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Should I just watch him or go to ER?


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I am still shaking... my almost 5 DS was sent into my bedroom to get something from Daddy's dresser. As he was running to our room I yelled to not pull on the drawers and if he can't reach to call me. Seconds later there was a huge crash and I screamed his name. No answer. I went flying into our room, didn't see him, but did see the dresser on the ground. He was hiding next to our bed crying.

 

I asked if he was hurt and what happened. He told me he was climbing the drawers (has been told a million times not to do this!) and it tipped over. He was still holding on when it crashed down. The bench at the end of our bed caught the end so it never fully hit the ground. He said he hit his head and sholders on the floor, but crawled out through the small space the bench created.

 

He says he's ok, I don't see any bruises... but what would you do? I had called my husband when it happened, buy he is now in meetings. I didn't ask him about dr or er. Do you think there is any need to go get checked out?

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Does his head hurt? Is there a sore spot or lump? If he had a very tender spot and large bruise or swelling, I'd watch more carefully, but I probably wouldn't go in unless he was inconsolable for an unusually long time and/or had significant injury marks.

 

I'd also strap that dresser to the wall tonight.

 

edited after rereading and realizing he has no marks and says he's fine: I'd just keep an eye on him. I'd still get that dresser strapped to the wall, though!

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Concussion checklist!

Are his pupils the same size as each other? do they open wide in the dark and quickly shrink to small when you shine a light in his eyes? If yes, then GOOD!

 

Any dizziness? Nausea or vomiting? Feeling strange? If no, then good. If he throws up at all in the next FOUR hours, then you should go to the ER.

 

I would call my pediatrician's office and speak to the nurse on call as well, just to be safe. Chances are he is fine. We had an incident with a dresser tipping over. It is really really scary.

 

Hugs, Mama.

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Yes, dad is doing that when he gets home! The stupid on our part thing is that every tall piece of furniture in the kid's rooms are strapped to the wall. I don't know whay we never did this one. :crying:

 

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug: I can only imagine how you must have felt when you ran up there. I'm breaking out in a cold sweat just thinking about it. :grouphug:

 

I agree with the others. When my dd had a concussion, she was definitely acting differently pretty much right away. Her injury was BAD (her older brother was walking with her and he tripped and dropped her on her head on cement) and she was hardly crying and she kept wanting to go to sleep. VERY scary. Sounds very different than your ds.

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He has no real injuries? I'd stay at home.

 

He has a gaping head wound? ER.

 

If he feels fine and has no visible wounds, what would you want the ER to do for you? I would not want to pay a co-pay, personally!

 

The worst kind of head wounds often don't show outer injury because instead of an "egg" on the outside, there is an "egg" on the inside. So it's important to check for the signs of concussion even if, perhaps even especially if, there is no outward sign of a bump on the head.

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The worst kind of head wounds often don't show outer injury because instead of an "egg" on the outside, there is an "egg" on the inside. So it's important to check for the signs of concussion even if, perhaps even especially if, there is no outward sign of a bump on the head.

 

:iagree: I should have mentioned in my earlier post that my dd who had a concussion had NO outside sign of a bump or injury. None.

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To add onto the coNcussion stuff already mentioned, I'd keep him close tonight and wake him once or twice just to make sure he was still ok. Otherwise, as others have said, he's probably fine. Watch for concussion and take him in if you see signs.

 

Eta- I took dd9 in when she was about 2. She fell off my recliner and landed on her head on the marble (like) tile. She was fine and the dr teased a little that I had brought her in. He said the same thing, if they're acting fine, they probably are. God makes them pretty resilient at that age.

Edited by Scuff
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Yes, dad is doing that when he gets home! The stupid on our part thing is that every tall piece of furniture in the kid's rooms are strapped to the wall. I don't know whay we never did this one. :crying:

 

:grouphug: We had a similar incident when ds was little. The dresser fell partially across his chest but was mostly supported by the corner of his bed, thankfully. He wasn't hurt, but it was SO scary!

 

As for the head injury, if he has a concussion you should be able to tell by his behavior. Ds had one and was wobbly on his feet and was disoriented. So if he seems okay, he probably is.

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The worst kind of head wounds often don't show outer injury because instead of an "egg" on the outside, there is an "egg" on the inside. So it's important to check for the signs of concussion even if, perhaps even especially if, there is no outward sign of a bump on the head.

 

Well, right, but the child would be symptomatic in some way...

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I know first-hand how scary this is! We had to start anchoring and bolting all furniture to the walls when our twins were ~2yo after an incident like this, except in our case one of them was caught under a dresser but fortunately (don't ask me how) unharmed.

 

My vote is for staying home but keeping an eye on concussion symptoms and waking him a few times during the night, just long enough to check pupil dilation and get a few coherent words out. Glad everything is okay for now!!

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Thank you everyone for the advice. He does seem fine and back to his 4 year old sassy self. He said his tummy hurts when you push on it, but he doesn't really wince in pain, it's just a verbal ouch. We are keeping an eye on it, dad checked him over when he got home. We are litterally 3 minutes from the hospital, so I will watch him through the night. The baby still wakes up a few times a night, so I will go in and give kisses each time tonight (he always wakes up, gives me an "i love you too" and then goes back to sleep.

 

Thank you also for helping me not feel like a horrible mom!

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Thank you everyone for the advice. He does seem fine and back to his 4 year old sassy self. He said his tummy hurts when you push on it, but he doesn't really wince in pain, it's just a verbal ouch. We are keeping an eye on it, dad checked him over when he got home. We are litterally 3 minutes from the hospital, so I will watch him through the night. The baby still wakes up a few times a night, so I will go in and give kisses each time tonight (he always wakes up, gives me an "i love you too" and then goes back to sleep.

 

Thank you also for helping me not feel like a horrible mom!

 

It sounds scary. I'm glad he is acting like himself, even if it is sassy. ;)

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