Your child takes a hard fall and bumps his head on a stair banister, gets clobbered by a soccer ball, or is bopped in the head by another tot at daycare. He doesn't lose consciousness, and seems okay afterward. Is he?
Traditional advice used to be that a child would be considered okay if there was no loss of consciousness and she seemed fine afterward. In those cases, providers or parents typically rendered some good ol' TLC and perhaps an ice pack until a child felt good enough to continue his day. What doctors are saying today, however, is that losing consciousness should not be considered the criteria to determine whether your child might have a concussion or swelling.
Recent studies have indicated that other, less signs that can accompany a serious concussion or even a life-threatening condition resulting from swelling of the brain. And it doesn't require broken skin or a massive impact point to potentially cause a serious or even fatal accident.
Make sure that not only you as a parent, but your child's caregiver, coach, teacher, or adult in charge are aware of signs of possible silent concussions and for you to be alerted immediately if any symptoms described below occur after an injury to the head--no matter how seemingly minor.
Call the doctor if your child has hurt her head and has ANY of the following symptoms:
headache--even a mild one
sense of fogginess
dizziness
blurry or double vision
confusion
Don't delay in getting to the doctor, and explain to the receptionist that your child suffered trauma or injury during play or sports to the head. Most likely your child will check out to be just fine, but this is one injury that warrants prompt attention just to be sure.
.... Robin McClure
Traditional advice used to be that a child would be considered okay if there was no loss of consciousness and she seemed fine afterward. In those cases, providers or parents typically rendered some good ol' TLC and perhaps an ice pack until a child felt good enough to continue his day. What doctors are saying today, however, is that losing consciousness should not be considered the criteria to determine whether your child might have a concussion or swelling.
Recent studies have indicated that other, less signs that can accompany a serious concussion or even a life-threatening condition resulting from swelling of the brain. And it doesn't require broken skin or a massive impact point to potentially cause a serious or even fatal accident.
Make sure that not only you as a parent, but your child's caregiver, coach, teacher, or adult in charge are aware of signs of possible silent concussions and for you to be alerted immediately if any symptoms described below occur after an injury to the head--no matter how seemingly minor.
Call the doctor if your child has hurt her head and has ANY of the following symptoms:
headache--even a mild one
sense of fogginess
dizziness
blurry or double vision
confusion
Don't delay in getting to the doctor, and explain to the receptionist that your child suffered trauma or injury during play or sports to the head. Most likely your child will check out to be just fine, but this is one injury that warrants prompt attention just to be sure.
.... Robin McClure
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