Child 1 7 fell off the sofa head. If a child falls: injuries in children

Overly active children become a headache for their parents. It is difficult to keep an eye on the baby, he constantly climbs somewhere and tirelessly studies the world around him. Such activity in some cases leads to disaster. For example, a child will fall and be injured. Should loved ones be worried? Doctor Komarovsky will help you figure it out.

Don't panic

First of all, Komarovsky advises parents not to panic. The renowned physician emphasizes that falling cases usually do not lead to dangerous consequences. For the most part, only the parents are affected, or rather, their nervous system. When a child falls, the body reliably protects itself from serious injury. A headbutt does not necessarily cause damage. Protect from defects:

"Fontanelles" of the skull, protecting from sharp fluctuations in pressure in the head;
large volumes of cerebrospinal fluid that can absorb shocks;
soft bones, due to which there is little risk of fracture, and so on.

But attention to such situations will not be superfluous. A child who has hit his head needs special supervision. Komarovsky emphasizes that parents should watch out for warning symptoms. Having found them, you will have to see a doctor as soon as possible. What symptomatic manifestations are especially important?

Dangerous consequences

There are a huge number of negative consequences of "landing" a child not on his feet, but on his head. They appear extremely rarely, so parents should not go into hysterics. Komarovsky names the following symptoms that should make you wary.

Consciousness disturbances. If the child has ceased to adequately respond to what is happening, the help of a specialist is required.
Difficulty speaking. This is important for children who have already begun to speak normally.
Sleepiness and indifference to the environment, unusual for a baby.
Severe headaches, localized not specifically at the site of the injury and lasting several hours.
Recurrent vomiting. One attack of vomiting after falling and hitting the head is not a bad symptom. Multiple seizures are already a big risk.
Difficulty maintaining balance or controlling limbs lasting longer than an hour.
Any discharge from the nose or ears, including blood.
Blue spots under the eyes against a background of pale skin.

Having noticed the symptoms, you cannot delay the call for an ambulance. Delay is disastrous.

How to help

The first priority for parents is to stay calm. The more cold-blooded they can behave, the higher the likelihood of a favorable outcome. What to do after falling crumbs on your head? Here, again, Komarovsky gives excellent recommendations.

The symptoms described indicate very serious damage. Therefore, you must immediately call a doctor without delay. The injured child should be provided with a calm environment prior to arrival. Any stressors are excluded. Better to lay the child on its side. The emetic discharge that occurs will begin to move away unhindered.
If there are no obvious injuries, it is enough to put a rag soaked in cold water on the area of the head where the blow fell. Then the pain will decrease. Such an effect will stop bleeding and prevent severe swelling from developing.
Are there no visible impacts? All the same, it is necessary to monitor the state of the child for the next day. He needs peace and constant control. To ensure that there is no serious injury, it should be checked whether the child is able to adequately answer questions. It can also be done with the coordination of the baby. Dizziness and repeated falls should not be.

Komarovsky considers the occurrence of noticeable violations during the first day after falling on his head to be an important diagnostic criterion. Concussion does not necessarily result from a blow. Possible brain injury or spinal injury. And such consequences are not easy to notice. If you suspect a serious injury, you need to see a doctor as soon as possible. He will make sure that the "flight" does not affect the development of the baby.

Small children fall frequently. Once a toddler begins to learn to walk, falls become an integral part of his life. Nature, of course, protected our children from serious injuries, but parents should not relax too much. There are times when falls can have serious consequences. Especially if the child hit his head.

Symptoms of a toddler's head injury after a fall

A child's bones are quite elastic. And this applies to the skull in the first place. So in most cases, when dropped, they just slide and then return to their place. In addition, due to the large amount of cerebrospinal fluid, the brain of a 6 months old child suffers much less from strokes.

But this does not mean that if the child hit his head, for example, having fallen out of bed, then the parents should not do anything. Evgeny Komarovsky, a TV presenter and well-known pediatrician, recommends that you carefully examine the baby and, if necessary, provide first aid.

According to Komarovsky, the fall of a child is a completely natural thing. If the baby after hitting his head calmly got up and is not very capricious, then he certainly does not have serious injuries. However, it must be watched for at least 24 hours. If a 6-month-old person does not feel unwell during this period, you can forget about worries.

