Baby fell and lost consiousness

[kfillmore]

Yesterday my 20 month old slipped, hit her head, cried a few seconds in my arms and then lost consiousness. She came back in a minute(?) and the ambulance came. She is supposidly Ok. But I am NOT.

I am so worried and sorry.

I didn't want to go to the outing where she fell. I just kept thinking I didn't feel like it but I went anyway.

I was a tiny bit less carefull that usual.

As I suppose in all accidents I am blaming myself and hating my self and just feeling horrible.

I am SOO worried that everything is NOT ok and that the Doctors are wrong or she is not showing problems. We did not get Xray. Dr seemed to discorage it and said it uses lots of radiatiom, also that xraying the brain is still not 100% in correct results.

The memories are running over and over in my head. I had a hard time driving to the Dr today because of that. I also am crying all the time. 

I feel so awful and sad and scared. It is overwellming me.

I was so terribly horrible when I was holding her and her eyes rolled back and she got floppy and limp in my arms. so terrifying.

On another note-I am worried how much this is going to change our life. Our first baby was stillborn so we have been very worried, high alert parents. We do things like check her breathing all the time. However, despite that I have been proud how I have left her alone to climb and play and fall. I think she is a strong confident girl becasue of that, now I feel like I don't want her to do anything.

I am a complete mess.

[eepster]

If you feel like something is wrong, you can take her back to the Dr.  It's OK to be scared.  This was scary.

[Ornery]

I'm so sorry.  Those type of images stay in your head forever don't they?

My dd used to have seizure type things when she hit her head hard and it scared me to death.  Luckily they never lasted long.  It happened three or four times before she turned two and the doctor told me after the second time that some infants just react that way when they hit their heads hard.   She would stop breathing for a little bit, go limp and her eyes would roll up into her head.  Each time she fell I would freak out thinking it was going to happen again so I can partially understand your fear.  Thank goodness she grew out of it!  I will be honest, she is 6 and my DH and I still tense up every time she bonks her head.  It is so stressful.

Again, I'm so sorry you both had to go through that. 

[3xMama]

My DS fell off the counter at about seven or eight months old. He hit his head, cried for a few seconds and then I watched him go through the same thing your LO went through. It was the single most terrifying thing I've ever gone through in my life. He came to in a matter of seconds, but we still had an ambulance come out and went to the ER (not in the ambulance, we opted to drive ourselves since he wasn't having any difficulties and didn't even have a bump). We went just to be sure something hadn't happened that we couldn't see, one of the EMTs even said (when he checked out fine) that babies/kids bounce and rarely get seriously injured. He had a CAT scan and everything was fine. The ER doc said he had a vasovagal response-basically, the shock overloaded his little brain and he fainted. Nothing more to it. He has never had a single problem related to that instance.

If she's acting normally, then chances are there is absolutely nothing wrong. Did you get a sheet from your dr about head injuries and what to watch for? I believe the list includes dizziness, lethargy, vomiting, pupil dialation and a few other things. If you just need her to be checked out to make sure nothing is wrong, talk to your ped's office about a CAT scan-honestly, I'm surprised they only offered an xray. Normally with heads its automatically a CAT, at least in my understanding. If she were truly injured, I'm very sure something would have presented itself by now.

And last but not least: . Believe me, I know how you are feeling right now. I felt horrible horrible horrible after that happened. I knew better than to put DS on the counter and I only took two steps away to stir something on the stove. I wanted to bury myself in a hole and never again emerge. Unfortunately, as humans, we're make mistakes and accidents are going to happen. It took a little time, but things went back to normal. After DS acted normally for a few days, I was able to relax. Luckily, these accidents are usually few and far between. I'm sure given your past loss, its harder to relax, but living in fear isn't healthy. You love your little girl and will do the best you can by her-that's all you, her or anyone else can ever ask.

[Marissamom]

I know how scary our kids getting hurt can be, but I do want to reassure you that passing out is not in and of itself an indication of how severely a kid was hurt. I have an incredibly sensitive vasovagel reflex, and I've passed out from just about everything: a stubbed toe, a pinched nerve in my neck, hitting my funny bone, twisting my ankle, and just about every other bang or scratch I got growing up. 

[pregnant@40]

I've been there too, and it is absolutely dreadful. The ER docs also dissuaded us from the MRI, since if there were a bleed, there is nothing that would be done to treat it (ie. the blood would reabsorb). Ours even had bleeding from the ear, but two separate docs confirmed that it was from the external ear & not internal, since they could both visualize the tympanic membrane. Kids are resilient, and yours will likely be fine, too. Just watch for neuro changes over the next several days, as mentioned above (ie. vomiting, lethargy, headache, etc..). Though this is about the immediate 24 hr period, here is a general list of neuro signs again:

http://www.netwellness.org/question.cfm/52640.htm

[kfillmore]

yah, it was a CAT scan they offered. We did not do it. I kind of want(ed) but the ER Dr seemed to discourage which actually surprised out Ped who said not to do it. I find it so hard to make those decisions when there is bad either way.

[pregnant@40]

It's OK to have not done the CAT, since likely no treatment decision would be made based on the results. That's why the docs dissuaded you -- the risk of radiation was greater than the risk of not knowing CAT results, since the results wouldn't be used anyway. What matters are signs/symptoms exhibited by your child -- these are what medical decisions will be based on, and at that point further imaging could be done.

[cschick]

Originally Posted by Marissamom 

I know how scary our kids getting hurt can be, but I do want to reassure you that passing out is not in and of itself an indication of how severely a kid was hurt. I have an incredibly sensitive vasovagel reflex, and I've passed out from just about everything: a stubbed toe, a pinched nerve in my neck, hitting my funny bone, twisting my ankle, and just about every other bang or scratch I got growing up. 

