to have NOT called an ambulance?

[LaaDeDa]

DS, aged 14 months, fell down the stairs from the very top on Tuesday eve. He rolled over 3 times, landed on his back, cried immediately, had blood coming from his mouth and nose and got up.
I was out but dp sorted out the bleeding and checked him all over and then observed him playing, laughing etc for about an hour until he became tired and went to bed (he'd been on his way to bed when the original accident happened). By the time i came in he was asleep but able to be woken so we kept checking him through the night.
The next morning he vomited so i took him to local minor injuries who asked why we hadn't called an ambulance the night before.
My reasons for not were - how he'd responded following the fall basically. If i'd have felt he was non-responsive or vomiting through the night i would have done (and at the first bout of sickness did go to the hospital) so i was quite surprised they expected the emergency service to be used in that circumstance.
I really thought we'd done the right things and attended hospital at the right point so am genuinely surprised that the use of an ambulance at that moment would have not been wasting the resources.

So - in those circumstances would you have phoned an ambulance? Or am i the meanest, stupidest mummy going - as you can tell i am thinking that yes, i am :-(

I would have called an ambulance for sure. Internal injuries don't always present straight away.

I would have done the same as you, Laadeda

I would have taken him to be checked out, after a fall like that that left him bleeding. By car ideally, but if I had no other way, yes, I would certainly have called an ambulance.

i do know that I tend to err on the side of caution though.

Would have gone straight to A&E not called ambulance.

DS (16 months) fell down the stairs last week, about 3/4 of the way down. I didn't call an ambulance or take him to a&e, just kept an eye on his responses, checked him over etc. I think bleeding might have scared me a bit more though, especially if I couldn't tell where it was coming from.

DD at 14 months tripped over a doormat and crashed her head into the corner of a wall. My cousin (a dr) was with me and told me what to look out for. DD was sick the next morning and seemed slightly drowsy so I took her to a&e. They watched her for a couple of hours then sent us home with a checklist of what to do in case of head injuries in infants and children. The checklist says to keep an eye on them and to take them to a&e if any symptoms develop btw

I have no time for hysterical parents who take their kids to A&E for every bump and graze but in this case I would have done something.

that's a hell of a fall for a wee one and I'd need to know everything was ok for my own peace of mind - so would prob have made the trip myself.

I would have gone to A and E

your dp did the right thing, your little one got up, played happily after the accident, the bleeding quickly stopped and you checked he was rousable throught hte night ( all the right things to do) . if he had had a skull fracture causing the bleeding he would have had associated symptoms and contiunal bleeding . i cannot believe how many parents wisk their children off to a+e for every bump. you an dyour dp used common sense ( something that seems to have been drille dout of parents these days) so well done !

My 14 month old also fell down entire flight of stairs last night an hour before bedtime. He cried for 5 mins and no visible signs of injury plus he played and laughed all the hour before bed so I just put him to bed and he was fine. I think I would have worried more and taken him to A&E if he had been bleeding, but of course you'd have to be there and see how bad it seemed yourself at the time to make the call.
I think you did fine.

My 6 year old fell off the top bunk (was leaning over hitting DS2 with a power ranger sword at the time). He cried and seemed fine, but was sick 2 hours later. Brought him to A and E where they expected us to keep him awake until he was seen. He lasted till 4 am before a doctor examined him while he was asleep. Useless. Completely useless.

Mummydoc - can I ask if you are a doctor? Because I'd like you to clarify what symptoms would have shown up if he's had askull fracure - open AND closed ? And what the time scale is for the development/onset of such symptoms ? Thanks.

I wouldn't have called an ambulance either.

I'd have worried, kept checking, asked for advice on MN, then called NHS and then no doubt ended up in A&E to check the little one out.