Six month old baby fell out of bed, be sure to see a doctor

At the same time, Komarovsky points to a number of rather serious symptoms, upon the appearance of which parents should immediately show the child to a traumatologist:

1. Loss of consciousness.
2. Unusual behavior.
3. Periodic bouts of vomiting.
4. Impaired coordination of movements.
5. Change in the size of the pupils (often pupils become different sizes).
6. Dark circles around the eyes.
7. Bleeding from the nose or ears.

First aid for head injury

According to statistics, children most often hit their head at a very young age - 4-8 months. During this period, babies begin to move actively, and young parents often do not take this fact into account. It is enough to put the baby on the sofa and turn away for the bottle, as the child has already thrown his head down on the floor. Komarovsky believes that such situations happen at least once in every family.

In such cases, parents should immediately take the baby in their arms and calm them down. Most often, the child was simply frightened and, feeling his mother's affection, he quickly calm down. If one of the above symptoms is observed, then, according to Komarovsky, the following measures must be taken:

1. Examine the baby.
2. If there is a bruise, apply something cold to the area. Then carefully monitor the behavior of the baby.
3. If symptoms of serious injury are detected, call an ambulance immediately.
4. Before the arrival of doctors, ensure the baby is completely calm, but at the same time do not let him sleep. This will help prevent other symptoms from appearing.
5. When laying down the child, make sure that his head and spine are at the same level.
6. In the presence of vomiting, the child must be laid on its side so that he does not choke with vomit.

Yevgeny Komarovsky forbids taking any other actions. By the way, he is not alone. Most pediatricians believe that only a professional can do the exam. A layman can easily exacerbate an already difficult situation.

Preventing falls out of bed and more

A six-month-old baby can simply be protected from head injuries. This is still not the age when the offspring rushes around the house or street like crazy. To do this, it is enough to adhere to a few simple rules. Of course, it was not Dr. Komarovsky himself who invented them, but he strongly recommends that his patients listen to them.

1. Do not leave your baby alone on the changing table or on the sofa. If there is a need to leave the room, it is better to return the baby to his crib or stroller.
2. Even when you are near, the baby must be held with one hand in order to control his movements.
3. Do not leave your baby for a long time, even in his crib. At this age, children are already trying to sit down, and some even get out of their permanent place of stay outside.
4. When walking, you should also not relax, as an active child can easily fall out of the stroller. If the baby is already walking in a walking vehicle, then it is better to fasten it with belts. Such a measure will prevent the offspring from falling to the ground.

Such simple precautions will not only protect the baby from possible injuries, but also protect the parents themselves from unnecessary worries.

It is very rare to find a nursing child who was lucky enough to never fall off the couch or bed in the first year of life. Often this happens at the very moment when mom is forced to be distracted by the bathroom to unload the laundry from the washing machine, or to the kitchen to see if the dish is burnt.

Parents leave the baby for a very short time, hoping that in such a short period of time nothing terrible will happen to him. However, when they return, they see that their baby has fallen from the bed or sofa. In the article we will tell you what the consequences can be after such falls and what parents need to do to help their baby.

What happens when you fall?

Usually, babies fall when they try to sit or start to crawl. Babies at this age find it difficult to maintain their balance and may fall when trying to reach their favorite toy or roll over from their tummy to their back. At the same time, the center of gravity moves to the head area, it outweighs, and the child falls off the couch or bed.

In the child's body, nature provides mechanisms that protect him from various injuries. The fontanelle protects the baby's brain from all sorts of damage, and the cerebrospinal fluid helps to avoid serious consequences by absorbing shocks.

Therefore, in most cases, the fall of a newborn baby from the couch is not as dangerous as it might seem. Usually, such a nuisance worries mothers more than harms the health of the baby.

From what height did the fall occur: is it important?

Most often, babies under six months of age fall from sofas, beds and changing tables. A little later, when the newborn tries to sit down, crawl, stand on legs and walk, there is a risk of falling from the highchair, crib or stroller.

If the baby fell directly in the presence of the parents, then they, first of all, must assess how hard the fall was. For a nursing baby, all falls from a height exceeding 40 centimeters from the floor pose a danger. In addition, it is of great importance what surface it lands on. If it is carpeted, it will provide impact cushioning and the injury will not be as severe as when hitting tiles or laminate flooring.

