# Any Doctors here?



## El Caco (Jan 14, 2008)

Last night my 5 year old son fell out of bed. I knew it was him because the thump was so hard and he sleeps on the top bunk, he was whimpering when I first came to him but he soon stopped. I examined him and asked him some questions, there was no signs of impact on his head, when I asked him where he hit his head he indicated the area between his eyebrows, he assured me he was o.k and that his head did not hurt also he told me that he did not fall from his bed and that he was actually in his brothers bed which is the lower bed. I wanted to believe this but we tucked him into his bed last night and the thud was way to loud for a fall from that height.

This morning he informed me that he actually fell from his bed however he seemed fine and reported no complaints. A few hours ago he told me that his head hurts a little, I asked him where and he indicated the top front left side of his head. I asked him some more questions and examined him and there seemed to be no other symptoms so I thought I should just monitor him and see if anything changes. Well about half an hour ago he vomited so now I am starting to worry. I have checked him again everything else about him seems fine except that I noticed he has a black eye, it is the right side and it is barely noticeable unless you examine the area closely.

Because he vomited I thought I should eliminate what he has eaten today as a cause, when my wife and I were discussing what he had eaten he informed me that he and his brother had some apple muffin bars that my Dad brought up with him when he was here, I did not even know we had them, when I checked the packet I noticed the used by date was may last year so this could be another cause of the vomiting but his brother also ate one and is feeling fine.

We live 1.5 hours from the nearest public hospital and I am unsure if they will just send us home until things get worse. I am looking for some advice as to whether I should follow my gut and take him (I'm 50/50) and what type of care he is likely to receive (if they are likely to run tests at this stage) or if he is likely to be turned away until things get worse (which seems to be the norm for public health care, they did it to me when I was a teen).

I have just asked him about pain and he now says that the is no pain anywhere at all.

So should I take him now or is he likely to get turned away and should I wait to see if his condition changes?

It has now been 14 hours since he fell.


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## Chris (Jan 14, 2008)

Certainly not a doctor, but I found this which sounds like good news:

Head Injuries



> Many children will vomit once or twice after head trauma. If the vomiting is persistent, the child must be evaluated.



If it's just once, apparently it's normal. I'd still go get him checked out though, because if he does have a concussion you want to stay right on top of it.

Edit: Poor little guy, btw.


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## furyinternal (Jan 14, 2008)

First, I am sorry that this happened to your son.

Second, my wife is an EMT and she said that the signs you explained are indicative of a concussion. She recommends taking him to the hospital and having them run x-rays to check for brain-swelling or broken/cracked bones in his face. Concussions can be very serious if left unattended.

I apologize if this is not what you wanted to hear, but I thought it best to just "lay it out".

Good luck.


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## El Caco (Jan 14, 2008)

Thanks to both of you.


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## El Caco (Jan 14, 2008)

Update:

Just before my last post I had rang the local doctor asking the same that I asked here and was told to bring him in immediately. We just returned.

The doctor examined him, he checked his reflexes, his pupils, the normal concussion stuff and reported that he is displaying no neurological abnormalities. I asked the doctor if I should take him to the hospital and he said no. He said the first 24 hours are critical and that I must continue to monitor him he said if he shows any more symptoms to take him to the hospital immediately, but he said not to go yet because they would do nothing now, he said this is because the Queensland health guidelines do not allow CT scans on children unless they are displaying neurological abnormalities as they can be a risk to their health.

So I am relieved to know that at this time he is displaying no issues, now it is just a waiting game to make sure that he is O.K.

Thanks again guys, I can't give you any more rep at the moment Derek but I will try to remember to get you later. Edit:rep given.


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## Jason (Jan 14, 2008)

Glad you got this sorted  Poor lil fella.. I fell out of my bunk bed when i was a kid..my sister too she fell right ontop of my tv


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## El Caco (Jan 14, 2008)

Thanks Jason.


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## Jason (Jan 14, 2008)

s7eve said:


> Thanks Jason.



Kids are tough lil buggers. I'm confident he'll be fine


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## amonb (Jan 14, 2008)

Glad he looks ok


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## guitarplayerone (Jan 14, 2008)

furyinternal said:


> First, I am sorry that this happened to your son.
> 
> Second, my wife is an EMT and she said that the signs you explained are indicative of a concussion. She recommends taking him to the hospital and having them run x-rays to check for brain-swelling or broken/cracked bones in his face. Concussions can be very serious if left unattended.
> 
> ...



Sorry to hear about the little dude. Take him asap, best not to take chances, even if it turns out to be nothing....

She is absolutely right though. Additionally, check with some light source (even a regular flashlight will do) to make sure that his pupils are both the same size, as this is a dead giveaway. 

Alsp not a doctor, but Im premed/first aid certified.


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## forelander (Jan 14, 2008)

Queensland health system ftl. Glad he's ok.


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## El Caco (Jan 14, 2008)

guitarplayerone said:


> Sorry to hear about the little dude. Take him asap, best not to take chances, even if it turns out to be nothing....
> 
> She is absolutely right though. Additionally, check with some light source (even a regular flashlight will do) to make sure that his pupils are both the same size, as this is a dead giveaway.
> 
> Alsp not a doctor, but Im premed/first aid certified.





s7eve said:


> Update:
> 
> Just before my last post I had rang the local doctor asking the same that I asked here and was told to bring him in immediately. We just returned.
> 
> ...


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## furyinternal (Jan 14, 2008)

s7eve said:


> I can't give you any more rep at the moment Derek but I will try to remember to get you later. Edit:rep given.



