Head Injury
Home Care:
- All children with a head injury should be watched closely for 24 hours.
- You may allow your child to sleep, however:
- After two hours, wake your child and check their ability to talk and walk (if old enough).
- Awaken your child twice during the night.
- Apply ice to any swelling for twenty minutes (and repeat 2 more times over the next 24 hours).
- Do not give a sedative type medication (i.e.: antihistamine).
- Giving Tylenol or Ibuprofen is appropriate.
What to Watch For:
- Vomiting - It is not unusual to vomit 1-2 times after a head injury. Vomiting more than 2 times could be a sign of a more serious problem.
- Changes in behavior or activity, such as:
- Lethargy
- Excessive Irritability
- Acting Confused
- Severe headaches - Many children will have a mild headache. A severe headache that wakes a child or stops him/her from playing is a concern.
- Clumsiness - Signs of clumsiness are:
- Falling or staggering
- Bumping into objects
- Difficulty seeing
- Dizziness
- In an infant, not moving both arms or legs at the same time
CALL 911 if your child is unconscious.
If your child has a concussion, he/she should not return to sports until cleared by your practitioner.
CALL YOUR PEDIATRICIAN IMMEDIATELY if:
- The skin is split open and needs stitches.
- Your child has a seizure.
- Your child was unconscious for a brief period after the injury.
- Your child cannot remember the accident.
- Your child has a severe headache.
- Your child has vomited 3 or more times.
- Your child is unusually sleepy and difficult to awake.
- Speech is slurred.
- Vision is blurred or double.
- Walking or crawling is unsteady.
- Your child has neck pain.
- Bloody or watery fluid is draining from the ears or nose.
- Your child's eyes are crossed.
- There are other symptoms that concern you.
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