In the case when the baby fell, when there were no parents next to him and they did not see what their baby hit, it is necessary to regard such an injury as serious enough.

Are head blows dangerous for a newborn?

Falls of infants from a sofa or bed can lead to different consequences, depending on how high the baby fell and where it hit.

How to determine how severe the injury is if the baby hit the forehead or the back of the head? And when does he need immediate medical attention?

Let's take a look at the consequences of different types of head injuries.

If the baby hits his forehead

A small bump that appears after hitting the baby's forehead does not mean any serious consequences.

Small vessels in the area of injury begin to burst and the tissues adjacent to them are filled with blood. This is the reason for the occurrence of hematomas. Since there are a large number of blood vessels on the forehead, bumps appear on it. Due to the fact that the frontal bone is strong enough, such injuries, as a rule, do not have serious consequences.

However, when a hematoma appears, you should not waste time, but you need to show the child to a pediatrician. Only a specialist will be able, after the examination, to determine the severity of the injury and the methods of its treatment.

If the baby hit the back of the head

If, during the fall, the baby hit the back of the head, then for the parents this should be a serious cause for excitement and immediate medical attention. Such blows are fraught with serious consequences for the health of the baby.

In some cases, they can provoke visual impairment, since the nerve endings that are responsible for it are located in the back of the head. Even if there is a very small bump on the back of the baby's head, he may experience weakness, trembling in the limbs or loss of consciousness.

It is necessary to seek medical advice as soon as possible.

How to provide first aid?

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If the baby has fallen and has hit his head during the fall, parents must carefully examine the impact site and try to determine the severity of the injury. Next, parents must act on the basis of what the infant's reaction to the fall will be.

If, after the baby falls from the sofa or bed, he cries for 5 to 10 minutes, and then calms down and feels as before, and a small bruise appears at the site of the impact, there is no reason to worry. To reduce swelling, it is recommended to apply something cold to the sore spot. And on the following days, you can go to a medical institution to make sure that there are no serious consequences.

If a child cries for a long time or begins to cry only after some time, then this is an alarming signal. If the baby refuses to eat, moves a little, becomes irritable, he has general weakness and lethargy, then with a high degree of probability it can be argued that he has a craniocerebral injury. It is necessary to call a doctor as soon as possible or take the baby to a medical facility. Do not let your baby sleep until a doctor has examined him.

If the baby, having fallen from the sofa or parent's bed, cried a little and became calm again, and after a while a soft bump appeared on his head, you should immediately see a doctor, as this may be a sign of a brain injury. In addition, a child's loss of consciousness immediately after the fall, which can last more than an hour, can indicate a similar nature of the trauma. In this case, respiratory and heart disorders are observed.

If, after falling from the sofa or bed, the baby hardly rests on the arms and legs, gets up hard, there are problems when changing clothes - all this indicates a dislocation. In this case, it is imperative to show the child to a traumatologist.

If the baby fell and immediately cried, it only speaks of fear. And if the baby cried only after a while, then such a reaction speaks of pain. In any case, you need to monitor the baby for several days to see if any suspicious symptoms appear.

Even if a baby does not show any signs of injury after falling out of bed or sofa, this does not mean that there is no danger. Sometimes the consequences appear only after some time. Therefore, even if the baby falls from a small height, it is necessary to immediately show it to the doctor.

When is immediate medical attention needed?

If a baby has fallen from a sofa or bed, parents should assess the situation and figure out whether it is necessary to immediately call an ambulance or there is still no reason for panic.

If the baby has the following alarming symptoms, you must immediately call the ambulance service:

if the baby fainted immediately after the fall;
if there are obvious injuries, for example, an open wound on the head;
if the baby starts rolling his eyes and has seizures;
the crumb turns pale and becomes covered with cold sweat;
with strong crying of the child, when the baby's voice becomes irritated;
with severe bouts of vomiting;
if, after a certain period of time, the baby has a sharp increase in body temperature, lethargy and drowsiness;
if the fontanelle in a newborn becomes convex.

All these signs indicate that the fall entailed serious consequences and an ambulance should be called immediately. Further, medical workers will deal with the treatment of the child.

How to recognize a head injury?