Hey man, no worries. I appreciate it, but was more concerned that your son turned out alright. 

I am glad that he does not have any negative signs. My sister fell out of the top bunk in her sleep when she was like 9 or 10 and broke her collar bone. But, no concussion. She wore a sling on her shoulder for like 6 weeks, she hated life, but I got a kick out of it.


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## 7slinger (Jan 14, 2008)

Sorry I'm just seeing this now.

I'm a RN and I work in neuroscience (so neurology and neurosurgery) and my wife is charge RN of a level 1 trauma center

Everything above is accurate so far. There are more and more studies recently showing that patients are being over-radiated, so not surprising that the hospital won't scan him without symptoms. 

Things to watch for: memory difficulty, headaches, dizziness, nausea and vomiting, and over time, depression. These are typical symptoms of concussion, and may last 1-2 weeks in people who've had a concussion. Increasing severity of symptoms, confusion, seizures, continuous headaches not relieved with acetaminophen or ibuprofen, clear fluid draining from nose and/or ears, and projectile vomiting are more serious symptoms, and should be followed up on immediately.

A concussion is basically a bruise on the brain, and it takes time to heal as any bruise would. That is why you should keep an eye out for symptoms for at least a week or 2. If you haven't noticed any by now (which I hope you haven't) hopefully you're in the clear, but keep it on your mind for a while to be safe.


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## playstopause (Jan 14, 2008)

Just read this.
I'm really glad that your boy is ok. Man, when one of your kids have something, everything else stops.


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## El Caco (Jan 14, 2008)

Thank you. At this point he seems happy and healthy with no symptoms or pain, so all seems well, fingers crossed it stays that way. You can be sure I will be paying close attention to him over the next few weeks. 

I'm your typical parent in that my children mean more than anything to me and I don't believe I would cope well if something happened to them. Seth-Li is incredible boy, he is popular with children and adults of all ages where we live, is very intelligent and shows promise as having a talent in singing, all my children are special in my eyes and I would hate for anything to happen to them that would affect their future.


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## ohio_eric (Jan 14, 2008)

I'm glad your boy seems to be doing ok. 

Good for you understanding concussions. You;d be shocked at the people who just ignore head traumas and such.


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## Nerina (Feb 5, 2008)

ohio_eric said:


> I'm glad your boy seems to be doing ok.
> 
> Good for you understanding concussions. You;d be shocked at the people who just ignore head traumas and such.



Yes, I am glad he is ok


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## El Caco (Feb 5, 2008)

Thanks, yeah he is fine. We have had a couple of medical scares since then the latest was just this week when my daughter hit her head at school and come home with a concussion, it's never ending with young children.


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## Nerina (Feb 5, 2008)

Oh no! I think having children is a real scarey job, they're always out to give you heart attacks no? Its their job I think


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## El Caco (Feb 5, 2008)

Scary as anything you can think of but the rewards > anything scary they can throw at you. Yesterday I went to pick up my three year old son from daycare and there was a note on the sign out book saying they wanted to talk to me about something, I go in and they show me this profile folder they have for him and I think OMG, it turns out that it was an activity report for that day with pics. I read the text first, it was an activity that he initiated. He took some blocks and told the teacher what ingredients they were put them into a baking dish, put that into a toy microwave, closed the door and turned the dial. He waited awhile for it to cook then took it out and said he baked a chocolate cake, with the pics it was truly incredible to read, I was so proud of him.


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## playstopause (Feb 5, 2008)

s7eve said:


> Scary as anything you can think of but the rewards > anything scary they can throw at you.



 So true!


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## JJ Rodriguez (Feb 5, 2008)

Fuck that, kids are a lousy investment. They cost so much fucking money, and what are the chances they'll win the lottery and take care of you? Or start a .com and make billions


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## El Caco (Feb 5, 2008)

JJ Rodriguez said:


> Fuck that, kids are a lousy investment. They cost so much fucking money


Like I keep saying you really need to live in Australia. I am actually financially better off for having children.


> and what are the chances they'll win the lottery and take care of you? Or start a .com and make billions


With mine I would say pretty good. My children are more intelligent than their parents combined.


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## JJ Rodriguez (Feb 5, 2008)

Yeah, getting a job, and fending off the legions of poisonous and deadly creatures might prove difficult though


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## El Caco (Feb 5, 2008)

I'm sure you would be the deadliest creature here


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## JJ Rodriguez (Feb 5, 2008)

You think a zombie would be the deadliest? I dunno, there's one of me, there's millions of poisonous/dangerous things besides me


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## El Caco (Feb 5, 2008)

Thing is we have sticks, insect spray, pets and a whole myriad of things to protect us from them, what we don't have is shotguns.


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## JJ Rodriguez (Feb 5, 2008)

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeexcellent.


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## playstopause (Feb 5, 2008)

This thread derailment brought to you by JJ.


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## JJ Rodriguez (Feb 5, 2008)

Yeah, that's pretty much my thing


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## eleven59 (Feb 5, 2008)

JJ Rodriguez said:


> Yeah, that's pretty much my thing



That's what she said


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## JJ Rodriguez (Feb 5, 2008)

WOOP WOOP.


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## El Caco (Feb 5, 2008)

playstopause said:


> This thread derailment brought to you by JJ.


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## Buzz762 (Feb 7, 2008)

Well now that the thread has pretty much been derailed and the situation past, I actually have something to add now that someone didn't already say:

Kids bounce. They're better suited to handle injuries like that than adults. The instructor of my PEPP (it's a pediatric-specific EMS certification) course kept reminding us of that.


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