Children get injured in sports and at home: when to seek medical attention?

THURSDAY, November 21, 2024 (HealthDay News) – Sprain on the soccer field. Falling on the floor at home.

Children get injured, but as a parent, when is the right time to take them to the doctor or the ER?

Sports medicine doctor and pediatric orthopedist Dr. Bianca Edisonfrom Children’s Hospital Los Angeles offers tips to worried moms and dads.

Above all, she said, don’t assume that childhood injuries are rarely serious: Edison pointed to statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that show that nearly half (45%) of playground injuries involve fractures, sprains, concussions and more injuries serious enough to require urgent medical attention.

She divided children’s injuries into four types: head injuries, mouth/dental injuries, fractures and eye injuries.

Head injuries

Hitting the head is not uncommon for rambunctious kids. However, certain symptoms may signal that you need more than just a hug to help your child.

“These include significant fussiness beyond what the child usually exhibits, multiple episodes of vomiting, slurred speech, different pupil sizes, and a sudden change in the way the child walks,” Edison says. “These symptoms are of serious concern and require immediate medical attention.”

There are certain indicators that can also be helpful, especially when it comes to head injuries related to falls. If a child is less than 2 years old and falls more than 3 feet, or is more than 2 years old and falls more than 5 feet, an emergency visit to the emergency room is necessary, a Los Angeles doctor said.

Of course, if you feel any dent or dent on your child’s head, take him or her to a doctor immediately, Edison added. This may indicate a skull fracture.

Any bruising in or around the eyes is another red flag, as is blood coming from the nose or ears.

When you arrive at the hospital, you may need to have a CT scan if any of the following symptoms or events occur:

• Loss of consciousness

• Excitement

• Extreme drowsiness or significantly slowed reaction

• Severe, increasing headache

• A car accident in which a child was thrown from a vehicle or a bicycle accident in which a child was not wearing a helmet

• Multiple episodes of vomiting or any seizure-like effects

“These symptoms or situations indicate or may cause increased pressure in the brain, swelling of the brain, or actual bleeding in the brain,” Edison explained.

Eye injuries

There are clear warning signs that emergency care is needed if a child’s eye is damaged:

• nosebleeds occurring next to a black eye or in the whites of the eye

• head injuries resulting in black eyes

• a fracture or indentation in the orbital bones surrounding the eye

• sudden and/or persistent vision problems, including double vision, blurred vision, or difficulty moving the eyes

“Ask the child to follow your finger,” Edison instructed. “If one eye follows and the other stays straight, or if pain occurs when one eye moves, this may indicate a more serious injury to the injured eye or an infection may be developing in the eye.”

Injuries to the mouth or teeth

Very young children who are still learning to walk can sometimes fall and damage their mouth or teeth.

If this means a child is losing a baby tooth, it is usually not an emergency, Edison said, although it is reasonable to refer the child to a dentist within the next 24 hours.

However, for older children, any damage to a permanent tooth constitutes a dental emergency, she added. If your child loses a tooth, remember to retrieve it by cleaning it with saline or warm water, holding the tooth by the crown, not the root.

Once the tooth is properly rinsed, you can re-implant it yourself by making sure it is properly placed in the child’s mouth, Edison said. Hold the tooth with a damp napkin or paper towel.

“You should do this within five to 20 minutes of the tooth falling out so that the tooth roots don’t die,” she added. An adult should always hold the tooth with a damp napkin or paper towel.

Don’t let your child do this on their own because they may not be able to hold the tooth still or the tooth may become loose from the jaw and pose a choking hazard.

If tooth re-implantation is difficult or there are many missing teeth, you should seek emergency dental care.

“You should replace any missing teeth,” Edison said, “and contact your child’s dentist to make sure no trauma has occurred.”

Fractures

Skateboarding, soccer, tree climbing: kids find many different ways to break bones.

However, Edison noted that the most common cause of fractures is a child simply falling off a bed, changing table or sofa.

“All it takes is the right angle and the right force on the bone for a fracture to occur,” she said. For infants and young children, the most common fracture sites are the elbow, wrist, collarbone, lower leg, and finger.

Fractures typically have key features such as immediate swelling at the site of injury, deformity, and the child’s reluctance to use the injured body part. For example, they may hold the broken arm close to the body or “favor” the leg or foot and not put any weight on it.

Any fracture requires immediate medical attention.

Look for one of these “5 P’s,” each of which justifies taking your child to the ER:

• Pain (extreme discomfort and sensitivity)

• Pallor (unhealthy pale appearance of skin)

• Pulse (weak or undetectable)

• Paresthesia (numbness or tingling)

• Paralysis (inability to move the injured body part)

Make sure your child is taken to a facility with scanning technology such as X-rays.

Knowing the tips above can help moms and dads respond quickly and effectively when injuries occur.

“Children are active and curious, and no matter how many safety measures are taken, injuries can occur,” Edison said in a hospital news release. “That’s why it’s so important to know what to do when something happens.”

SOURCE: Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, press release November 4, 2024