Since the proportion of head mass in the total mass of the whole body in infants is about 4 times greater than in adults, then when the babies fall, it is mainly their head that hits. Half of these falls end in head injuries.

Traumatic brain injury in infants can be recognized by the following list of symptoms:

short-term loss of consciousness;
increased drowsiness in infants;
some oddities in the child's behavior that were not there before;
the appearance of convulsions;
frequent bouts of vomiting;
limbs become less mobile, this is caused by weakness in them;
pupils acquire different sizes;
possible disturbances in taste, vision, touch and hearing;
dark blue spots appear under the eyes or behind the baby's ears;
a transparent liquid flows from the baby's nose or ears;
there is blood from the ears and nose of the baby.

If at least a few symptoms are found, you should immediately seek medical attention. The last three symptoms indicate a skull fracture.

Signs of a concussion

In children under one year of age, few symptoms are associated with concussion. As a rule, loss of consciousness in a newborn is not observed. With a concussion in an infant, the following symptoms are noted:

frequent regurgitation after eating;
bouts of nausea and vomiting;
deterioration in appetite;
pallor of the skin;
increased drowsiness;
disturbed sleep patterns;
restlessness and frequent crying.

Back and neck injuries

Unfortunately, the fall of a baby from a height can lead to more serious consequences. These can be injuries to the cervical spine and back.

The spinal cord is part of the human central nervous system, which controls all limbs and is responsible for the normal functioning of all systems in the human body. If there is a suspicion that the baby has received a back or neck injury, then it is forbidden to change its location in order to prevent further injury. Only a medical professional can move the injured baby in case of injury to the back or neck.

If it is necessary to move the baby, and the ambulance has not yet arrived, then when moving it is necessary that someone support the baby's neck and head, leaving them motionless. The baby's head and neck should be in the same position at all times to prevent further injury to the spinal cord.

How to protect your baby from falls?

To protect their baby and prevent it from falling, parents should follow these guidelines:

during swaddling it is necessary to hold the newborn with your hand at all times. It is necessary that this becomes a habit and the baby does not fall even when mom is distracted for a moment;
if there is a need to leave for a short time, you should take the baby with you or place him in a crib or playpen with high sides. The baby should not even for a short time remain unattended on dangerous surfaces, even while sleeping;
if you do not want to disturb the sleep of a baby asleep on the couch or bed, then you can play it safe and spread the pillows on all sides. This will allow the mother to be absent for a short time on urgent matters;
it is necessary to fix the baby inside the stroller or on the highchair using special straps;
while the child is not in his arms, it is necessary to place him in a crib or playpen with high sides. As a last resort, you can twist the blanket to protect the newborn from falling out of bed.
for changing babies, it is better to use the parent's bed or sofa, and not the changing table. In this case, if the child falls, then the consequences after such a fall will not be as serious as when falling off the table;
you can leave your baby for a short while directly on the floor or on the carpet, so he will definitely not fall anywhere.

By far the best way to protect your baby from falls is with constant supervision. But parents do not always have such an opportunity. Therefore, they must adhere to the above recommendations in order to protect the baby and prevent possible falls.

Conclusion

First of all, if the fall of the baby from the sofa or bed did happen, do not panic! Most of these falls pass without a trace, without serious consequences for the baby. When a baby has bumps and bruises, it is necessary to immediately show it to the pediatrician. Only a doctor will be able to give a real assessment of the baby's condition and, if necessary, prescribe the necessary treatment for him.

It is necessary from the first months to treat the baby rather as a person that grows and develops, and not as living toys or a tender lump. By the age of 4 months, the baby is already actively moving lying down, can roll over, and slowly tries to crawl. Doctors advise at such a time to constantly monitor the little researcher. He is not aware of the danger, does not feel heights or does not understand what is dangerously hot. When the child fell off the couch upside down, Komarovsky assures that this happens due to an oversight. Why was the head down? Babies, especially those who have begun to crawl, have their heads always in front. They are still learning to use their hands and defend themselves by instinctively putting them in front of their heads until they know how. There is no such reflex yet.

