HEAD TRAUMA

Injuries to the head are very common in children and adolescents, especially during the spring through fall seasons.  Children are playing outside on playgrounds, riding bicycles, skateboarding, rollerblading and playing outdoor sports, often without the protective headgear/helmets that they should be wearing.

Most of the time the injuries are minor, resulting in bleeding or bruising of the scalp.  The blood supply to the head is large, so even small cuts do bleed a lot.  There is not much soft tissue (fat and muscle) to absorb the blood as there is in other parts of the body.  Therefore large bumps also tend to form.  To treat a small cut, clean it with soap and water and apply direct pressure to stop the bleeding.  Apply ice if there is swelling.  If the bleeding does not stop or you feel a depression beneath a bump, your child should be seen.  Call our office and we will either see you here or we may direct you to the emergency room or a plastic surgeon.

Some head injuries result in concussion, of which there are different grades, ranging from no loss of consciousness, but with subsequent confusion or amnesia, to trauma with loss of consciousness. 

Some other signs of concussion or more severe brain injury are:

• Vomiting more than 2-3 times
• Seizure
• Excessive sleepiness
• Blurred vision
• Blood or watery fluid from nose or ears
• Unequal pupils

If your child has evidence of a concussion or any of these signs, including being dazed, he or she should be examined.  This will usually occur in the emergency room, especially if there has been loss of consciousness, in case there is the need for a CT scan. If you are unsure of whether your child should be seen in the emergency room or our office, please call and we will advise you.

To help prevent serious head injuries, follow a few simple rules:

• Always use car safety belts and car seats while driving.
• Never leave your infant alone on a raised surface.
• Don’t use baby walkers.
• Use gates at the tops and bottoms of stairs.
• Always use bike helmets for your child and yourselves; also use for any wheeled recreational item (roller blades, skateboards, scooters).
• Use ski helmets for skiing and snowboarding.
• Use car seats for young children on airplanes.
• Use helmets for certain sports; and encourage leagues to require helmets if they don’t already.

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