What If Your Child Hurts Her Head? How Do You Know If It’s Serious?
Most of the time, when a child hurts her head, she gets well and has no ongoing problems. However, with brain injuries, some children may have problems that are hard to notice right away. One by one, the problems may not seem so unusual. But, in the case of a brain injury, the problems don’t go away. Here are things to look out for — especially if they don’t go away.
HEADACHES that keep coming back or other pain in and around the head (e.g., the eyes or jaw)
BALANCE or dizziness problems
SENSORY problems -bothered by smells or light or sounds or has blurry or double vision; changes in taste or appetite; feels too hot or too cold; hearing loss or ringing in ears
Changes in SLEEP patterns – doesn’t sleep through the night, sleeps too much, gets days and nights mixed up
PAIN problems – especially frequent pain in neck and shoulders or other places on the body that are unexplained
BEHAVIOR changes – in personality or mood; irritable, restless, upset, frustrated easily; overreacts, cries or laughs too easily; mood swings, wants to be alone or away from people, is afraid or others, blames others; wants to be taken care of, doesn’t know how to act with people, takes risks without thinking; is sad, depressed, can’t “get started” doing anything, is tired, drowsy or slow to respond; trips, falls, drops things, is awkward; eats too little, eats all the time, or eats thing that aren’t food; takes off clothes in public; for older children: has different sexual behavior, starts using or has a different reaction to alcohol or drugs
THINKING Problems – can’t remember things, has trouble paying attention, reacts slowly, thinks slowly, takes things too literally, doesn’t get jokes; understands words but not their meaning; thinks about the same thing over and over; has trouble learning new things, putting things in order (desk, room, papers), making decisions; planning, starting, doing and finishing a task and emembering to do things on time; makes poor choices (loss of common sense)
COMMUNICATING- changes the subject, has trouble staying on topic; has trouble reading, listening, thinking of the right word, paying attention and having long conversations; doesn’t say things clearly, talks too much
If your child exhibits any of these problems AND THEY DO NOT GO AWAY, call your doctor.
The Washington State Traumatic Brain Injury Council has more information on what to look out for and what to do if your child has suffered a brain injury.
If your child has hurt her head and has any of these problems that do not go away, you may want to speak to a lawyer experienced in representing children with traumatic brain injuries. I will be glad to answer your questions about rights your child may have to recover for her losses from her brain injury caused by someone else. Call me at 703-273-9500, or send me an email at srohrstaff@WRSattorneys.com.
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