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Oct 6, 2008 9:54 am US/Eastern
Dr. Mallika's Files: Case Of The Baby Boo-Boo
Each week Dr. Mallika Marshall shares cases based on true stories from a local urgent care clinic, exclusively on wbztv.com. Names and identifiable characteristics of patients have been omitted or changed to protect patient privacy.
This Week's Case: A 11-month old girl is brought to clinic by her mother saying that the child was cruising along the coffee table in the family room when she fell and hit her head on the leg of the table. The child cried right away but now has a large bump on her forehead. Mom is worried her child might have brain damage.
Most children will bump their heads at some point in their lives…especially toddlers who are just learning to walk. And because there is a large blood supply to the scalp, children often develop a big lump on the head. But most head injuries hurt only the scalp and not the brain, and only about 1% to 2% of children with head injuries suffer a skull fracture.
That said, children should be monitored closely for up to 72 hours after a head injury for signs of internal injury, like recurrent vomiting, trouble walking, slurred speech, blurry vision, severe headache, or lethargy. If your child exhibits any of these symptoms, she should be taken to the nearest emergency room. Also, if your child fell from a significant height or passed out after the injury, he needs to be seen by a doctor right away. As always, if you have any questions as to whether your child's head injury is minor or something you should be more concerned about, give your child's pediatrician a call.
Follow-up Mom reported that the little girl had not passed out after the fall. She was a little sleepy but had missed her morning nap. She had not vomited and was otherwise behaving normally. Except for a walnut-sized bruise on her forehead, her examination was normal. She was monitored for some time in the clinic and then sent home with instructions to return if she developed any concerning symptoms. Three days later, the child was doing well and the lump on her head was beginning to shrink.
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