First aid for a child if he fell off the couch upside down

Learning to control their own bodies, the kids are delighted to enjoy the process. They do not take energy, the crumb can spin back and forth for eternity, choosing the direction of movement, roll. Courage and relaxedness are due to ignorance - the little one does not yet know about the dangers of the world. Therefore, the picture can change in an instant. Here mom turned away at the sound or decided to pick up the fallen toys from the sofa and the baby, who had already been sitting in the center among the pillows, was crying, lying on the floor. Minute? Even a split second. The question, how did it manage, remains off-screen. Another important thing: how to help? After "braking" with his head, the baby can easily get an injury to the skull or spine, injure the limbs, and just earn a severe bruise. Therefore, doctors advise to always look after the children, laying on pillows or rollers will not help, children easily overcome such obstacles, or simply throw them down, especially the pillows are light.

The child fell off the couch upside down, Komarovsky (at 7 months) claims that in the overwhelming majority of cases there is no reason to worry. The height of an ordinary sofa is not high so that the child could hurt herself badly. In babies, the brain is additionally protected by cerebrospinal fluid. Parents need to calm down the crying baby, watch him, noting all the signs of TBI, if it occurs. Usually, a kid who got off with a fright is already going about his business in a few minutes, then everything worked out.

Of course, the victim should be carefully examined for signs of external trauma. A bruised limb or dislocation is usually noticeable, if something hurts more, the baby will definitely let you know. What the head looks like, no abrasions or scratches. A regular sofa is unlikely to do much damage, especially if there is a carpet underneath. It is more alarming when the crumb falls to the floor or, during the fall, touches the wooden sides of the sofa.

If you notice a lump in the affected area, you need to bring a cold compress - any product that has been in the refrigerator or a bottle of cold water poured in. It is necessary to hold such a compress for 3 minutes to prevent further formation of severe edema.
there is a wound or abrasion, blood appears - a cotton swab or gauze moistened with peroxide will help. You need to rub the abrasion gently and apply. The child fell off the couch upside down at 1.5 years old - Komarovsky recommends - watch the duration of the bleeding, if it continues for 10 minutes - call the doctor.
no damage - observation for a couple of days after the impact. Unusual abnormalities can cause anxiety.

We continue to observe

The most serious consequence of such falls is a head injury, because the bones of babies are still developing, they are not tightly connected to each other and are not yet so hard. Under them, an immature brain with a central nervous system is actively growing and forming. Therefore, the head must be protected, and it is with it that the baby moves forward constantly! Observation of the victim's behavior will give the parents a complete picture.

Any oddities in ordinary behavior will already say a lot about the consequences, because the consequences are often invisible from the outside - at most, a bruise, an abrasion, which eventually disappear without a trace. Obviously, you shouldn't joke with such "tricks", especially if it happened to a baby. They look so fragile and require extra attention.

Alas, sometimes injuries lead to internal brain damage, which develops gradually and at first the crumb may not cause anxiety, oddities will appear later. Usually, parents no longer associate them with the past and can be attributed to a bad mood, fatigue. Remember, the early days are the most important.

If a child fell off the couch upside down, Komarovsky assures that children who do not feel anything painful behave as usual, for them the fall was unexpected, terrible, emotional. It hurt a little from the bruises, nothing more. After crying, the baby calms down. Parents should not ignore what happened.

Falls, bruises are a common sight in the life of any person, however, for the adult family members around him, each incident should be a good lesson. It happened once - do not rely on God, but redouble your vigilance.

Signs of traumatic brain injury after a fall

Head injury can be judged by the following signs:

loss of consciousness is observed, short-term or longer. The child looks drowsy, reacts poorly to stimuli, shakes him. This manifests itself either immediately or after a while, usually for a short time;
swelling quickly pours on the affected area, swelling is felt, which will acquire color;
from the ears, there may be slight bleeding from the nose or small colorless discharge is noticeable;
the baby cannot really move, he is drawn to sleep, although he was active even before the fall;
shows anxiety, inappropriate reaction. He is irritated by loud sounds, voices, you can see how painful it is for him;
the child fell from the sofa upside down (8 months) and, according to Komarovsky, after a while he will start to feel sick, vomit will appear - then this is a sign of TBI;
the baby cries without stopping;
the young researcher has poor control of his body, it drifts, his arms and legs do not obey, sometimes he can simply fall on his side or cannot sit down;
under the eyes or in the space behind the ears, the skin turns blue;
weakness, the child cannot move any specific part of the body;
convulsions;
the baby speaks poorly, cannot really explain himself - if an older child has fallen;
pupils dilated or too narrowed, inadequately respond to stimuli.

