So my 3 year old fell down 3 stairs to a landing but she literally went from the top step into the wall with her head. I was almost down the basement stairs when it happened and heard a major bang and then insane screams. She definetly didnt knock herself out from the hit but she has a decent goose egg. I put an ice pack on for about 10 mins and she seems okay but...... she doesnt nap anymore, hasnt for almost a year now and she gets really tired every few weeks where she needs a nap to 'recharge' her batteries and today just happened to be the day she definetly needed a nap and protested against it so here we are extremely exhausted and cranky. I want to say shes okay but Im a paranoid parent and a worry wort so Im wondering if she is in fact okay. I know no one can actually tell me shes fine but words of wisdom might help. I remember when my oldest fell and hit her head just after her 1st bday, the nurse told us that with a head injury its always "better out than in", meaning if you see the injury, like the goose egg and the person didnt lose consciousness then they are most likely fine. After the tears stopped she did say I just want to go back go playing hide and go seek, so I took that as a good sign. Also shes been playing and acting normal but Im just paranoid.
Thanks in advance
We kept a very close eye on her last night and despite the bruise that will probably linger for a bit she seems perfect ; )
Thank you to everyone that helped to calm me down.
paranoia would be panicking over nothing. a hard fall and a big goose egg are worth a little worry, methinks. i'm sure she's fine, but why not call the pediatrician just to make sure?
khairete
S.
Yeah, that happened to my 2 year old. He was with my MIL while I was at work and she called me to tell me (which I appreciate even to this day, 20 years later.) The first thing I asked was "Is he alright?" The second thing I asked was "Are YOU alright?" It's so scary for a child to fall down steps...
Two years later, he ran into the television. He and my husband were sitting up waiting for me when I got home from class - it was past his bedtime and I automatically knew something was wrong. The goose egg was on his forehead. I admit it - I screamed. It scared the ever living daylight out of me. I called my ped who happened to be the one on call from my clinic and he told me what to do. (Wake him up in the middle of the night to make sure he could wake up - check his eyes to make sure the pupils weren't dilated, etc.)
He was okay, but truthfully, there is no way I would have gone without at least phoning the ped. I suggest you do that...
Yes, "Better out than in" but also "better call the pediatrician than be paranoid and on line"! And "paranoid" means afraid of irrational things - you are being afraid of something very rational, so that's cautious and absolutely not paranoid.
Losing consciousness is absolutely NOT the indicator of a concussion. There are distinct signs, and very specific things you should do every 1-2 hours. These would be reviewed in the ER or with the pediatrician, but they involve checking the eyes for focusing and asking a few questions to see if the child is coherent (same thing with adults). I understand that she doesn't nap every day, but there is no way a child with a head injury should be allowed to go to sleep for several hours anyway. My son had this type of injury twice, and we had to wake him every 2 hours and ask him his name, our names, what color something is, etc. - annoying and exhausting, but standard head-injury questions for 24 hours.
So before you decide she's completely fine, you call the doctor (or the after hours help line) and get a recommendation on whether she needs to be seen by them or the ER, or whether you need to just go through the protocols (which they will give you) unless and until you observe problems. If she does have an issue, you want to deal with it ASAP rather than find out in a day or two that there's a bleed.
Giant goose egg is usually a good sign. Whenever my kids hit their head and make me worry, I call the nurse's hotline (or whatever your pediatrician or Medical Insurance has) and go over the signs to watch for. I find that helps, just to make me feel like I am being vigilant for the right things. I never remember them all anyway (uneven pupils, whatnot).
Just a heads up (and glad she seems fine!) - one of my little ones fell on playground equipment requiring stitches on head. So he was examined when stitched up by a pediatrician and ER doc.
The next night (so after 24 hours) he developed blurry vision and a headache.
Nothing we could do - but I checked with pediatrician. Just had to wait it out - rest (no activity) and took it easy on TV, electronics, etc.
It went away - fine, on it's own. But just keep an eye out for nausea, headache or blurry vision, coordination problems (walking a bit off), that kind of thing - or nausea.
It can happen the day after or so - so just wanted to mention that.
Sure she's fine - but don't delay in calling if you notice anything :)
Good luck :)
When my daughter was 2, she followed me down the basement. I did not hear the kitchen door open. She made it down the first flight of stairs. Then saw her little ride on car. Decided that she wanted to ride it, and show me. She fell down 3 of the stairs to the basement---cement stairs. I also freaked and got a bit paranoid. I worried she really hurt herself badly. She did get up but then the screaming commenced. I took her upstairs and got a good look at her. I also called the doctors office and got the ped on call. He asked how it looked. It was a bit swollen. He also asked how she was doing. By then she was finally calming down. No dizziness, no vomiting, no passing out are all good signs. He suggested putting ice and keeping an eye out but unless things changed no need to seek medical care. She was fine about 20 minutes later. Today, if she creases her forehead, you can see an internal scar where she hit but otherwise, she was and is fine.
Yeah those make me insane too. Luckily I have a nurse that I know well. I still call the pediatrician though. Usually it's a watch and wait kind of thing. vomiting, sleepiness, agitation, lethargy all need to be evaluated if these symptoms happen.
Kids are resilient though. If we fell, yeah, big problems!
watch for any confusion, vomiting and lethargy. If she fought the nap instead of wanting to go lay down on her own I would think that was a good sign, although I would have freaked and not have let her napped or checked on her a little too much (I get a bit paranoid easily) If she vomits take her in for sure. Id maybe have her take it easy for the next few days as well.
With head hits, especially hard ones from a fall, I always consult a pediatrician.
