If you have accessed this page of our web site you may still be in a panicked mode because your child’s head recently made a loud hollow sound after a fall or collision. Take a deep breath and jump to the list below:

• Did your child cry right away? YES, then start relaxing
• Did they recognize you as their parent? YES, continue to feel calm
• Have they vomited since the accident? NO, great
• Do you see bleeding form the ears or nose? NO
• Are they able to walk or talk normally now? YES
• Is there rapid and continued swelling ABOVE THE EAR? NO
• Did your child have a seizure or loss of consciousness? NO

If your answers are DIFFERENT than those listed, call us to discuss care immediately.

If your answers are the same then you can relax and count this as another moment of parenthood that contributes to the graying or total loss of hair.  

The amount of swelling of the forehead is not correlated with severity or internal bleeding; this area of the scalp has a great blood supply and as a result swells up rapidly.

Also, be warned the swelling and blood may, via gravity, appear under the eyes the next morning, making your child appear to be a defeated boxer.  

Waking children up after a head injury is rarely necessary if they match the answers above, but if it was a severe blow or they just seem “not right” to your parental instincts, then wake them up every hour for the next 2–3 hours. Once they are noted to awaken, you can let them go right back to sleep.

 

Note: If your child is under 6 months and had a significant head injury, some of these questions do not apply. Call us for guidance.