Sorry I am a dr and also a pretty laid back casual mum, my DD's are always full of bumps and bruises...but honestly (and OP do NOT beat yourself up, as parents we all make judgement calls and do what we think is right at the time, and happily your child is fine), if my 16 month old fell down a whole flight of stairs, landed on her back and was bleeding from her mouth and nose I think I would have taken her to A+E (not called an ambulance though unless she was unconscious)!!!
However, it is very hard to judge a sitiation as described on the net, and the situation may not have been as bad as it sounds in real life!
Luckily alls well ends well!

oh and if other docs here think I am over reacting, I am an experienced GP qualified 13 years, with 2 DD's of 7 and 16 months !

the blood from mouth and nose would have had me straight to a&e.
my son fell off the counter at 2 and once the hospital knew he was bleeding from his ear i had to take him straight in.

I think looking at your child and how well they actually are rather than blindly panicking is of course very sensible but so is considering the mechanism of injury.

A child falls down a sstep and is unwell - you need help. A child falls down a step and seems fine - you may be ok without medical help. a child falls down a flight of steps - you need advice because the forces involved are so much greater, the potential for harm is greater. How fast they were moving, the surface they hit, the part of their body that bears the brunt - all these things you have to factor in and sometimes even if they seem fine the factors should outweigh what you think you can tell about them. Would for me anyway.

I've just been chatting with dp about the comments on the thread (all gratefully received thank you) and we did realise that if i had been here with the car one of us would almost certainly have gone to a+e. Trouble was, i came in after ds had been in bed asleep about 30 mins and nearly 2 hrs after the fall (dp couldn't phone me as i was out of reception) so trusted that dp had reacted appropriately and that monitering the situation was the best way to go at that stage.
Btw - dp also said he thought the bleeding had come from a cut lip and gum and the blood came out of ds's nose when he was crying and made himself cough. I'm sure he told me that at the time but i obviously didn't take it all in 100%. He actually said his next step would have been to call 999 if the bleeding hadn't stopped quickly.

Its worth bearing in mind that if you'd have gone to A&E if you'd had the car then thats a perfectly good reason for calling an ambulance.
I was told that by NHS direct once when DS1 swallowed something dodgy. I was home on my own with DS1 and newborn DS2 and a bit panicked when NHS direct said that he needs to go to A&E so they said if I didnt have a car or was too upset to drive to hospital myself then they were perfectly happy for an ambulance to be called in that instance, which they did for me.
You did what you thought was right at the time but always worth bearing in mind for next time!

I would certainly not have called an ambulance in your situation but would have called NHS direct or gone to the A and E. If I was alone with 2 children in the house I would have started with NHS direct.

My children have both had similar falls at similar ages and both have been taken to A&E...but then I live 5 minutes drive from a very good Children's A&E....

Both times they were fine but I was never made to feel as if I wasted time and resources by taking them in = I was told it was the right thing to have done.

In your case I wouldn't have called an ambulance - I'd have driven myself there.

Laadeda - don't feel badly - you took him to the doc when he started vomiting and next time if anything happens (which obviously, I hope it doesn't) but if it does, you'll know that maybe a quick trip to A&E is worth doing.
It's not worth leaving a toddler that small if there's bleeding and possible head injury, but he's been checked now so don't dwell on it. YANBU to have not called an ambulance, I'd have just driven.

After such a big fall I would definitely have sought further advice - either NHS Direct or take him to A&E myself. Or if no transport to hand yes an ambulance. Mind you, NHs Direct would more than likely have got an ambulance out anyway - based on what you said happened. Sorry if that makes you feel rotten OP.

Perhaps it's that I keep thinking of that thing that happened to Natasha Richardson - she seemed ok at first too apparently.

Course the moral of the story is, next time something like that happens - make sure you post about it on MN straight away if in doubt!!!!!

he he I think that's quite funny...in as much is if you pop over to 'health' you sometimes find a post that says something like 'my DC has just fallen off a cliff and is unconcious and bleeding - before I call an ambulance, waht do you all think i should do?'

Obviously I'm exaggerating!