby to the hospital. After examining a traumatologist, neurologist, or ophthalmologist, the doctors will come to a conclusion and give recommendations: is it possible to safely go home with the baby or is inpatient observation necessary?

Most mild concussions in children go away without leaving a trace. As treatment, doctors prescribe sedatives. For the fastest recovery, rest, leisurely walks in the fresh air in the park area, good sleep, and lack of mental stress are recommended. During therapy, it is forbidden to tense up, get nervous, watch TV or read books.

As a rule, if all doctors' recommendations are followed, the young researcher fully recovers within 2 - 3 weeks. Experiences, pain and tears are forgotten like a bad dream. The main task of parents is to learn a valuable lesson from what happened and protect their child in the future.

If a child often falls and hits his head, this is bad. In the future, he may experience: spontaneous headaches, impaired attention and concentration, memory impairment, increased nervous excitability.

No matter how old or months old the victim is, carefully monitor how he is feeling. one month old baby, and an older mischievous person aged 5 - 7 - 12 years. If in any doubt, consult your doctor.

The baby's health is important!

If a young researcher has an accident and exhibits dangerous symptoms, do not hesitate to call an ambulance. After examination, if necessary, doctors transport the victim to the hospital. In the hospital, the doctor may prescribe additional examinations: skull, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), computed tomography, lumbar puncture.

Children under 1.5 years old undergo neurosonography, an examination using ultrasound.

What to do if a child hits his head and has an open skull fracture?

The presence of severe injury can be determined visually: nasal congestion, different size pupil reactions, hemorrhages around the eyes, lack of consciousness, impaired breathing, heartbeat, and bone integrity.

In most cases, skull fractures occur during road traffic accidents, after falling on concrete from a height.

Dangerous complications of injury are: death, paralysis, paresis, epilepsy. After TBI (traumatic brain injury), inhibition, developmental delay, increased intracranial stress, stuttering, and epilepsy are observed.

The task of parents is to seek help from doctors as soon as possible after an accident. The best option would be to call an ambulance, since for many types of injuries, self-transportation is undesirable.

Before the doctors arrive, if the baby is conscious, try to calm him down and make sure he doesn’t move or get up. If calling an ambulance is not possible, carefully transport the victim to the hospital using your own transport.

First aid for minor bruises

A toddler over 1 year old fell and hit his head, this is a fairly common situation. If, after an accident occurs, the little champion quickly stops crying and has no dangerous symptoms, you can take a wait-and-see approach and carefully monitor the fidget’s behavior. After bruises, often at the site of impact.

To help the baby cope with an unpleasant situation, parents should:

    1.Take control of your emotions and calm your baby.
    2. If your little fidget falls and a bump forms on his forehead, apply cold to the area of ​​the bruise for 3-10 minutes. To do this, use plastic bottle with frozen water, any product from the freezer. Before placing the medicinal bundle on your head, wrap it several times in clean cotton cloth.
    3. You can read about detailed treatment of bruises, bumps and abrasions in the article.

Attention!
If your baby was injured, you went to an ambulance and went to the hospital; after the examination, a police officer may have a conversation with you. The law protects the rights of minors and takes care of their safety. If the baby is harmed through negligence or purposefully, the parents will bear criminal or administrative liability for this.

Conclusion

Due to the carelessness and neglect of parents, little fidgets aged from 1 month to 3-4 years very often become victims of accidents. You need to remember this and not violate basic safety rules. It is forbidden to leave the baby alone, hoping for his independence.

Children from 5 to 12 years old find themselves in unpleasant situations due to recklessness and the desire to excel. The desire to risk your life and belief in omnipotence quite often accompanies young men and women. In order for teenagers to be more attentive to their health, parents should instill in them the rules of personal safety from infancy. Remember, children are our reflection and their love for life begins in the family, thanks to their parents.

If your mischievous child has suffered a head injury or has symptoms of a concussion or brain injury, do not waste time and consult a doctor. Timely medical supervision and treatment will help cope with troubles and eliminate the risk of complications.

