Injuries In Children

Injuries In Children – Head Injury – Red Flags

Injuries in children are just part of growing up for an active, curious child. Do you think it is possible to protect your child from all the bumps, bruises, scrapes and falls of childhood? No, you can’t fully protect, or even not a good idea to do so. Some of the most common causes of injuries in children are falls, drowning, poisonings, burns and scalds. This article is about the common injuries in children, red flags and what must one do in such a situation.

Injuries in children

As in the summer holidays, children are free, they are exploring all around with their curiosity and are more prone to injuries also. So what are the injuries they can have? It can be a mild abrasion to major accidents like falling from a height especially from a second-floor building or from a very top height of the building which can be detrimental and life-threatening.

What are all things we can do?

If you find just the aberrations, all you do is clean the wound and apply an antiseptic. If there is a laceration that means if the gap is, if the wound is too big or if there is profuse bleeding please consult your doctor. If the child has any fractures especially.

How do you know it is a fracture? Because one immediately that whichever area that when the bone is getting got fractured that area will get swollen, there will be excruciating pain and the child will not be able to move that particular limb. These are the signs of a fracture.

Whenever you notice this, immediately immobilize that particular joint and get medical attention. The most detrimental of all these is an injury to the head. So whenever you anticipate a child who has an injury to the head especially by playing or something any reduced consciousness that means after the child has fallen and got hit to the head. If the child is excessively sleeping or you find the child to be vomiting more than two times or three times vomiting or any abnormal movements, it could be just a staring look or any seizure that is the fits between a common layman’s term, what we call a fit. If any of these things are there that is an indirect sign the child could have blood inside the brain. So you have to get the child to the doctor immediately because this is life-threatening and immediate intervention has to be taken care of.

Add to this we also come across children who are very actively playing in the park and sometimes fall from the equipment can result in similar symptoms. Nowadays we see children enjoying their bicycle rides most of the time we appreciate parents taking care of their child’s head injury especially if they’ll be wearing a helmet. But it’s just not sufficient sometimes because bicycle bar handle injuries are very common these days because the handlebar is very close to the abdomen. They will end up having tummy injuries.

We might come across children having very severe tummy pain sometimes a very major internal bleeding can be happening which is life-threatening. They might have a tummy ache, cool peripheries, altered sensorium, and poor urine output, all these major symptoms need immediate medical attention. Apart from falling from the height nowadays we are also seeing children where they are drowning in the swims. So it is important how socially we all take care of our children for future generations.

Final Thoughts

As mentioned in the beginning, you can’t fully protect your child from childhood injuries because that is part of childhood. Still, you can take proper care to control the injuries in children. It is always better to have a first aid kit with you at home and wherever you go. In case of any emergency, you can use first aid before taking the child to a hospital, if needed.

Recommended for further reading

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References & Credits: Dr Sindhu MV (Paediatric Intensivist) & Dr Nanditha R (Paediatric Intensivist) at Aster RV, You can watch the video

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