PARENTS WATCH OUT! MORTALITY RATE ON TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY IN CHILDREN IS ON THE INCREASE.

My son just had a fall and hit his head on the tile floor; I am worried because the impact created a swell up which I robbed very hard with menthol and ice block. I want to observe him a little to decide whether to visit the doctor or not. Is sleeping at the moment. His always too active and as such always hitting his head either on the wall or on the floor, but this swell is a big contour and am just troubled.’

I am sure most mothers are familiar with the above extract as narrated by one of the site patients. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of disability and death in children and adolescents in US. Two age groups are always affected most, when it comes to TBI; age group 0-4 and 15-19. Every year over 564, 000 cases of children with TBI are seen in the emergency unit and death of over 2,685 occur in children between the ages of 0 to 14 years yearly. Brain Trauma Injury could occur as a result of motor vehicles crashes, falls, sport injuries, physical abuse and other causes.




The symptoms could vary depending on the nature of injury. It ranges from mild to severe symptoms which can be avoided or reduced if early diagnosis or quick therapeutic intervention is sorted. The consequences of TBI are huge. It can cause physical impairments which may affect speech, vision, hearing, cause paralysis, seizure disorder, fatigue, motor coordination and spasticity of muscles. It could cause short term memory defects, impaired concentration and slowness of thinking, problem with communication, planning, learning, judgment and interpretation. The effect could also be felt on the mood (anxiety, depression, difficulty controlling emotions). A recent study shows that children younger than 7 years significantly die more often due to direct impact of severe trauma and that ‘if they survive they seem to develop less systematic complications an profits from a better functional outcome’ said researcher Phillip

When young children sustain head injuries or bruises or bumps; falling down from a particular height or get a hit on the head from a ball, sometimes these can lead to a concussion and deciding whether your child needs an immediate concussion assessment can be difficult as expression differs from one child to another. Your child might be too young to express his feeling of nausea or amnesia or even to describe the point of injury. However, with bump on the head, your child needs to be examined and assessed to rule out concussions. Acute signs and symptoms of a concussion are vomiting, headache, crying and inability to be consoled, restlessness or irritability. Children who have these symptoms for more than several weeks will need to be further reassessed by a specialist.

In conclusion, every parent should try as much as possible to prevent kid’s head injury. Seat belt should be worn for kids inside the car, wearing of helmets for kids on the bike, ensuring playing environments are made of shock- absorbing materials and pay detail attention to signs from their children.

More Information

1. Brain Injury association of America

2. European Journal of Medical Research

Increased in-hospital mortality following severe head injury in young children: result from a nationwide trauma register; a research work of Philipp Lichte, Etal