There is not a single baby who has never fallen. They fall when they learn to crawl, walk, when they play. And every time a child falls to the floor and hits the back of his head hard, parents involuntarily wonder if everything is okay with their baby, if he has any injuries after the bruise. What should you do if your child hits his head or the back of his head? After all, the back of the head is the most vulnerable place in children.

Let's imagine such a situation. The child was playing calmly on the bed. Mom looked after him closely. But as soon as she left for a minute, for example, to get water, the little one fell to the floor, hitting the back of her head hard. The parents are in a panic, they don’t know what to do or how to do it, the baby is crying a lot. What should the mother do in this case, how can she find out that the baby, after he fell on the floor, does not have a severe bruise or even a concussion?
Let's try to figure it out step by step, what to do if the baby hits the back of the head or any other part of the head?

Step 1: Assess the situation

Parents need to calm down, not panic and soberly assess the situation. From what height did the baby fall, on what surface? If, for example, the baby fell from the bed onto the floor, onto a soft carpet, then most likely everything is fine with him, and the baby will only get away with fear and a small bruise. If he fell from his high chair, or from a stroller, or fell on a hard tiled floor or on floor tiles, then he stands here
be on your guard.

Step 2: Baby Care

It is necessary to assess the child’s well-being. If he falls to the floor, he may lose consciousness, although not for long. Therefore, if after the baby fell, he did not cry for the first two or three minutes, this may mean that the baby lost consciousness. After a blow to the back of the head, a child needs to be calmed down and placed on the bed. You need to carefully monitor your child and not let him sleep. If you notice any of the symptoms described above in your child, you should definitely call an ambulance or take him to the doctor yourself.

Step 3: Treating the Damage Site

Inspect the site of the injury. If there is a bruise in its place (it does not appear immediately, but after two or three hours), then you must apply a cold compress to avoid severe swelling. If there is an abrasion or wound at the site of the injury, it must be disinfected with a peroxide solution, treated with brilliant green and covered with a band-aid. Healing ointments can be used later. Such as Baneocin, Bodyaga, Astroderm, Boro-plus and others. If blood flows without stopping for more than 15 minutes, then this is a good reason to consult a doctor.

Good day everyone! I propose today to do without long introductions. A head injury in a baby is too serious.

If a child hits his head, what should you pay attention to to prevent trouble from happening? Now I will tell you everything.

Ksenia Remizova, a neurologist and mother of two children, helped me write this article. She shared her own story:

“When my youngest son was 10 months old, he managed to fall out of his high chair. The child was in the kitchen with his dad. The husband turned away for a moment to put a dirty plate in the sink - and at that time the son stood up and fell over the back. He fell head first onto the hard floor. The baby was crying, I was in a panic. We called an ambulance.

By the time we got to the emergency room, my son calmed down. He slept a little, then woke up, looked at the new place with interest, smiled... We hoped that everything had turned out okay. Imagine our horror when the child was diagnosed with a fracture of the parietal bone!

Then there was treatment in the children's neurosurgical department, observation by a neurologist at the clinic... Now my son is almost 3 years old. He has no consequences from the injury."

My child also has a history of injury; at the age of 2.10, he was jumping on the bed and hit my... knee. I myself was in a lot of pain, but the child didn’t even cry. I was limping all day, and I was surprised that my son didn’t even have a bump, and he was cheerful and cheerful.

Unfortunately, the next morning the consequences began - he was losing orientation in space, he could not be moved, he could not focus while looking at me, plus there was vomiting. It was terrible for me, I was very scared, and we were forced to go to the hospital. They diagnosed him with a concussion, and it’s good that everything recovered quite quickly.

From these stories I want to draw your attention to two points:

  1. Head injuries can be tricky.
  1. The kids are recovering well. They can endure even severe head injuries without consequences.

Let's look at the dangers of a head injury.

A blow to the head: options for the development of events

Option 1, happy - everything worked out

Let's say a kid, while running, hit a wall. I had a slight headache and it went away. The only memory of the injury is a bump on his forehead.

Option two, concussion

The impact caused the brain cells to stop working normally for some time. The headache does not go away, and vomiting may occur. The head is spinning, vomiting is possible.