Noticing one of the alarming signs in the injured baby, parents should immediately call an ambulance or go to the hospital with the child.

Doctors never tire of repeating: watch the children, you must not leave the child alone, even when he is covered with pillows, blankets folds or bolsters on the couch or bed! Remember, it won't take long for him to cover a couple of meters to the edge. Little explorers tirelessly learn about the world and the natural fear of heights, sharp edges, falling is alien to them. This comes later, with the development of reflexes and knowledge.

If the child fell off the couch upside down at 6 months, Komarovsky jokes that, unfortunately, the infant cannot attach a helmet to the ubiquitous head, but you can double your vigilance to prevent a possible danger in the future.

Possible consequences of falling head downward

Many falls do without visible consequences. TBI passes, and the rest, as many parents believe, is no longer scary. A couple of bruises will heal quickly, the experience will remain.

The specialist largely agrees with more loyal parents. The overwhelming cases of such everyday falls harm only the nervous system of those close to the child. It is hardly possible to find a person on earth who has not fallen from any height for 1 year, be it a sofa, or a sandbox bar, an unsecured edge of a stroller, the hands of a gaping relative. Nature protects her young creations: babies' skulls have fontanelles, their brains are surrounded by a large amount of cerebrospinal fluid, which protects against direct exposure.

However, the doctor recommends taking care of the child for the first time, even if the fall cost "little blood" - let him rest as much as possible for the first day (no running around, active crawling, playing with adults, "flying" in his arms), it is imperative that the parents monitor any changes in behavior.

Only healthy children are capable, after a fall, will soon return to interrupted games. They don't know how to pretend or tolerate. Therefore, when, having wept his own words, the crumb crawled somewhere to rattle with toys, it means that an ultrasound scan is not required, the organs are in order, there are no bruises either.

If a child falls off the couch upside down at 5-7 months, Komarovsky advises parents to stay calm. There is no need to judge the complexity of damage by loud crying after a fall. The child roars not so much from pain as from surprise and fear, this is a natural reaction. If adults start to get nervous, shout or swear at the victim, this will only aggravate the situation. It is clear that they were also frightened and much more than the young researcher, but emotions must be kept in check. Any anxiety or fear of the mother will scare the child tenfold.

Sleeps poorly

Daytime sleep

Tantrums

Children are curious and restless, and therefore no one succeeds in completely avoiding injuries, falls and bruises. In the process of learning about the world, babies fall quite often. But if a fall on the bottom or back does not cause panic attacks in the parents, then the situation changes dramatically if the child hits his head. The authoritative pediatrician, author of numerous books and articles on children's health, Yevgeny Komarovsky, explains why such falls are dangerous and when to start worrying.

Features of pediatric physiology

The head of a small child is designed in such a way that it is relatively large compared to the rest of the body, so babies most often, losing their balance, fall on the head. But there is also a positive: the child's brain is reliably protected from injuries in the event of a fall. If a small child fell off the couch upside down, then his parents received the greatest trauma (of a psychological nature), and not himself. The bones of the infant's skull are very soft, and the “fontanelle” and dynamic “seams” between the bones of the skull provide them with mobility. The larger the fontanelle, says Yevgeny Komarovsky, the less likely it is to be injured when falling upside down. In addition, nature has come up with another shock-absorbing mechanism - a large amount of cerebrospinal fluid.

If a child at 6-7 months, when he becomes more mobile, turns over unsuccessfully and falls off the sofa or changing table, do not immediately panic. The kid, of course, will scream heart-rendingly. But parents should understand that he is crying not from terrible pain, but more from fear caused by a sharp movement in space. If the baby smiles after half an hour, walks around and leads his usual way of life, nothing in his behavior has changed, then there are no reasons for alarm, medical examinations, Komarovsky claims.

Most often, children under one year old begin to beat their heads when they master the first steps. This usually happens after 8-9 months. That is why it is important that the baby first learns to crawl, and only then to stand and walk.

Of course, a child who bumps his head requires more careful attention from the parent. It is advisable to provide the baby with peace, not to let him run a lot, play active games, and shout loudly. The first day will show if the baby has an injury ... To do this, parents need to know the symptoms of head injuries like twice two.

