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Swollen Forehead After Injury, Did Not Lose Consciousness. Have Put Ice And Taken Ibuprofen. Anything Else I Should Do?
Question: My 15 month old just tripped and hit his forehead on our bed. He has a big goose egg on his forehead. He did not lose consciousness. I put some ice on it and gave him some children's ibuprofen. Is there anything else I should do?
Hi
Thanks for the query
Don't be alarmed by how quickly these large bumps appear. 'The big goose egg' swelling over the forehead is because of collection of blood in the subcutaneous tissue (below the skin layer) and it is usually limited to the scalp and occasionally indicates that the underlying brain has been damaged. They reduce gradually with an ice pack and adequate pressure.
It is a good sign if the child does not have loss of conscious, but you still need to wait and watch for at least 24 hours. Try to keep him awake for at least an hour. After that, you can allow him to take short naps and not more than 20 minutes in each session. Also, you need to observe for any vomiting or excessive crying or loss of balance while walking and loss of conscious.
Ibuprofen you have given is enough for now, you can continue giving this only if you feel that the child is having pain. Just keep an eye over the child's activities, if you feel any of the above symptoms are there, immediately take him to a doctor and request for CTscan of the head.
Hope I have answered your query; I will available for the follow-up queries.
Regards
Dr. Naveen Kumar N.
ENT and Head & Neck Surgeon
Thanks for the query
Don't be alarmed by how quickly these large bumps appear. 'The big goose egg' swelling over the forehead is because of collection of blood in the subcutaneous tissue (below the skin layer) and it is usually limited to the scalp and occasionally indicates that the underlying brain has been damaged. They reduce gradually with an ice pack and adequate pressure.
It is a good sign if the child does not have loss of conscious, but you still need to wait and watch for at least 24 hours. Try to keep him awake for at least an hour. After that, you can allow him to take short naps and not more than 20 minutes in each session. Also, you need to observe for any vomiting or excessive crying or loss of balance while walking and loss of conscious.
Ibuprofen you have given is enough for now, you can continue giving this only if you feel that the child is having pain. Just keep an eye over the child's activities, if you feel any of the above symptoms are there, immediately take him to a doctor and request for CTscan of the head.
Hope I have answered your query; I will available for the follow-up queries.
Regards
Dr. Naveen Kumar N.
ENT and Head & Neck Surgeon
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Raju A.T
Answered by
Dr. Naveen Kumar Nanjasetty
Otolaryngologist / ENT Specialist
Practicing since :2001
Answered : 2542 Questions
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