Option three, brain contusion

The blow was so strong that part of the brain was damaged. The head hurts, the child is vomiting, the head is spinning. Speech or coordination may be impaired.

Option four, the most dangerous - hemorrhage into the cranial cavity

This situation is an emergency. Blood is an additional volume inside a cramped cranium. If it doesn't stop, it can put pressure on the brain. This can lead to death from cardiac or respiratory arrest. Get an ambulance immediately!

Head injury – how to react?

So, the child hit his head hard. What to do in such a situation? The UN formula will help you. Look here:

  • Stop the bleeding
  • Limit activity
  • Observe

Let's look into it thoroughly.

ABOUTturn blood

To do this, apply any frozen food from the freezer to the injury site. The best thing is something loose. This “ice pack” will easily take the shape of your head. Just wrap it in a towel.

Rinse the wound with hydrogen peroxide. Apply a bandage.

Consider this:

A wound wider than 0.7 cm and longer than 2 centimeters requires suturing. You should see a doctor!

ABOUTlimit activity

During the day after the injury, everything is contraindicated for the baby. active games. It’s also better not to watch TV, and not to read books on your own.

Let him lie in bed and listen to audiobooks. You can draw, play board games... You know better what to do with your child.

The day after the injury, do not send the “victim” to school or kindergarten. Let him stay at home, under the supervision of his family.

Now we get to the most important point:

Nobserve

  • From what height exactly did the baby fall? When?
  • What did he hit?
  • Did you lose consciousness?
  • Did you vomit, how many times?
  • What did you complain about?
  • How did you behave after the injury?

Keep an eye on your child for 24 hours after the injury. If he's sleeping, wake him up every three hours, day and night, to make sure he's okay. To do this, ask some basic question and let the baby answer you. Did he answer correctly? Is it normal speech? Let him sleep on.

Keep in mind that it happens that the consequences of a bruise can begin on the second or third day. Therefore, the first three days require your attention to the child’s condition.

Red flags for head injuries

Finally, I will list the symptoms of severe injury, “red flags,” as doctors say.

If you see THIS, call 911 immediately!

  • Impaired consciousness. You can't wake up the baby. Or he is inhibited and has difficulty answering questions.
  • Change in speech. Slow speech, stuttering. little child stopped talking.
  • Marked drowsiness.
  • Behavior change. The child is “somehow different” for no apparent reason.
  • Headache for more than an hour after injury.
  • Vomiting more than once.
  • Dizziness for more than an hour after injury.
  • Lack of coordination: the child “looks like he’s drunk” and gets carried away.
  • Convulsions - twitching of the arms and legs. Or the baby suddenly loses consciousness and “shakes.”
  • Weakness in an arm or leg. An adult child limps, cannot walk on tiptoes, and complains of awkwardness in an arm or leg. The baby cannot lean on the handle when crawling, and cannot lift one leg when lying on his back.
  • Different pupils.
  • Symmetrical bruises under the eyes or behind the ears.
  • Colorless or bloody fluid leaks from the nose or ear.

Brr! I wish you not to detect any of these signs in your children.

Dr. Komarovsky once said: “I have not seen a single child who lived to be a year old without falling off the sofa.” Children have had, still have, and will have head injuries. But it is important to correctly assess the situation and consult a doctor in time.

Now you know what to do , if the child hits his head. To avoid losing important information, post the article on social networks. You will always have it at hand - and your friends may also find it useful!

I wish you and your children health, joy - and no injuries!

Hugs,

yours, Anastasia Smolinets.

Anna Mironova


Reading time: 4 minutes

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A child's skull is more fragile and vulnerable than that of an adult. Accordingly, the risk of serious injury increases significantly. Especially in the 1st year of life, when the bones have not yet fused and can easily move from a blow. Babies fall out of strollers and cribs, roll off the changing table and just plop down out of the blue. It’s good if everything turns out to be a bump or abrasion, but what should a mother do if the baby hits his head hard?

We treat the bruise after hitting a child with his head - first aid rules for bumps and wounds on the head.