Traumatic brain injury

It does not matter the age and gender of the child, the height from which he fell head down, the size of the bruise or bump on the forehead, as well as the presence or absence of abrasions and blood. All mums and dads should know that in all situations involving a head injury, a child needs qualified medical care.

The presence of an injury can be suspected if the child has a clouding of consciousness, loss of consciousness of any duration and frequency. Observation is very important, as parents who know the peculiarities of their child's behavior will be able to notice changes in his behavior in time. Any inappropriate changes may indicate a possible head injury.

If a child stops falling asleep normally, or, conversely, sleeps unusually long, he has a headache, and it does not go away even an hour and a half after falling, you should seek qualified medical help.

Vomiting is a common symptom of head injury, especially if it is repeated. The child may become shaky and unsure of gait, dizziness, convulsions may be observed, impaired coordination of movements, weakness of arms, legs, inability to move one or two paired limbs at once. In all these cases, you should definitely call an "ambulance".

Discharge from the nose and ears, whether bloody, bloody, or transparent and colorless, is a definite reason to assume an injury.

Also, symptoms of trauma can be various disorders of the functioning of the sensory organs.(hearing loss, visual impairment, complete, or perhaps partial lack of response to tactile contact). The child may begin to complain that he is cold or hot. Evgeny Komarovsky advises paying attention to each of these symptoms.

Concussion

This is a fairly simple traumatic brain injury, in which the child may lose consciousness, but such a loss will be of a short-term nature (no more than 5 minutes), nausea and dizziness are possible. The brain is not damaged, but a concussion temporarily disrupts some of the functions of brain cells. Dr. Komarovsky claims that this is the easiest consequence of falling on the head, because after a couple of days the brain functions return to normal and the child's condition returns to normal.

Brain contusion

This is an injury in which the membranes of the brain are directly damaged, as well as its deeper structures with the formation of a hematoma and the occurrence of edema. How long the loss of consciousness lasts affects the degree of injury, and it can be mild, moderate or severe. In the first degree, the symptoms are similar to a concussion, only the child's unconsciousness can last more than 5 minutes. The average severity of the injury is characterized by the duration of fainting from 10-15 minutes to an hour or a little more. In a severe form, consciousness may be absent for several hours or several weeks.

Compression of the brain

This is an extremely dangerous condition when, as a result of a head injury, compression occurs inside the skull. With such a pathology, vomiting occurs, which is protracted and repeated. The periods of loss of consciousness are replaced by the so-called "light" periods, when the child behaves normally, showing no signs of a brain disorder. Such periods can last up to 48 hours.

First aid

If the child fell, hit his head and there was a dissection of the skin or hair, while the child did not lose consciousness. and in a day there is no sign of injury, there is no need to take him to a doctor, says Yevgeny Komarovsky. It is enough to treat the wound with an antiseptic, apply ice to the site of the external injury. With an extensive wound (more than 7 mm), you should contact the emergency room, the child will be stitched several times, and this treatment can be considered complete.

If the wound is open (with an open craniocerebral injury), you should never press on it to stop bleeding. Mom should cover the wound around the edges with ice until the doctor arrives.

If the child has fallen, hit the back of his head or forehead on the floor, and the parents immediately or several hours later discovered signs of trauma in the child, the child must be put to bed and call the hospital. It is the doctors' task to determine the type of injury, its nature and severity.

If the head injury is severe, the child is unconscious, he has no breathing, the child must be given resuscitation measures before the arrival of the "ambulance". The child should be put on his back, his head should be fixed, cardiopulmonary resuscitation should be performed, after the baby comes to his senses, he should not be allowed to move, drink and talk until the doctors arrive.

Consequences

With craniocerebral trauma, vital centers and parts of the brain are affected. If the child is not provided with timely medical care, the changes that are caused by bruising or compression can be irreversible. Severe injury can be fatal.

If a child hit his head while away from his parents, for example, in a health summer camp or boarding school, the parents, for objective reasons, cannot observe the behavior and condition of the child for 24 hours after the blow. In this situation, you should be sensitive to the fact that doctors and educators of the children's institution are "reinsured" and immediately send your child to the hospital. According to Komarovsky, in 99% of cases, such hospitalization is required not in order to treat the child, but in order to have someone to watch over him.