1 Month Old Infant, Head Trauma?

My wife just called me at work in tears. She was vacuuming while
holding our one month old using the hose attachment while bending over
trying to get a crevase in the floor. He's collicky and is very
congested right now due to what seems to be a cold but of course we
can't give him anything for it. Anyway, apparently the hose attachment
caught on something as she was moving and when it became unstuck the
vacuume lurched forward and the hollow plastic handle on the upright
vacuum came down on our baby's head as she was holding him. He of
course cried immediately (so did she). She tells me there's a little
tiny indent and the bruise looks "black and blue". She's hysterical.
Afraid to death she's caused some irreparable brain damage and is
sobbing. It's been a very bad day. Our three year is quite sick right
now (coming out at "both ends"). Right afterwords she called the
doctor and setup an appointment to have him checked out in a couple
hours. Then later she called me. She put ice on it and I guess he's
sleeping now so it couldn't even be hurting him that bad could it? I
tried to calm her down, telling her he's probably fine.

But is there any chance he could be really hurt from an 'injury' such
as this?

:Bazooka-Joe

Hi --

*Anything* is possible with a 1-month old. Going to the doctor is
exactly the right thing to do. It's probably nothing but a bump, but
the doctor will be able to tell more definitively.

It just goes to show that new moms (even the 2nd or 6th time around)
shouldn't be doing housework!

Let us know how it goes,
--Beth Kevles

http://web.mit.edu/kevles/www/nomilk.html -- a page for the milk-allergic
Disclaimer: Nothing in this message should be construed as medical
advice. Please consult with your own medical practicioner.

NOTE: No email is read at my MIT address. Use the AOL one if you would
like me to reply.

wrote:

But is there any chance he could be really hurt from an 'injury' such
as this?

He's most likely fine. But, it wouldn't hurt to take him into the doc
and have him checked over just in case. (I believe we had a case in the
misc.kids hierarchy where a toddler through a sippy cup at his infant
sister and gave her a crack in her skull.) If nothing else, your wife
will feel more reassured.

FWIW, I'm also an EMT, which makes me -very- conservative about this
stuff. It's always my first inclination to have someone check it out
just in case.

Michelle
Flutist

wrote:
My wife just called me at work in tears. She was vacuuming while
holding our one month old using the hose attachment while bending over
trying to get a crevase in the floor. He's collicky and is very
congested right now due to what seems to be a cold but of course we
can't give him anything for it. Anyway, apparently the hose attachment
caught on something as she was moving and when it became unstuck the
vacuume lurched forward and the hollow plastic handle on the upright
vacuum came down on our baby's head as she was holding him. He of
course cried immediately (so did she). She tells me there's a little
tiny indent and the bruise looks "black and blue". She's hysterical.
Afraid to death she's caused some irreparable brain damage and is
sobbing. It's been a very bad day. Our three year is quite sick right
now (coming out at "both ends"). Right afterwords she called the
doctor and setup an appointment to have him checked out in a couple
hours. Then later she called me. She put ice on it and I guess he's
sleeping now so it couldn't even be hurting him that bad could it? I
tried to calm her down, telling her he's probably fine.

But is there any chance he could be really hurt from an 'injury' such
as this?

It's enough within the realm of possibility that it
isn't ridiculous to take him and and get it checked out, but
odds are he's just fine. Kids are pretty resilient, thank
goodness.

Best wishes,
Ericka

In article . com,
wrote:

My wife just called me at work in tears. She was vacuuming while
holding our one month old using the hose attachment while bending over
trying to get a crevase in the floor. He's collicky and is very
congested right now due to what seems to be a cold but of course we
can't give him anything for it. Anyway, apparently the hose attachment
caught on something as she was moving and when it became unstuck the
vacuume lurched forward and the hollow plastic handle on the upright
vacuum came down on our baby's head as she was holding him. He of
course cried immediately (so did she). She tells me there's a little
tiny indent and the bruise looks "black and blue". She's hysterical.
Afraid to death she's caused some irreparable brain damage and is
sobbing. It's been a very bad day. Our three year is quite sick right
now (coming out at "both ends"). Right afterwords she called the
doctor and setup an appointment to have him checked out in a couple
hours. Then later she called me. She put ice on it and I guess he's
sleeping now so it couldn't even be hurting him that bad could it? I
tried to calm her down, telling her he's probably fine.

