This blog has been medically reviewed by Sheridan Byrne, PA-C, physician assistant in our neurosurgery program at Children’s Minnesota.
As a parent, it’s natural to feel worried when your child bumps their head. Whether it’s a tumble off a bike or an accident on the playground, head injuries can be scary. Our kid experts are here to walk you through what to do if your child hits their head, what signs to look for and when to seek medical help.
What are the different types of head injuries?
A head injury is any trauma to the scalp, skull or brain. While many are minor — like a bump or bruise — some can be serious and require immediate medical attention.
Different head injuries include:
- Laceration: a cut on the scalp.
- Contusion: a bruise of the scalp.
- Concussion: a brain injury that affects the way the brain works and leads to symptoms such as headache, dizziness, and confusion.
- Intracranial hematoma or hemorrhage: bleeding around or inside the brain.
- Skull fractures: a break in the skull bone.
Children’s Minnesota has several concussion clinic locations in the Twin Cities metro area.
Signs and symptoms of a head injury
Here are the signs of head injuries, including danger signs of head injuries from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) HEADS UP campaign.
Signs of a minor head injury:
- Minor scalp swelling
- Small cut on the scalp
- Mild headache
Signs of a possibly serious head injury:
- Behavioral changes (increased emotions or irritability)
- Difficulty concentrating or memory
- Dizziness
- Fatigue
- Light or sound sensitivity
If your child demonstrates signs of a head injury with no danger signs (see below), they need to be closely monitored at home and evaluated by a health care professional within 24 to 48 hours of injury.
Head injury danger signs:
- Possible seizure or convulsions
- Visible facial injury or skull deformity
- Large or heavily bleeding cut
- Blood or clear fluid from the nose or ears
- Loss of consciousness
- Difficulty waking up, unable to stay awake, or persistent sleepiness
- Repeated vomiting or nausea
- Severe or worsening headache
- Balance problems or difficulty with coordination
- Weakness, numbness, or tingling in arms or legs
- Double vision or vision changes
- One pupil is larger than the other
- Has slurred speech or speech changes
- Appears disoriented or has trouble responding to questions
- Refuses to eat or feed
- Unable to console or stop crying
- Develops worsening or new symptoms
Call 9-1-1 or seek emergency care if your child demonstrates or develops any head injury danger signs.
What should I do if my child has a head injury?
If you suspect your child has a concussion or brain injury, here’s what you should do:
- Remove the child immediately from the physical activity where they were injured.
- Do not return the child to that physical activity the same day.
- Do not return the child to full physical activity until they are evaluated by a medical professional.
- Assess the child for any of the symptoms listed above.
- If your child demonstrates signs of a head injury with no danger signs, they need to be closely monitored at home and evaluated by a health care professional within 24 to 48 hours of injury.
- Call 9-1-1 or seek emergency care if your child demonstrates or develops any head injury danger signs.
Learn more about Children’s Minnesota’s emergency care options and our pediatric neurosurgery program.
As always, trust your instincts. You know your child best. If you think they don’t look or seem right, call your doctor or 9-1-1.
