Head injury
Every child struck his head at least once in his life. Most of the injuries received, for example, when you hit your head on the table or when you fall from a low bed, do not pose a danger. Serious damage to the child, as a rule, gets when falling from a bicycle, roller coaster, swing, in road and car accidents.
Potentially all head injuries to are serious enough, but only some of them can lead to real problems.
If there are no open injuries to the skull, head injuries should first of all pay attention to intracranial bleeding. Hematoma will put pressure on the brain, which can lead to serious damage to the brain. Fortunately, nature has taken care to protect the valuable contents of the skull from dangerous external influences. So, for example, children under one year have fontanel - a soft place on the head, serving as a safety valve, which reduces the reception of serious head injuries.
Only a thorough examination will help to identify and determine the severity of a head injury. Such an examination can be carried out both at home and in the office of a specialist.
When falling from a small height( table, chair, high bed), the child can get a minor head injury. At the bruised place, a "lump" can immediately appear, the child remains conscious and begins to cry. For a while, parental comforts may not act on him
, vomiting may start( 1-2 times in the first few hours).The child becomes sleepy and quickly gets tired, can even doze off, but quickly wakes up. The size of the pupils remains unchanged, and the vomiting quickly passes.
The child does not look pale, but the pulse is constant and easily palpable. Within eight hours, he returns to normal life and only a mild and sometimes considerable size "shishka" recalls the incident.
When falling from roofs, when you hit hard objects with your head( stick, bit) or during an automobile accident, a child can be seriously injured. Possible loss of consciousness. The child becomes listless and apathetic. It is possible to enlarge one of the pupils and often repeat vomiting. The child looks pale, and his pulse is low( 70 beats per minute) and uneven.
Your actions
A cold compress should be applied to the bruised area. This will help reduce the swelling. In children, usually with bruises and strokes of the head appears "lump".The size of the "cone" in no way indicates the severity of the injury.
The initial inspection period is very important. Intracranial
bleeding the first 24 hours after injury can be very severe and last for up to three days or even longer. Although it is sometimes possible and slow bleeding, which is called subdural hematoma and can lead to chronic headaches, vomiting or changes in the psyche, usually occurring a month after the injury.
First of all, it is necessary to establish the cause of the injury. If the child has lost consciousness or does not remember what happened to him before or after the incident, you can assume a concussion. The child should be urgently shown to the doctor.
Observe the behavior of the child. Lethargy, alternating with excitement, drowsiness during the day, relentless vomiting and a hindered reaction - all this is a sign of intracranial hemorrhage. Vomiting usually occurs once, immediately after getting injured. If the child is sick, consult a doctor.
Pay attention to the appearance of the child. If he is pale, sweats badly or complains of weakness immediately show it to a specialist.
Compare the pupils of both eyes. Some children have pupils of different sizes from nature, this is normal. If they are of different sizes due to injury, then the brain in the skull is pressured by the accumulated blood there. This is cause for alarm.
Low( less than 60 beats per minute) and uneven heart rate indicates intracranial hemorrhage.
If you are inspecting a child who has suffered a serious head injury during an accident, pay attention to other parts of the body - the chest, abdominal cavity, limbs.
Child, injured, it is necessary to re-examine from time to time, analyze his behavior and state of health. As soon as any alarming symptoms are identified, seek medical advice immediately. Since mostly accidents happen in the evening, your child can be listless and sleepy for several hours after getting injured. If you have certain concerns about his health, periodically feel the pulse of the child, examine the pupils, check whether it is easy to wake him. If the head is not strong enough, such checks at night are not necessary.
It is very difficult to determine exactly whether there is internal bleeding or not, what are its dimensions and intensity. The X-ray of the skull also rarely can give the necessary picture of the injury, except when it is necessary to establish whether the bone fragments have hit the brain;but such situations are rare. In case of serious damage to the head, an X-ray of the cervical region should be made.
The doctor will also need the most complete picture of what happened. He will examine the child, check his pulse and blood pressure. Then the doctor will examine the head, eyes, ears, throat, nose, neck and check the nervous system. Also, the specialist will examine the injured child for other injuries: chest, abdomen and limbs. If there is a suspicion of internal bleeding, a special radiological analysis( computer tomography) or a child will be hospitalized. In the hospital, he will constantly measure the pressure, check the pulse and pupils.