What happens when your child has head injuries?

A couple of weeks ago, the family got an experience that we would rather not have. It is common for families with kids to experience injuries in children. Head injuries are pretty much a common occurrence. Till a few weeks ago, the family was spared from this occurrence.

Then it happened.



THE SET UP
Raising a pair of brothers, one can always expect rough play in the mix. This incident was the result of an episode of rough play. It was not a deliberate action to hurt, rather it was one where the push from the older brother that resulted in a trip for the younger one. Unfortunately the fall was awkward and he hit his head against the steel coffee table.

The coffee table won and the boy was left with blood oozing from the side of the head.

The sight of blood from the head resulted in a mini chaos. This happened 5 minutes before bedtime. To complicate matters, it happened an hour before Mommy was to returned from a week long business trip. With blood continue to flow. The choice was clear. It's a trip to the A & E instead of a trip to the airport to pick the missus.

A&E
In deciding if one should just observe or to send a child to hospital due to head injury is pretty clear cut in this case. With a cut on the head, there  is always a chance for a need for stitches to stop the blood flow. Without the medical experience, not going to A & E was something I will not gamble on... especially at the sight of a bloody towel Little L held over his head.

Since accidents tend to occur at the oddest of time. GP was not really an option in this case.
Checking into A&E was relatively fast. Given that this is a head injury on a child, we reckoned our waiting time was shorter before a doctor examined his head. Upon inspection, the doctor confirmed that there was a cut but thankfully it was not deep or wide. We were given a choice of stitch or glue. Given that the latter sounded less scarier, we went for the option. To play it safe, an xray was done to confirm that no internal injuries present.

THE AFTERMATH
We spend about 3 hours at the hospital. By that time, Mommy had landed and despite us not picking her up, she managed to see us at the hospital. Not exactly the homecoming she expected. After given the all clear and $500 poorer, it is time to close this chapter.

Before heading home, we were given a list to observe.


THE LESSON
Since we had learnt a lesson or two from this incident, why not share it here?

Head injuries in Kids

Head injuries in kids are no laughing matter. It was pretty straightforward for us to head to the A & E at the sight of blood. For cases where no blood is involved, check on the child's reaction to the injury. If they appeared normal, it might just be a small knock. If they started behaving erratically , do not take the risk and head to the hospital straight.

Some signs to look out for

• Non stop crying
• Vommitting
• Head or neck pain
• Erratic behaviour ( speech / action)
• Difficulty in waking up

If you have younger kids below age 3 , more care should be taken given their age. At the end of the day, as a parent, it is best to exercise your own discretion when it comes to head injuries. For us, being safe rather than sorry had always been our motto when it comes to dealing with our children.

Let's hope that this would be the first and the last time we need to visit A&E due to head injury.