Extreme anxiety about bump on head just before bedtime

[PPL]

DS is 18 mo and increasingly physical. About an hour before bed he stood up on the sofa, slipped and landed flat on his back on the wooden floor. Screamed blue murder and after 5 mins of cuddles he was his normal self. I know this is the most important thing when assessing a head injury. But I have anxiety issues and that's not good enough for me :(

Bath time was ok, but we have had a very tiring day and he kept trying to get out, he slipped a bit in the bath but caught himself ok. Thought nothing of it. Put it down to tiredness.

Then at bedtime was extra clingy. At one point he launched himself towards my hand in the cot and hit his head on the cot bars - face on. Cue more and more crying.

Now I look back on this series of events I am anxious that he might have been dizzy/disorientated after the bump to his head and thats why he was unsteady in the bath and why he hit himself in the cot.

Is there anything I can look for while he's sleeping? Now of course I will spend all night worrying that he's passed out cold.

I know it sounds daft but I really suffer with anxiety.

Other info - no vomit, no fluid from ears and both times stopped crying within a few mins.

What would you do?

Hi. My DS was and still is very much like this. I can't tell you the amount of times I have spent the evening worrying about the bump on the head he has had that day. NHS Direct have had many calls from me.

If he cried straight away and didn't lose consciousness, that's obviously good. I was advised to check on DS every 2 hours through the night- just prod him to see if he reacts. He has always been ok.

It is very worrying, but my advice is that they are very resilient, and it is highly unlikely that he has done any harm to himself. Just keep your eye on him, and put all the other things that happened after his fall down to tiredness. DS always gets far more clumsy when tired. He is currently nursing a bruised ear (no idea how he managed that). Poor soul is so clumsy that I have had to take most of it with a pinch of salt, otherwise I would have serious stress issues

Thanks for your reassuring post. I am still incredibly anxious but will keep checking on him. I stupidly googled.... and Now I have palpatations!

But part of me thinks I'm being silly and it was only a pine floor, with a rug on top - hardly concrete!

You're right - I was just thinking how tired he seemed before he decided to walk off the sofa. Definitely tired clumsiness.

Hi - I'm a GP and work in out of hours as well as background in A&E. Not much to add to the above advice - the most you would get in hospital is observations every hour or two (rarely happen every hour in my experience). I would check his breathing every couple of hours, check he hasn't vomited and looks a normal colour. In reality, bumps like this happen so often. Like you said, he didn't vomit or lose consciousness. I wouldn't expect to see uncoordination as the main presenting feature of a bleed - which is your concern - where there is otherwise no abnormal drowsiness (beyond the fact that it was bedtime) or confusion. I'd be much more concerned if he'd changed colour at the time, lost consciousness or vomited within half an hour or so afterwards. I hate these situations - been there with my ds who fell backwards onto concrete and also fell off the bed onto floorboards - as you can't help but be anxious, but I would just watch him overnight purely as a precaution and for your own peace of mind. x

Thank you so much mummy.
He's already woken once (not unusual!) and he seemed fine, so he's obviously not out cold! I will check again before bed and if I wake in the night (also not unusual).

I feel a bit better but I doubt I'll sleep. Which will be useful if I am to keep checking him!

www.askdrsears.com/topics/parenting/childhood-illnesses/head-injuries. This article might be helpful in knowing what to look for.

www.askdrsears.com/topics/parenting/childhood-illnesses/head-injuries