Hung Vuong General Hospital (Phu Tho) has just received a case of a 6-month-old boy who came to the clinic because of a swelling in the temporal lobe caused by falling and hitting his head while learning to walk in a wheelchair. According to the doctor’s results, the boy had an epidural hematoma in the left temporal – occipital region.
Bệnh viện này trước đó cũng từng tiếp nhận trường hợp bé gái bị lún sọ não do tai nạn xe tập. In fact, it is not an usual case for children falling when learning to walk with a wheelchair. Furthermore, there are many complicated casessuch as loss of movement, consciousness, living a vegetative life… When a head injury occurs, the fluid inside the brain may not be able to reduce the shock well, causing the brain to shake, hitting the hard wall of the skull, causing a concussion. When the force is too strong, it can bruise the brain, or in worse situation, it can burst the large blood vessels that feed the brain, cause cerebral hemorrhage.
Unfortunately, parents cannot predict head injuries which are benign or dangerous when a child falls exactly, 100%. Therefore, with the following signs, the child should be taken to the hospital immediately:
Child loses consciousness after falling (Does not open eyes, does not respond)
Children vomit many times (More than twice)
Child has some neurological signs such as convulsions, unsteadiness, …
The child looks lethargic, too tired
The child has signs of bleeding, or has unusual fluid flowing from the ears or nose
When touching child’s head, we see a dent, a large bruise on the spot right after the fall
After falling for 24 hours, the child still complains of headaches
Children are under 1 year old (This is a vulnerable age that is difficult for parents to predict)
If parents have any worry
For mild cases, the child is still awake after falling, cries briefly or vomits only once or twice, then eat and drink normally and without any of the above danger signs. In this case, parents should not be worried and let the child stay at home and continue to follow and perform basic first aid for the child such as handling bruises, scratches, etc. It is still important that parents always prevent the child from the risk of falling to reduce the number of accidents!
Source: Nguyen Tri Phuong Hospital Information. HCM City