But is there any chance he could be really hurt from an 'injury' such
as this?

:Bazooka-Joe


While it's possible, it's unlikely.

Nevertheless, it can't hurt to have it checked out! I'm glad she'll be
able to do it through your Drs. office instead of the emergency room.
And I hope your 3 yo feels better soon!

--
Children won't care how much you know until they know how much you care

My husband's 6 mnth old fell out of her high chair on to a slate floor
(ouch!). They took her to the hospital and she was fine. (She's now
20). Get it checked out, but shouldn't worry too much. If the child
continues to cry, may be a prob, but plenty of kids get bruises and
have worse things happen and they are okay. Good Luck.

wrote:
My wife just called me at work in tears. She was vacuuming while
holding our one month old using the hose attachment while bending over
trying to get a crevase in the floor. He's collicky and is very
congested right now due to what seems to be a cold but of course we
can't give him anything for it. Anyway, apparently the hose attachment
caught on something as she was moving and when it became unstuck the
vacuume lurched forward and the hollow plastic handle on the upright
vacuum came down on our baby's head as she was holding him. He of
course cried immediately (so did she). She tells me there's a little
tiny indent and the bruise looks "black and blue". She's hysterical.
Afraid to death she's caused some irreparable brain damage and is
sobbing. It's been a very bad day. Our three year is quite sick right
now (coming out at "both ends"). Right afterwords she called the
doctor and setup an appointment to have him checked out in a couple
hours. Then later she called me. She put ice on it and I guess he's
sleeping now so it couldn't even be hurting him that bad could it? I
tried to calm her down, telling her he's probably fine.

But is there any chance he could be really hurt from an 'injury' such
as this?

:Bazooka-Joe


Well, we took him to the doctor and the doc says he should be fine.
They're going to call us again tomorrow morning just to check up on him
and see what he's doing. The mark on his head has died down
significantly and it doesn't appear to be effecting anything. In fact,
he seems a little LESS collicky than normal tonight.

As irony would have it, I'm actually a little more concerned now about
my 3 year old boy. He's vomited something like 7 times today. His
temp has been consistently between 99 and 101 pretty much all day.
Motrin seems to help the fever but not the vomiting. He tends to get
rather lethargic when he this sick and it just rips my heart out to see
him like this instead of his usual, jumping, boucing, playing around
self. Almost makes me wish he'd put up a fight about not wanting to go
to bed or something.

:BJ

bazooka-joe writes:

As irony would have it, I'm actually a little more concerned now about
my 3 year old boy. He's vomited something like 7 times today. His temp
has been consistently between 99 and 101 pretty much all day. Motrin
seems to help the fever but not the vomiting. He tends to get rather
lethargic when he this sick and it just rips my heart out to see him
like this instead of his usual, jumping, boucing, playing around self.
Almost makes me wish he'd put up a fight about not wanting to go to bed
or something.

Sounds pretty normal, if horrible. Only one suggestion - others may be able
to confirm or deny it - I think giving paracetamol (acetaminophen) where
there's a stomach upset is probably a better idea than giving Motrin, if
I'm remembering correctly that that's a brand name for ibuprofen. Ibuprofen
can be a stomach irritant, which is not what he wants right now! But also,
TBH, I'm not sure I'd give anything in the circumstances. A fever of 99 to
101 isn't worrying in itself, and taking the medecine is probably a bit
unpleasant for him; not sure it's likely to be accomplishing anything
useful. JMO,

Sidheag
DS Colin Oct 27 2003

He is probably fine, it really doesn't sound that serious, a little
bump and bruise. Taking him to the Dr. is the right thing since you
can never be too sure, and reassurance is good.

Normally if you are worried about a head injury you should keep the
baby awake. That was my impression anyhow...

KR

wrote in message
ups.com...
But is there any chance he could be really hurt from an 'injury' such
as this?


He could have a concussion (and waking him up every so often is a good idea,
just in case). My son had a concussion at 3 weeks old. DH was carrying him
in the infant carseat, and tripped on the porch step, and dropped th
carseat. We went to the ER, they did a catscan and they admitted my son to
the hospital overnight for observation. He's now almost 3 and has no
afteraffects from it.