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Head Injury in Children
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International Journal of Neurorehabilitation

ISSN: 2376-0281

Open Access

Commentary - (2020) Volume 7, Issue 7

Head Injury in Children

Himabindhu Gude*
*Correspondence: Himabindhu Gude, Department of Psychology, Child Psychology Unit, KotiWomen’s College, India, Tel: +918143389651, Email:
Department of Psychology, Child Psychology Unit, KotiWomen’s College, Hyderabad, Telangana, India

Received: 08-Nov-2020 Published: 25-Nov-2020 , DOI: 10.37421/2376-0281.2020.7.384
Citation: Gude H. "Head Injury in children". Int J Neurorehabilitation Eng 7 (2020) doi: 10.37421/ijn.2020.7.384
Copyright: © 2020 Gude H. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Head Injury

Head injury is one of the common causes of disability and death in the children. The injury can be as a mild bump, or cut on the head, or bruise (contusion), or it can be from moderate to severe in nature due to a concussion (an injury on head area that causes instant loss of alertness or awareness for a few minutes up to a few hours), deep cut or open wound, skull bone fracture (break in the skull bone), or internal bleeding and brain damage.

Skull bone fractures are of 4 types. They are

• Linear skull fractures

• Depressed skull fractures

• Diastatic skull fractures

• Basilar skull fracture

There are several causes of head injury in children. Common and major injuries are falls, accidents (Either the child is riding as a passenger in the vehicle or struck as a pedestrian), or a child abuse. The head injuries are seen mostly in adolescent population and frequently seen in males than in females.

Symptoms of mild head injury include:

• Swollen, a bump or a bruise in the area

• Superficial cut in the scalp

• Sensitivity to noise and light

• Headache

• Confusion

• Irritability

• Dizziness

• Nausea

• Balancing issue

• Loss of memory or concentration

• Change in sleep patterns

• Blurred vision

• "Tired" eyes

• Ringing in the ears (tinnitus)

• Change in taste

• Fatigue

• Symptoms of moderate to severe head injury include

• Severe headache that does not go away

• Repeated vomiting

• Nausea

• Loss of consciousness

• Short term memory loss

• Speech disability

• Difficulty while walking

• Weakness

• Sweating

• Pale in colour

• Seizures

• Changes in behaviour

• Blood draining from nose or ears

• One pupil

• Deep cut in the scalp

• Open wound in the head

• Foreign object penetrating the head

• Coma

• Vegetative state

• Locked-in syndrome

Head injury can be diagnosed by the following tests

• Blood tests

• X-ray

• MRI (Magnetic resonance imaging)

• CAT scan (Computed tomography scan)

• EEG (Electroencephalogram)

• Treatment for head injury are based on the type of injury and severity

• Child age, health condition, and medical history

• Type of head injury

• Tolerance for specific medications, procedures, or therapies

• Extent of the head injury

• Course of expectation of the head injury

• Opinion (Family decision)

• Treatment depends on severity of injuries. It includes the following

• Rest

• Ice

• Ointment

• Adhesive bandage

• Topical antibiotic

• Observation

• Immediate medical attention

• Stitches

• Observation

Moderate sedation or assistance with breathing that would require being placed on a breathing machine, also called a mechanical ventilator or mechanical respirator

• Diagnostic tests

• Surgery

Prevent the injuries from occurring and promote a safe playing environment to children. A child suffering with severe brain injury affects speech, vision, hearing, or taste function, muscle function depending on the brain damage area. Long-term or short-term injury may changes in the behavior or in personality. These children require lifelong medical and rehabilitative (physical, occupational, or speech therapy) management.

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Citations: 1078

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