My 2.5 year old son has a concussion

lendaddy · 08-21-2006, 04:04 PM

He got it at noon today and it's 8 here now, he did not lose consciousness or memory(he fell out of a shopping cart). He was fine for a half hour, then he started vomiting (three times in two hours). We rushed him to the hospital where he vomited two more times and got a CAT scan. The results were completely negative (bruises, bone, blood)and we cannot find any bumps on his head. They sent us home with monitoring instructions and basically the idea that he's fine (he was seen by 3 separate doctors). Well, he vomited once on the way home and twice more tonight after trying to eat. Is this normal? The docs think maybe it's the stress combined with the concussion. He is groggy and tired, but after he vomits he feels pretty good. We are awaiting a callback from the doc now, but I'm sure they'll say it's normal.....is it?

Flatbutt1 · 08-21-2006, 04:19 PM

I'm no doctor 'K? But this happened to my son at 2 also. Same kind of presentation(he took a spill in the yard and hit his head), their skull sutures are closed by 18 to 20 months but getting knocked around is still very traumatic for them and their tender brains. I THINK this sounds normal pal but I do not envy you the night you're going to have.

Oh were the doctors pediatric specialists? If so try to trust them but keep a watch over him. Trust your instincts as well and bug the **** outa the doctors if you're worried.

all blessings pal

nostatic · nostatic's Garage

Ouch. Never had that issue with my son (luckily). I'd say just watch him for any warning signs that the doc should give you. Young kids are incredibly resiliant, so he'll probably be fine. I wish I healed as quickly

arcsine · 08-21-2006, 04:28 PM

A friends son did the exact same thing (fell out of cart/vomiting/checkout OK by hospital). Turned out he had a skull fracture. I would go with FB1's recommendation and stay on top of things until you are convinced things are normal.

lendaddy · 08-21-2006, 04:30 PM

Well, doc says one more spew and bring him back. He's been sleeping for a couple hours now and we have to wake him every four. He got a bath and clean clothes before going down, so maybe he'll feel better. Poor lil fella

What's weird is I've had a couple really really bad concussions (lost consciousness and memory of a couple days plus short term memory loss every 10minutes, etc....) and I don't recall throwing up or feeling nauseous at all.

Wait....did that make sense....how would I remember????

lendaddy · 08-21-2006, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by arcsine
A friends son did the exact same thing (fell out of cart/vomiting/checkout OK by hospital). Turned out he had a skull fracture. I would go with FB1's recommendation and stay on top of things until you are convinced things are normal.

They said no fractures via the CAT scan, so I feel pretty good there. I don't see any sleep tonight, which is fine by me.

lendaddy · 08-21-2006, 04:37 PM

Oh, yes they were pediatric docs (at least two I know for sure).

masraum · 08-21-2006, 04:47 PM

I'm no doc, but I'm pretty sure that in various things that I've read, boy scouts etc... vomitting is a symptom of a concusion.

nostatic · nostatic's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by masraum
vomitting is a symptom of a concusion.

that and voting democrat. Have you asked him what he thinks of Bush since the accident?

einreb · 08-21-2006, 04:51 PM

I've had two concussions and did a good bit of puking after both of them.

As a parent, I'd be pretty freaked out too.

Seahawk · 08-21-2006, 04:52 PM

Hang in there...all of the "Daddy's"!

lendaddy · 08-21-2006, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by nostatic
that and voting democrat. Have you asked him what he thinks of Bush since the accident?

That's funny, cause I recall the doc asked me who was President when I had mine ('93) and I said Bush, then looked at me weird and I knew I was wrong.....so I said "well he ought to be"

Anyway my lil guy hasn't tossed cookies in 2-1/2 hours and he's sleeping. We just woke him and he was crabby but cool, hopefully it's all downhill from here.

speeder · speeder's Garage

Really sorry to hear that, but I'm a betting guy and I say he's going to be fine.

Vomiting is absolutely normal after getting one's bell rung, I'm surprised that none of our MDs here have seen this yet and weighed in. That doesn't mean that it always happens, but it's normal I'm sure. This has been a tough day for him and you, but tomorrow will be better.

Kids fall and get concussions. It's a bummer, but it's just a fact of life. Little boys love to climb and seem to get them more, at least when I was growing up. Consider prayers delivered.

lendaddy · 08-21-2006, 05:19 PM

Thanks Denis, and everyone else for your thoughts.

Icemaster · Icemaster's Garage

Denis nailed it, I've personally had two and known 7 other guys (wow...7) that have had them. We all hurled several times. That's the part you don't see when they lead someone off the field or ice. Start to feeling better then the head spins again and it's over. I think it's due to your equilibrium getting horked up, but I'm no MD.

24 hours later all you hear is either a dull whine or a constant low wind type roar. And one beotch of a headache.

CT would have shown anything amiss.

Best to you and the little one.

Rodeo · 08-21-2006, 05:40 PM

My little girl got thrown on her head by her 4 year old sister when she was not quite 1 y.o. Spent 24 hours in the hospital with a contusion on her frontal lobe, that sucked. But ultimately the docs said that given her young age, her brain had not developed enough to do any damage. Interestingly, they said that if she were older, it might have had some effect on her personality, but since the wires had not really been connected yet, they would just re-route themselves.

She's now 2.5 and just fine, plans on voting a straight democratic ticket in November

jyl · jyl's Garage

My daughter fell off some playground equipment, got knocked out, then threw up, a friend went to the school to get her, she threw up a couple more times in the friend's car and house (a very good friend). She was 5 or 6, no lasting ill effects. So I'd not hesitate to take him back to the doctor - please err on the side of caution, may do it even if he doesn't omit again but is simply feeling like vomiting - but I would try to be calm, it does happen to lots of kids.

(How come we never see professional boxers vomiting after a knockout?)

91S2 · 08-21-2006, 09:16 PM

just went through this with my 4 year old nephew. needless to say I'm no longer the number one babysitter. had the same exact situation. important thing is the CAT scan was neg.... just be prepared for a cranky trooper in the morning and throughout the day

red-beard · red-beard's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by mikester
When I was 13 I gave my 5 or 6 year old sister a concussion on accident. Knee to the head, I was running through the house chasing the dog and she was sitting in front of the TV around the corner. I didn't see her until it was too late. A few hours into the night she started puking. They took her to the hospital, cat scan, etc. I recall pretty much the same thing.

I thought I'd killed my sister. Sucked I tell you what.

Well, _THAT_, explains a lot!

red-beard · red-beard's Garage

Yes, exactly.

But the concussion didn't damage her best attributes...