Head Injury? Update and more questions, post #29/page 2

Mickey'snewestfan

DIS Veteran
Joined
Apr 26, 2005
My 13 year old was snowboarding the terrain park, fell of a box, and hit his head on the metal rim. He says he didn't lose consciousness, but I wasn't there to see the accident. Fortunately he was wearing a helmet, as I imagine it could have been a disaster otherwise. However he's still very sore on that side of his head and he says his head is throbbing.

I called the nurse hotline for my insurance and they said, give him Tylenol, watch him, wake him every 2 hours, but don't bring him in to the ER unless he vomits, has double vision or the headache gets dramatically worse.

Now, I'm regretting calling them. I feel as though I'd feel better taking him to Urgent Care at least, but now that I've been specifically told not to, I imagine my insurance won't cover it.

Am I being crazy to think about taking him in? Would you?
 
ER. He can always the pain got worse. And the hotline said if the pain was worse then go in. You don't want to mess with brain injuries.
 
They diagnosed over the phone without seeing the patient. If you are still concerned taje him. His health comes first. And if the insurer tries to deny the claim you have grounds to fight it.
 


I would just keep an eye on him, back in the day when i was kid, we get hit in head all the time, spanked by parents and cats scratch us and we never thought anything about it :rotfl:. Its all generational
 
Mickey'snewestfan said:
My 13 year old was snowboarding the terrain park, fell of a box, and hit his head on the metal rim. He says he didn't lose consciousness, but I wasn't there to see the accident. Fortunately he was wearing a helmet, as I imagine it could have been a disaster otherwise. However he's still very sore on that side of his head and he says his head is throbbing.

I called the nurse hotline for my insurance and they said, give him Tylenol, watch him, wake him every 2 hours, but don't bring him in to the ER unless he vomits, has double vision or the headache gets dramatically worse.

Now, I'm regretting calling them. I feel as though I'd feel better taking him to Urgent Care at least, but now that I've been specifically told not to, I imagine my insurance won't cover it.

Am I being crazy to think about taking him in? Would you?

I don't think your crazy. At one point my mom worked for a catholic charity home distributing meds to the mentally handicapped and one of them was born "normal", hit his head when he fell off the swing and his mom didn't know not to let him sleep. He woke up handicapped, mentally and physically. I say better to be safe than sorry when it comes to the head.
 
Definitely take him to the ER. There was a young man who died here this past week in a snowboarding terrain park accident. He was wearing a helmet too.
 


I would go ahead and take him into the ER. Most urgent care facilities are not equipped to deal with a head injury and will send you to the ER anyway (my experience from many years in a hockey playing family, and now with a family of snowboarders :) ) tell him good job on wearing a helmet too!!!! :)
 
I think Hillary Clinton and Natasha Richardson are good examples of how what seemingly is a minor bump on the head may need more medical attention than you think.
 
I would just keep an eye on him, back in the day when i was kid, we get hit in head all the time, spanked by parents and cats scratch us and we never thought anything about it :rotfl:. Its all generational



Back in the day we didn't know what we know now. Chances are the OP's son is fine. But you don't mess around with a head injury. Early treatment of a concussion can make a huge difference in the outcome.
 
You'll all feel better once he is looked at. Err on the side of caution and get him looked at.
 
My 13 year old was snowboarding the terrain park, fell of a box, and hit his head on the metal rim. He says he didn't lose consciousness, but I wasn't there to see the accident. Fortunately he was wearing a helmet, as I imagine it could have been a disaster otherwise. However he's still very sore on that side of his head and he says his head is throbbing.

I called the nurse hotline for my insurance and they said, give him Tylenol, watch him, wake him every 2 hours, but don't bring him in to the ER unless he vomits, has double vision or the headache gets dramatically worse.

Now, I'm regretting calling them. I feel as though I'd feel better taking him to Urgent Care at least, but now that I've been specifically told not to, I imagine my insurance won't cover it.

Am I being crazy to think about taking him in? Would you?

I wouldn't worry too much about the insurance. I don't think they can deny your payment based on what a nurse says over the phone.

That said, my daughter was kicked in the head by one of her horses when she was 15. It was a fluke accident (this horse was way too lazy to get his feet off the ground on a normal day). Wouldn't you know he was the only one in the barn with shoes on at that time too?

She saw stars and probably did lose consciousness momentarily. She actually had a hoofprint on her forehead and on her hip. Her head was hurting really bad. I carried her to the ER immediately. They examined her, said she had a concussion, and pretty much told me the same thing the nurse on the phone told you.

If it will make you feel better, go ahead and take him. I probably wouldn't be able to help myself ;), but they may tell you the same thing. You might watch him a couple of hours to see if his head seems to be better.
 
I say take him as soon as possible. As a mom that had a child with a head injury , it is vital to have him evaluated. It took my son nearly 6 weeks before he was totally headache free. Don't wait! Hope all goes well.
 
I would take him to the ER and have him checked out to be on the safe side.

My insurance company has a nurse line too, but it has nothing to do with our insurance company paying or not paying for a medical bill.
 
I think Hillary Clinton and Natasha Richardson are good examples of how what seemingly is a minor bump on the head may need more medical attention than you think.

Exactly! I also watched a show about head injuries and just to be on the safe side I would take him to the ER, ASAP.
 
Even if you don't take him to the ER please read about dealing with concussions. Head injuries need time to heal.
 
Update:

So, I basically waited through the night, waking him up every hour or so to make him talk to me. This morning I called the pediatrician, who asked me "is he irritable?" Ummm, he's a teenage boy and I keep waking him out of a sound sleep to ask him if his head hurts. Yes, he's irritable."

Anyway, the pediatrician asked us to make an appointment with the concussion center at our local children's hospital, and then if that appointment was more than a day away to go the ER. The concussion center can't see him until Thurs., so we went to the ER where they checked him out and said it was likely a mild concussion and to follow up at the concussion center. They gave him motrin and "NO PE" note, and sent us home.

Then, on the way home, the Steubensville story came on the radio and he asked me to explain it to him. I did, and when we stopped the car he threw up a tiny bit. So, now I don't know whether to rush back to the hospital (because vomiting with a head injury is a bad thing) or thank my lucky stars that I have the kind of kid who agrees me with that that story is horrifying.
 
Thanks for the update! Id go back to emergency to be honest. But that's just me! Again, better to be safe than sorry! :)
 
It depends where the head injury is whether you start vomiting or not. My mother had a serious brain injury and was in a coma for 3 weeks and never threw up. And you know yourself that just having a bad headache can make you feel nauseous, so no wonder consider he was in a moving car at the time.

I would watch for any other symptoms and if you are suspicious head back to the ER. But then again, I've never heard of doctors prescribing ibuprofin for a head injury -- I guess they were sure there wasn't a bleed???

One other thing -- the person that got the head injury often isn't the best one to take advice from. Most people don't remember losing consciousness because they were...ummm...unconscious at the time. Most people, even with serious brain injuries, have no idea how badly they were hurt. You know your son and you know what he's usually like. You've been through enough injuries and sicknesses to know what is mild and what is more serious. Trust your instincts.
 

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