School Nurse

Cecile Elliott

Head Injuries

Children often bump or bang their heads, and it can be difficult to tell whether an injury is serious or not. Any knock to the head is considered a head injury. The following information is to help parents monitor their child to ensure they are aware of when to get help.

Head injuries are classified as mild, moderate or severe. Many head injuries are mild, and simply result in a small lump or bruise. Mild head injuries can be managed at home, but if your child has received a moderate or severe injury to the head, they need to see a doctor.

If your child has a head injury at school, you will be contacted by the school nurse to inform you of the incident and any signs or symptoms your child may be displaying. It is always important to monitor your child when they go home to ensure that there are no effects from their head bump.

Care at home

Children and adolescents with concussion can take up to four weeks to recover, but most concussions will get better on their own over several days. Following a mild head injury, your child will need to get plenty of rest and sleep, particularly in the first 24 to 48 hours.

Your child may have a headache after a head injury. Give them paracetamol (not ibuprofen or aspirin) every six hours if needed to relieve pain.

There is no need to wake your child during the night unless you have been advised to do so by a doctor. Call an ambulance immediately if you have any difficulty waking your child.

Children who have had a head injury may develop symptoms at various times. Some of the symptoms may begin minutes or hours after the initial injury, while others may take days or weeks to show up.

If your child experiences any of the following symptoms, take them to the doctor or nearest hospital emergency department immediately:

vomiting more than once
bleeding or any discharge from the ear or nose
fits/seizures/twitching/convulsions
blurred or double vision
poor coordination or clumsiness
any new arm or leg weakness, or any existing weakness that gets worse or does not improve
difficulty swallowing or coughing when eating or drinking
sensitivity to noise
slurred or unclear speech
unusual or confused behaviour
severe or persistent headache that is not relieved by paracetamol.

If your child has had a head injury, they should return to school and sport gradually. For moderate to severe head injuries, your doctor will advise you. For advice on returning your child to their usual activities if they have had a mild head injury, see the RCH fact sheet Head injury – return to school and sport.

The RCH has information fact sheets regarding Head injury which gives general advice and is very helpful. You may also consider having the RCH app on your phone to allow you to access information sheets on a large number of topics. I highly recommend this as a valuable resource.