Lucy Piper: As your baby becomes more movable they are going to be prone to accidents, and the bump on the heads can be very scary for mom and dad, and can actually be very series.
Well, when do we know the difference of only it's just the bump on the head or something more serious? With me I have got Yvonne from St. John Ambulance, mom Palvi and Neum. So Yvonne, a child has run into something, they're screaming, you are panicking, what do we do first?
Yvonne Dormer: First of all, it's very important to check them out to make sure that they are responding to you normally. If they are yelling and screaming, then that's usually a good sign if they cry straight away. But, you do need to try and get, and to talk to and explain what's wrong and how they feel.
Lucy Piper: Okay. Didn't you have an incident with little Neum running into the table?
Palvi Karia: He was playing and he run into the corner of the dining table, he did cry out instantly and then a few minutes later he vomited. Is that a normal thing to happen?
Yvonne Dormer: That could be in response to the brain being shaken around, he was moving forward the table with stationary, and something has got to give, and the brain rattles around inside the skull, causes concussion, and it doesn't really like being shaken about like that. So often it will cause other things like vomiting.
Lucy Piper: This happening to me and could it led onto something else?
Yvonne Dormer: If the impact was hard enough or the rattling of the brain was sufficient to maybe burst a small blood vessel inside the head, then over the next 24-48 hours, a little puddle could build up inside the brain, and end up pushing onto the brain itself, and a more serious condition called compression could develop.
Palvi Karia: Okay. So how do you know that, that's happened? What would I do?
Yvonne Dormer: Well, because of the pressure on the brain, there'd be various things happening. First off, the skin would become very hot, and flushed, and dry. You may notice as you are looking into their eyes, that their pupils aren't equal sizes. So one would be big, one would be small, and you might notice that they seem very limp or floppy down one side of their body.
Lucy Piper: So if this happens, should you call an ambulance straight away or the doctors?
Yvonne Dormer: Call an ambulance straight away. If it's compression, then the brain doesn't like being squashed, and it can ultimately lead to something very serious. So get him into hospital immediately.
Palvi Karia: I have also got a young 14-month old who is bumping into things, so what about minor bumps and bruises?
Yvonne Dormer: Minor bumps, and bruises around the head will often result in an ache. She have got a little bit lump on the forehead?
Palvi Karia: Yeah, sometimes.
Yvonne Dormer: It is often quite worrying because they look very dramatic. I mean in fact, a bump on the surface is a lot better than a bump on the inside. So just treating it with a cold compress, keep an eye on them for 24 hours there just to make sure none of those other things develop.
So, if it's a serious bang on the head, it could result in a fractured skull, and that may lead to fluid from around the brain leaking out. It's going to leak, it would come from the ears and the nose. It would appear as a straw-colored fluid that maybe streaked with blood. If you spot that, that's really serious, and you need to get him to hospital immediately.
Lucy Piper: Thank you very much Yvonne. So to summarize, what to do if your child has a head injury? If the child is knocked out, they must see a doctor. With any bump, remember to monitor for 24-48 hours. Watch out for flushed skin, floppiness on one side, severe headache and unequal pupil size. If any of those are apparent, phone for an ambulance.
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