If your baby hits his head, the most important thing is not to panic and not to scare your baby with your panic.

  • We soberly and calmly assess the condition of the baby: carefully place the child on the bed and examine the head to see if there are any visible injuries (hematomas or redness, abrasions on the forehead and head, lump, bleeding, swelling, dissection of soft tissues).
  • If your baby fell while you were flipping pancakes in the kitchen, ask the baby in detail– where you fell, how you fell and where you hit. If, of course, the baby is already able to speak.
  • If you fall from a serious height onto a hard surface(tiles, concrete, etc.), do not waste time - call an ambulance right away.
  • When falling on the carpet During the game, most likely, the worst thing that awaits the baby is a bump, but attentiveness will not hurt.
  • Calm the child and distract him with something– hysteria increases bleeding (if any) and increases intracranial pressure.

  • Apply ice wrapped in a towel to the injury site. Keep it for no more than 15 minutes; ice is needed to relieve swelling and prevent the hematoma from spreading. If there is no ice, you can use a bag with any frozen food.
  • Treat the wound or abrasion with hydrogen peroxide to avoid infection. If there is further bleeding (if it is not stopped), call an ambulance.
  • Watch your baby carefully. If signs of a concussion appear, call an ambulance immediately. Before the doctor arrives, do not give any painkillers, so as not to “blur the picture” for the diagnosis.

The child fell and hit his head, but there were no injuries - we are monitoring the general condition of the baby

It happens that after a baby falls and hurts its head, the mother cannot find any visible injuries. What should I do?

  • Over the next 24 hours be especially attentive to your baby. The hours immediately after the fall are the most important for symptoms.
  • Please note - Is your baby dizzy? whether he suddenly fell asleep, whether he felt nauseous, whether he was able to answer questions, etc.
  • Don't let the baby sleep so as not to miss the appearance of certain symptoms.
  • If the baby calms down after 10-20 minutes, and no visible symptoms appeared within 24 hours; most likely, everything turned out to be a slight bruise of soft tissues. But if you have even the slightest doubt or suspicion, consult a doctor. Better once again play it safe.
  • Children of the 1st year of life cannot tell what and where it hurts. As a rule, they only cry loudly, are nervous, refuse to eat, sleep restlessly after an injury, and experience nausea or vomiting. If these symptoms are prolonged and even worsen, a concussion can be assumed.

For what symptoms after a head injury does a child need to be seen urgently by a doctor - be careful!

You should urgently call an ambulance if you have the following symptoms:

  • The baby loses consciousness.
  • There is heavy bleeding.
  • The baby feels sick or vomits.
  • The child developed headaches.
  • The baby suddenly fell asleep.
  • The child is restless and does not stop crying.
  • The baby's pupils are enlarged or have different sizes.
  • The child is not able to answer even simple questions.
  • The baby's movements are abrupt and erratic.
  • Convulsions appeared.
  • Confused consciousness.
  • Limbs don't move.
  • There is bleeding from the ears and nose (sometimes with the appearance of colorless liquid from there).
  • Blue-black incomprehensible spots or a bruise appeared behind the ear.
  • Blood appeared in the whites of the eyes.

What to do before the doctor arrives?

  • Place your baby on his side to prevent choking on vomit.
  • Secure the child in a safe position.
  • Check his pulse, evenness of breathing and pupil size.
  • Keep your baby awake and keep him in a horizontal position so that both his head and body are at the same level.
  • Give artificial respiration if the baby is not breathing. Tilt his head back, check that the tongue does not block the larynx, and, holding the baby’s nose, blow air “from mouth to mouth.” You are doing everything correctly if your chest visually rises.
  • If there are convulsions, immediately turn the baby on his side; in this state he needs complete rest. Do not give medications, wait for the doctor.

Even if everything is good and serious you didn’t need an examination - don’t relax. Observe the baby for 7-10 days. Take him to the doctor immediately if in doubt. And remember that it is better to once again make sure of the baby’s health than to later treat the consequences of a bruise that you “overlooked.”