Same here. I no longer pass out, but I "grey" out (the world becomes hazy and kind of disconnected) with many sorts of sudden pain. I've passed out from a sudden attack of digestive gas pains before :(

[nextcommercial]

I had a daycare child hit his funny bone once.  Then he passed out in my arms.  Which wouldn't have been so scary, except, I didn't know what happened to him, so I thought a rattle snake bit him, or something that would cause such a violent reaction.  (I thought he was going to die) by the time I got near a phone, he had come to, and was trying to tell me what happened.

He's passed out before, but always when he hit his head, so his parents thought it was repeated head injuries, but after lots of testing, the doctors assured them, that he just passes out when he's hurt.  Apparently, it's very common.  

I'm hoping that what happened to your daughter was something similar, and not an actual head injury.  It's still horrifying no matter what.  Especially when the doctors just brush it off, and you don't know if they were right.  

[Carma]

My (then about 8 months) son tipped over when he was sitting on a wooden floor once. He cried very briefly and then his eyes were rolling back and he was out for just a few seconds. I was in Europe visiting family and first called the ER/emergency office. They said just to keep an eye on him (vomiting, very sleepy, etc.). But that likely he briefly fainted from shock/pain which is relative common in kids. I also had it when I was a kid. From stubbing my toe, etc. I would briefly faint.

When my DD1 was about 4 months I thought I dropped a jar on her head. I was not sure, I didn't see how it fell exactly, she was in a bouncy chair on the kitchen floor. The lid of the jar was loose. They did a CT scan per orders of my Ped. The ER doc didn't really want to because there was nothing to see (no bump). Just an X-ray is not good enough, but a CT scan has a lot of radiation. I still worry if the CT scan was a good choice. The jar probably fell next to her head, but I was scared that it did drop on her head.

Carma

[Hillary77]

Same here!

My dd has the vasovagel reflex...first time "pulling up" in the kitchen on a chair (about 8 months old) she fell backward and bonked her head - not too hard - on the linoleum floor. She sucked in a huge breath, let out a brief wail, shuddered a couple of times, and passed out! I was so scared! Also, she was exhausted after the episode and nursed to sleep right away. But I knew she hadn't hit her head hard enough for any trauma. So I watched her for signs of concussion and she was fine. She has had this reaction to pain or blood or simply having a fall when I wasn't *right there* to reassure her. It's happened maybe 10 times all together? Always the same pattern. She is 8 years old now and hasn't had an episode in 2 years or so.

Don't worry! Your doc was right to not expose her to unnecessary radiation.

[Marissamom]

Originally Posted by cschick 

Originally Posted by Marissamom 

I know how scary our kids getting hurt can be, but I do want to reassure you that passing out is not in and of itself an indication of how severely a kid was hurt. I have an incredibly sensitive vasovagel reflex, and I've passed out from just about everything: a stubbed toe, a pinched nerve in my neck, hitting my funny bone, twisting my ankle, and just about every other bang or scratch I got growing up. 

Same here. I no longer pass out, but I "grey" out (the world becomes hazy and kind of disconnected) with many sorts of sudden pain. I've passed out from a sudden attack of digestive gas pains before :(

I still fully pass out about once a year from pain, though more frequently while pregnant, and any time I have a fever. which is a lot less often than when I was in Jr. High, and it was about every two weeks.forgot to mention, one time I passed out just because I had a cramp in my hand, only I've had 911 called on me. 

[beenmum]

My ODD does the passout when hurt, stressed or anxious. Then she takes it one step further and stops breathing until she has seizures from the lack of oxygen. Harmless, but really scary to watch.

[pianojazzgirl]

The other mamas have said lots of reassuring words (which I agree with!).  I wanted to offer some more hugs.    Please don't beat yourself up over this mama.  Kids take tumbles and falls no matter how careful we are.

And I wanted to say I'm sorry for your loss. 

[Super~Single~Mama]

Originally Posted by kfillmore 

I was so terribly horrible when I was holding her and her eyes rolled back and she got floppy and limp in my arms. so terrifying.

I know how you felt when this happened!!  My ds got very sick last July, and while we were in the Dr's waiting room he had a febrile seizure - eye's rolled back, he started seizing and I freaked out!!  It lasted 3-4minutes (and I can hardly type this out remembering it is so awful!), and there were 2 dr's there and one nurse - they are the only reason I could barely keep it together.  Then we were transferred by ambulance to Chidlrens hospital near us, and it happened again while were waiting for a room - that time he was nursing and so when he started having the seizure he broke his latch and I was so upset my boob was just hanging out - thankfully that one was shorter - but it was absolutely TERRIFYING.  We were taken to a room immediately, and dr's and nurses took ds and surrounded him (I couldn't even see him!) and were trying to get him an IV so they could give him meds to stop it, I was crying, and freaking out.  The EMT from the ambulance stayed with me and kept me apprised of what was going on, and the nurses were really nice to me, but it was easily the worst day of my life.  I was so scared, and all my friends and my ex were taking the bar exam that day and the next day - so I couldn't even have anyone come be with me!  Thankfully it was just febrile seizures (when a child has a sudden spike in temperature they can have seizures and its normal, but the scariest thing ever for parents!), and he hasn't had any since then.

You do stop thinking about it all the time, and it does get easier.  Do not feel guilty though - it is not your fault, you didn't cause it, there was nothing you could do to prevent it.  It's ok to be scared, it's ok to feel the way you do, but please don't beat yourself up over it!