How to Handle your Child's Head Injury

Head injuries can be classified into two categories, external and internal. External head injuriesinvolve the scalp and may look very frightening especially to new parents. The scalp has a lot of blood vessels, and even minor cuts can cause a lot of bleeding; sometimes these blood vessels bleed under the scalp producing what we call “goose egg” bumps. Internal head injuries involve damage inside of the skull or even the brain and are more severe. Try to assess your child right away after they bump their heads and let them tell you if they are experiencing any pain. If your child cannot verbally communicate yet, observe them, and if there are changes in their usual behavior, you must immediately go to the doctor.
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If your child presents with the following symptoms after hitting their head, seek medical attention immediately:

1. Vomiting.
2. They complain of head or neck pain.
3. Cannot talk or walk normally.
4. Unconsciousness.
5. Abnormal breathing.
6. The head wound won’t stop bleeding (for external injuries).
7. Bleeding or clear fluid coming out of their mouth, ear, or nose.
8. Weakness or paralysis.
9. Seizures.

After having your child checked and you discovered that they had suffered a head injury, even a minor one, you should be more cautious about their activities and make sure that they do not hit their head again to avoid second-impact syndrome. Second-impact syndrome occurs when a person’s brain swells to a catastrophic degree because of a second trauma to the head before the symptoms of the first one have subsided. The condition is often fatal and could lead to severe permanent disability or even death.

Whiplash, the fast and sudden movement of the neck, can also be a cause of head injury in children. Because children’s neck muscles are not yet fully developed, they are more prone to experience severe injuries because their neck cannot adequately support their head yet.