According to statistics, in the first two years of life, children hit their heads much more often than in other periods, so almost all parents face the problem of injuries and bruises. Naturally, they begin to worry about the baby’s health, and their fears are not always unfounded. If a child hits his head, what should you pay attention to?

First of all, if your baby hits his head, pay attention to the severity of the injuries and his well-being not only at the time of the fall, but also over the next few days, because the consequences of the injury may not appear immediately and may be quite serious in severity.

A child fell and hit his head: how dangerous is this?

I immediately want to say: “Down with panic!” Hitting your head does not mean “damage something,” “severely injured,” or “there will be consequences.” Yes, sometimes head injuries due to falls can be very dangerous. But you should remember: a child’s body has the ability to quickly rehabilitate itself even after serious injuries, and in most cases protective mechanisms are triggered. And it’s not for nothing that children’s bones are called “soft”; it is because of their softness that the risk of fractures is reduced, while the degree of depreciation is high due to the large amount of cerebrospinal fluid.

And the so-called “fontanel” also plays the role of a shock absorber, and if the baby hits his head, it will help soften the force of the blow, protect against pressure changes, and protect the brain.

Infants always fall head down, because it is heavier in weight than the body, and they do not have stable coordination of movements.

Typical cases of head injuries in infants include the following:

  • the baby is left unattended on the changing table, from which he falls to the floor;
  • a baby sitting in a high chair and not secured with belts is pushed off with his feet and falls on his back, with the blow falling on the occipital region;
  • the baby falls out of the crib, hitting his forehead on the floor;
  • A baby on a walk tries to stand up in a stroller and, unable to find support, falls onto the asphalt.

Most likely, there is nothing to worry about since the fall occurred from an insignificant height. But to be on the safe side, it doesn’t hurt to pay close attention the child’s well-being over the next few days.

The child hit his head - what to do?

In such a situation, adults should be ready to help the victim, because this is already half of the successful treatment of a bruise or injury. The first thing to do is to inspect the site of the impact and assess the nature of the damage, and then act according to the circumstances.

So:

  1. There are no visible injuries, but the baby continues to cry. The stressful situation and fear have taken their toll, so the parents’ task is to calm the child (pick him up, don’t raise his voice, especially don’t punish). A compress of a towel soaked in cold water should be applied to the site of the impact to reduce pain and prevent swelling.
  1. If a hematoma or bump has formed on the head from a blow, you should immediately apply ice or any product cooled in the refrigerator to it, that is, apply a cold compress for about 15-20 minutes, then let the child rest.

Advice! We must not forget that bruises are especially dangerous for young children! If a hematoma has formed on the forehead of an infant, it is better to immediately consult a doctor and not wait for other warning signs; he will examine the baby and give an opinion on the severity of the damage.

  1. It is dangerous when a child cuts his forehead and the wound bleeds. First you need to stop the bleeding: apply a bandage, scarf, towel and hold until the liquid stops oozing. Then the wound is treated with an antiseptic and covered with a bandage.

Advice! Take courage and carefully examine the wound. If it is superficial and looks more like a scratch, then it just needs to be treated. If it is wide (wider than 7 mm) or long (longer than 2 cm), with uneven edges (“torn”), and it is difficult to stop the bleeding, you need to urgently consult a doctor, as stitches will be necessary.

  1. If a child hits his head hard and symptoms of severe injury appear (nausea, vomiting, dizziness, fainting, etc.), if the baby’s condition suddenly or gradually worsens, then you should immediately seek medical help.

On the day of the fall and hit his head, the child's activity should be kept to a minimum. And immediately after an unpleasant incident, you should not put him to bed, because the baby’s condition may worsen, which will be difficult to notice.

The first day after injury: observing the reaction

It is important to promptly diagnose disorders due to injury in order to prevent negative consequences, so you will have to monitor the baby’s behavior and condition not only on the day of the fall, but also for the next few days. During this period of time, children are contraindicated in outdoor games, repeated head injuries, physical activity. It is also not advisable to send a child to study or take him to kindergarten; he should be at home, under the supervision of adults.

What should you focus on?

