Signs of baby head trauma crack#

Numbness or weakness (paralysis) of part of the body.

The child's neurological symptoms can include: Head injuries cause many symptoms, depending on the type of injury, its severity and its location on the head and the brain inside. These additional injuries often cause blood loss, breathing difficulties, very low blood pressure (hypotension), and other problems that can complicate the child's treatment and make recovery more difficult. Severe head injuries – especially those caused by motor vehicle accidents and falls from high places – also can be accompanied by damage to the neck bones or to important organs inside the body. This causes an area of damage on the side of the brain opposite from the blow to the head.Īfter each of these serious head injuries, there can be swelling inside the brain, which increases the pressure inside the skull. Both types of injury are caused by either a direct blow to the head or indirectly when the force of an injury to one side of the skull causes the brain to bounce against the other side.

Intraparenchymal hemorrhages and contusions (bleeding and bruising of the brain) – These injuries involve the brain itself.

This type of bleeding leads to serious brain injury and even death if not diagnosed and treated promptly. Subdural hematomas tend to get larger slowly, sometimes over days or weeks, with symptoms gradually worsening. It occurs when a head injury tears any of the large veins that carry blood away from the brain's surface.

Subdural hematoma – This is a collection of blood between the coverings of the brain and its surface.

Epidural hematomas are especially common after significant injuries to the temple, such being hit by a baseball or baseball bat. This can cause severe injury and even death. The blood vessel that ruptures is usually an artery, and the hematoma expands rapidly and presses on the brain. As the injured vessel bleeds, a collection of blood called a hematoma forms in the space between the skull and the outermost membrane (dura) covering the brain. It happens when a sharp fragment of bone cuts through one of the major blood vessels in the skull.

Epidural hematoma – This is one of the most serious types of bleeding that can occur inside the head as a result of a skull fracture.

This may need more immediate attention and special surgery to fix. If the skull is dented inward (a depressed skull fracture), pieces of the broken bone are pressing down against the surface of the brain.

In most cases, a skull fracture causes only a bruise on the surface of the brain.

Signs of baby head trauma crack#

Skull fracture – A skull fracture is a crack or break in one of the skull's bones.

Other types of serious brain injury include: Sometimes, the injury can be caused indirectly, such as when blood vessels stretch and tear, the brain 'bounces' against the inside wall of the skull, or the brain swells as a result of chemical changes.

However, when it is severe, the injury usually is from a direct blow to the skull. Concussions do not usually cause long-term brain damage, but repeated concussions can be very dangerous, putting the child at risk of serious brain damage.Ĭhildhood head trauma is rarely more serious than a concussion. In most cases of concussion, X-rays or brain scans do not show any damage. Symptoms of concussion can include headache, confusion, problems with concentration and fatigue, and can be mild or severe. Injuries to the head can cause a concussion, which is a mild traumatic brain injury or TBI. In infants younger than 1 year old, most serious head injuries are related to child abuse.Ĭhildren often bump their heads accidentally, resulting in minor bumps, bruises, or cuts in the scalp, but no damage to the brain inside. The most common causes of childhood head injuries in the United States are motor vehicle accidents, falls, assaults, bicycle accidents and trauma related to sports. Although 90 percent of all childhood head injuries are minor, thousands of children die and many more develop permanent disabilities each year from head trauma. Each year, childhood head injuries result in tens of thousands of emergency room visits and hospitalizations in the United States. Trauma to the head can cause different medical and surgical problems, ranging from mild to severe.