According to official statistics, sometimes children of the first year of life, left only for a minute unattended, can receive a serious head injury by falling from a sofa, changing table or getting out of a crib or stroller. There is no clear and general time frame in which children can begin to roll over and crawl, so a fall can occur at very different ages - from one month to a year.
Features of head injuries in children of the first year of life
Traumatic brain injury is mechanical damage to both the bones of the skull and its internal structures (brain, blood vessels, nerves or meninges). The symptomatology of this kind of trauma in children of the first year of life is very different from the processes that occur in adult patients. This is due to a number of features:
- the incomplete process of ossification of the skull in children - the cranial bones are quite plastic, they are flexible, the joints between them are loose;
- immature brain tissue, in which the differentiation of the structures of the nerve centers and cerebral circulation has not yet been completed.
Therefore, on the one hand, the brain tissue in children is distinguished by great compensatory capabilities - they have a higher so-called margin of safety, when a plastic skull and a brain saturated with fluid absorb shock. However, on the other hand, due to the immaturity of the brain tissue, injuries can cause disturbances in the development of its structures, provoking problems in mental or emotional development in the future.
What to do after the baby has fallen from a height
Many parents are faced with the situation when their child fell to the floor from the bed. It is good if the baby has landed on a soft carpet, and the height of the bed or sofa was not significant. However, even in this case, there is a risk of traumatic brain injury. To rule out serious head injuries, it is worth observing the child for a while.
Recommendations after falling out of bed are quite universal - if sudden changes occur in the baby's behavior, the child cannot calm down and is clearly in pain, you should immediately seek medical help. Experts are in a hurry to remind: in the case of young children, it is better to get to the hospital once again in order to diagnose on time or, on the contrary, exclude a head injury. After such incidents, you may need to consult a pediatric neuropathologist, traumatologist or neurosurgeon.
If there was any interval between the fall and the cry of the child (from one minute to several), this may indicate a loss of consciousness, which in turn may be a sign of a brain contusion. In this case, adults should call a doctor immediately. Vomiting or excessive belching is also an important symptom, which can also indicate a serious injury.
Thus, experts do not stop recommending that parents contact specialists after a child falls out of bed. You can call the ambulance team home - after the examination, the professionals will decide whether it is worth taking the child to the hospital for a more thorough examination, or there is no reason for concern. Parents who have this opportunity can themselves deliver the baby to a medical institution for consultation with a traumatologist or neurologist in order to eliminate the risk of skull and brain injury.