  1. Is consciousness and coordination of movements impaired?

Advice! Wake up your sleeping baby and get him to his feet. If he maintains his balance, then his coordination is fine. Then ask a simple question and listen to what the answer is.

  1. Has the speech changed (slowness, stuttering, lack of crying in the baby should alert you).
  1. Are there any deviations in behavior (decreased activity, loss of appetite, drowsiness).
  1. How you feel: are there headaches, dizziness, frequent vomiting (a single urge may not always be a sign of a concussion), pupils of different sizes, blueness under the eyes, discharge from the ears or nose, pale skin, convulsions, weakness of the limbs (babies usually do not support on one hand or pull the leg to the stomach).

If at least one of these symptoms is noticed, then you cannot waste time, because delay can be disastrous for the child, he should be shown to a doctor.

A child hit his forehead: what do you need to know?

The frontal bone is strong enough to withstand even strong blows. But here it is necessary to exclude severe traumatic brain injury, in comparison with which a lump on a child’s forehead may be the least of the problems.

They come in two types:

  • open when the bones are crushed and there is a serious wound. Require immediate surgical intervention;
  • closed when the skin and bones remain intact.

Closed injuries are not easy to identify and include:

  • brain contusion, characterized by loss of consciousness, nasal discharge, darkening of the skin around the eyes against the background of general pallor of the skin, impaired coordination and speech;
  • soft tissue bruise is the most harmless condition, which results in a bruise or bump, as well as long crying after a fall. However, it can also be dangerous if the child hit his forehead hard and after a while a depression formed in place of the bump or the bump itself became of an impressive size, complaints of nausea appeared or vomiting began, the skin turned pale, the lips turned blue, the pupils dilated, and breathing became heavy. All this is a reason to urgently go to the emergency room;
  • concussion, which often occurs after strong blows, leads to short-term loss of consciousness, dizziness, profuse vomiting, and clouding of mind. Sometimes there are no obvious signs of a concussion, then they pay attention to the nature of the sleep: if it has become anxious, the baby makes sudden movements with its head, most likely it is present.

The presence of a concussion in children under one year of age is rare, but the condition as a whole needs to be assessed. Usually, after a fall, infants scream loudly, move restlessly, and often fall asleep after crying. Having awakened, they begin to be capricious and refuse food, after a while they burp once or repeatedly, and at night they twitch their limbs. The longer this happens, the higher the likelihood that the baby still received a concussion.

There may be another reaction to an injury: after a bruise, a baby falls asleep soundly and wakes up alert, which creates the erroneous impression of recovery and absence of damage. The danger is that at any moment the situation can change dramatically in the direction of worsening well-being.

Having noticed symptoms, parents should take care to call a doctor, without self-medicating and without giving the baby painkillers and other drugs, so as not to make it difficult for a specialist to make a diagnosis.

A child hit the back of his head: what are the consequences?

A blow to the back of the head is no less dangerous than to the forehead, and the same alarming symptoms appear, not to mention various negative consequences in case of delayed treatment.

So, complications after a blow to the back of the head include:

  • disturbance of spatial perception (disorientation) and speech;
  • absent-mindedness;
  • memory impairment;
  • sleep disorder;
  • numbness of the limbs;
  • frequent headaches (migraines).

This can be avoided if you seek medical help in a timely manner.

It is important to remember that a strong blow to the back of the head often leads to a concussion, so such injuries should be treated even more carefully than others associated with blows to the head.

It would be a good idea to take preventative measures to avoid traumatic situations, then you won’t have to wonder what to do if your child hits his head.

Therefore it is important:

  • do not leave children (especially infants) unattended, always be nearby and provide protection in places of increased danger (for example, so that the child does not fall from a slide, swing or stairs);
  • allow children to play only in safe places;
  • teach children traffic rules;
  • share information about following safety rules when riding a bicycle, wear a protective helmet, and if a child hits his head on the asphalt while riding, but there are no visible changes in behavior, it is better to play it safe and show him to a doctor;
  • place the baby in a car seat if you plan to travel with him in the car.

Be attentive to your children!

Head injury in a child, “concussion” - Doctor Komarovsky - Emergency care