Head Injuries (continued)

• unconsciousness
• abnormal breathing
• obvious serious wound or fracture
• bleeding or clear fluid from the nose, ear, or mouth
• disturbance of speech or vision
• pupils of unequal size
• weakness or paralysis
• dizziness
• neck pain or stiffness
• seizure
• vomiting more than two to three times
• loss of bladder or bowel control

If your child is unconscious:

• Do not try to move your child in case there is a neck or spine injury.
• Call for help.
• If you've been trained in CPR, follow the recommendations if they're appropriate.
• Turn a child who is vomiting or having a seizure onto his or her side while trying to keep the head and neck straight. This will help prevent choking and provide protection in case of neck and spine injury.
• If there's swelling, apply an ice pack or cold pack.

If your child is conscious:

• Do your best to keep your child calm and still.
• If there's bleeding, apply a sterile bandage.
• Do not attempt to cleanse the wound, which may aggravate bleeding and/or cause serious complications if the skull is fractured.
• Do not apply direct pressure to the wound if you suspect the skull is fractured.
• Do not remove any object that's stuck in the wound.

Concussions

Concussions are also a type of internal head injury. A concussion is the temporary loss of normal brain function due to an injury. Repeated concussions can result in permanent injury to the brain. However, it's possible to get a concussion that's mild and just requires observation.

One of the most common reasons kids get concussions is through sports, so make sure they wear appropriate protective gear and don't continue to play if they've had a head injury.

If your child sustains an injury to the head, watch for these signs of a possible concussion:

• "seeing stars" and feeling dazed, dizzy, or lightheaded
• memory loss, such as trouble remembering what happened right before and after the injury
• nausea or vomiting
• headaches
• blurred vision and sensitivity to light
• slurred speech or saying things that don't make sense
• difficulty concentrating, thinking, or making decisions
• difficulty with coordination or balance (such as being unable to catch a ball or other easy tasks)
• feeling anxious or irritable for no apparent reason
• feeling overly tired

If you suspect a concussion, call your doctor for further instructions.

Preventing Head Injuries

It's impossible to prevent kids from ever being injured, but there are ways to help prevent head blows.

Make sure that:

• your home is childproofed to prevent household accidents
• your kids always wear appropriate headgear and safety equipment when biking, in-line skating, skateboarding, snowboarding or skiing, and playing contact sports. Wearing a bike helmet, for instance, reduces the risk of concussion by about 85%.
• kids always use a seat belt or child safety seat
• your child takes it easy after a head injury, especially after a concussion, and doesn't go back to rough play or playing sports until the injury has healed. (If your child reinjures the brain while it's still healing, it will take even more time to completely heal. Each time a person has a concussion, it does additional damage.)

Reviewed by: Yamini Durani, MD
Date reviewed: May 2007