Child head injuries - I swear…the table jumped out at him!

I don’t think I will ever forget the sight and the ‘sound’ of when my baby first rolled off the lounge. Fortunately he was not seriously hurt, but if you had witnessed the event and saw how my husband and I reacted you may have thought quite differently!

Then there was the time he fell off the bed, crawled into the cornice of the wall, bungy jumped down the back step or ‘face planted’ into some furniture! I now know that the ‘first time is the worse time’ and every time something happens, especially with baby number 2, I am now far more in control and less over reactive (my husband, not so!).

With child head injuries, identifying and understanding what constitutes a serious head injury, requiring immediate medical attention, and what is only a minor head injury, requiring tender loving care is a fine line and one that you understand far better over time, but for those of you who are seeking some simple guidelines, please read on.

I have found that the injuries requiring ‘tender loving care’ follow the same pattern of events; the sound of a ‘thud’, a moment of silence and instant look of ‘shock’, an ambitious attempt on my count to make my baby laugh, failing this, minutes of squealing and streams of tears, ceasing when a favourite drink and toy is offered. Crisis adverted!

It can be difficult to tell if a head injury is serious or not and if in doubt you should always seek medical advice.

Especially never hesitate to call an Ambulance (000), if your child shows any of the following signs:

Loss of consciousness, especially if longer than 30 seconds.
Drowsiness and does not respond to your voice.
Has other significant head injury signs, such as unequal pupils, arm and leg weakness.
Has something stuck in their head.
Has had a fit or convulsion.

Additionally, you should immediately contact your doctor and seek medical advice if your child shows any of the following signs:

Has lost of consciousness for less than 30 seconds.
Has vomited twice or more.
Has a headache.
Has a large bruise, lump or cut on the head.

In the event that your child has not lost consciousness, and is alert and interactive, may have a small bruise or cut on their head, but otherwise seems to be acting ‘normally’ apply a cold pack to the injury and pressure to any slight bleeding. If your child is sleepy, let them sleep but you can wake them every hour to check how they feel or that they are reacting as per normal to familiar things. It is important to monitor your child and at any point you feel that things just aren’t ‘normal’ never hesitate to seek medical advice.

Now, thankfully all my experiences have been very minor and apparently child head injuries statistics conclude that boys will fall more than girls. So, with that in mind, my little men and I are doing our bit for science!

157 Comments

- - rainbownerds said
  - 28 Oct 2013
    5:40 pm
Interesting read. Thanks for sharing

- - catgrrl3 said
  - 27 Oct 2013
    9:44 pm
I think kids will always be a little stronger than we think, its that constant want to protect that makes the heary go a few thousand times faster than it should at times 🙂

- - meimei said
  - 24 Oct 2013
    11:47 am
My son fell several time from bed too.

- - snoopy said
  - 22 Oct 2013
    7:18 am
I remember when my daughter was a toddler running in the house-she ran up the hallway, but instead she ran straight into the corner of the wall and nearly knocked herself out-she is no longer a toddler and still has scar on her forehead now from the wall. She is our own Harry Potter with that scar there.

- - barch said
  - 17 Oct 2013
    2:27 pm
Head knocks are frequent in my house. My heart races every time and I’m straight to the freezer for a cold pack and a big cuddle from mummy

- - meltingmoment said
  - 16 Oct 2013
    8:54 pm
My youngest was always very clumsy ( still is ), had to keep a close eye on her – a few times when she ended up bumps or bruises.

- - yyon4699 said
  - 14 Oct 2013
    11:09 pm
I know I would rush my bb to the hospital is she falls and hurts her head…YOu can never be too careful…Losing conciousness for more than 30 seconds is way tooooo scary…even 1 second I cannot take it…

- - catgrrl3 said
  - 14 Oct 2013
    1:52 pm
thank you for taking the time to write this, I enjoyed reading it.

- - traceyi said
  - 26 Sep 2013
    1:33 pm
I would think any time frame of LOC would require immediate action, not just 30 seconds or more.

- - omgjag31 said
  - 19 Sep 2013
    9:57 pm
My eldest got thrown off a horse when she was about 8 blood everywhere and as she cried the blood pumped out of her head faster and faster. It was horrible

- - tanya goulding said
  - 13 Sep 2013
    11:05 am
My little boy has had several lumps On his head, thankfully we have never had to take him to hospital but you can’t help but worry everytime it happens!

- - tinkz said
  - 27 Aug 2013
    12:57 pm
Awww it sucks when babys get hurt

- - sunava said
  - 23 Aug 2013
    11:41 pm
My daughter rolled over and fell from the bed ,I was so scared and cried more than her ,she was fine ! Thank God

- - tahlia w said
  - 13 Aug 2013
    10:55 pm
I swear my 10mnth old thinks that he can fly. Hospital know me by name now…
- sallty replied
  
  16 Aug 2013 , 7:53 am
  My friend has a child like that. He’s nearly three now and still hasn’t changed. I think he’ll be a stuntman or an acrobat when he grows up.
  - earthlydelites replied
    
    20 Aug 2013 , 3:39 pm
    
    hopefully they grow out of it!
- - emily_flores said
  - 08 Aug 2013
    11:48 pm
My daughter always hits her head no matter how much we try to avoid these things happening, always get scared every time it happens
- missangela replied
  
  17 Aug 2013 , 11:50 am
  My daughter did to they have no fear.
- - meagan_cooper said
  - 06 Aug 2013
    7:14 pm
It is so scary when they hurt themselves especially their head lucky we don’t have a little dare devil here…

- - ginoula5 said
  - 06 Aug 2013
    6:40 pm
Important information and advice, falling and minor accidents do happen with kids. Thank you for this post.

- - sallty said
  - 05 Aug 2013
    11:25 pm
Good information, thank you. Its good to know when to panic and when not to!

- - curlytops said
  - 04 Aug 2013
    8:24 pm
parents nightmare when this happens.

- - kylie_tappin said
  - 01 Aug 2013
    1:32 pm
great article good info and something to think about.