From: dxf12@po.CWRU.Edu (Douglas Fowler)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: Re: Head Injuries (was Scarey Breathing)
Date: 25 Jan 1993 21:41:26 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Reply-To: dxf12@po.CWRU.Edu (Douglas Fowler)
NNTP-Posting-Host: slc5.ins.cwru.edu


In a previous article, elonich@cbnewse.cb.att.com (diane.e.pedersen) says:

>
>In article <C169Bn.5CF@usenet.ucs.indiana.edu>, fbennett@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (fern bennett) writes:
>> 
>> I had an incident like this when my son was maybe 2 or so.  (he's 9
>> now).  We were at a shelter house and he climbed up on a bench and
>> fell over backwards on the concrete and hit his head.  I picked him
>> up and he started to really cry and all of a sudden he went limp.
>> then he came around right away and did it again!  It scared the you
>> know what out of me.  He looked really pale for awhile and seemed
>> wobbly but wanted to get down and run away.  I was shaken up the 
>> whole night wondering if I should take him to the emergency room.
>
>Yes, you should have taken him to the emrgency room.  What you describe
>are symptoms of a concussion.  Other symptoms include an abnormal cry
>and changes in the eyes (pupils not reactive to light, not focusing,
>not making eye contact, eyes not appearing to be sync with each other),
>and the child just not acting normal.
>
>I say this not to berate you, but to benefit other readers.
>Most of the time the emergency room really isn't of help except
>for confirming a concussion occurred and advising what to watch for,
>and also doing Xrays for skull fracture.  But brain swelling can occur 
>with a concussion, and untreated, brain swelling can lead to brain
>damage or death.  And brain swelling is best treated in the first
>half-hour after the accident.
>
>Most head injuries don't lead to such dire results, but laymen aren't
>educated in discerning a severe head injury from a not-so-severe
>one.   Seemingly minor accidents can cause severe injuries, and there
>may not be external signs of injury.  (Shaken Baby Syndrome is an
>example of this).  So for future peace of mind, have the child
>evaluated by a doctor whenever s/he displays concussion symptoms
>following an accident.
>
>When my older son was 15 mo., he toppled backwards from his high
>chair (as his Dad and I jumped up helplessly from our seats 3 feet
>away at the table).  We watched his head bounce up upon hitting the 
>wood floor.  There was a long pause, and then a funny "keening"
>cry, not the usual lusty wail of pain.  And his eyes looked funny,
>like he wasn't all there.   So we rushed to the emergency room
>(where I ended up making a scene demanding that my son be seen
>immediately instead of waiting 45 minutes for "our turn").  He
>was Xrayed -- no fracture.   By about half-an-hour after the accident,
>Keith was acting normal, but he was diagnosed as having a mild
>concussion, based on his symptoms.   We were advised to keep
>a close eye on him for a week, for vomiting or unconsciousness
>and other symptoms, and then told that serious symptoms could
>occur up to two months after the accident.  Keith ended up being
>fine, but I don't regret having him checked out, because I could
>never forgive myself if something bad had happened and I hadn't
>done all that I could.

     Another important time to watch for this is with contact sport; when
my cousin Dan was 9, he decided he was Pete Rose and bowled headfirst into
the catcher in baseball for what turned out to be the winning run. (Except
for the A's uniform it looked just like that All-Star game play from his
angle.  Luckily the other kid wasn't hurt too much)  He laid down stunned
for about a minute, and when he got up he was awfully slow; he shook off
the effects in about 2 minutes, but the coach advised my aunt and uncle to
watch for the same symptoms you describe.
Considering that some kids think golf is a contact sport :-), I think these
are symptoms we should all be aware of; we never know when our kid has
decided to do something like that just playing in the yard.
     One good thing to have on hand, to change the subject, are butterfly
bandgages; these have parts on each end that stick to the skin, so a cut
that kind of deep but not too bad doesn't have to get stitches.  
-- 
Doug Fowler: dxf12@po.CWRU.edu  : Me, age 4 & now: "Mommys and Daddys & other
    Ever wonder if, after Casey : relatives have to give lots of hugs & love
missed the 3rd strike in the poem: & support, 'cause Heaven is just a great
he ran to first and made it?     : big hug that lasts forever and ever!!!"