Head injuries in babies and children

Emergency advice

Baby minor head injury:

Hold an ice pack against their head.
Assess their level of response with AVPU scale.
If unresponsive or worried call 999/112

Baby severe head injury:

Call 999/112.
Monitor breathing, prepare to do CPR if necessary. Try not to move in case of spinal injury. Only move them if they are in danger.

When your baby starts to crawl, they can bump their head on furniture or other objects and when starting to walk they may be unsteady and fall. Most of the time the injury will be minor and they might not even cry, but sometimes a bump on the head can be more serious.

Minor head injury

Signs and symptoms

Look for:

bump or bruise to the head
possible head wound
dizziness or vomiting
short period of unresponsiveness.

What to do

If you think your baby has a minor head injury sit them on your lap and try to assess the baby's level of response using the AVPU scale.

A - Are they alert? Are their eyes open?

V - Can they respond to you if you talk to them?

P - Does the baby respond to pain? If you flick the bottom of their foot, or pinch their ear lobe, do they respond to you by moving or opening their eyes?

U - Are they unresponsive to all of the above? If they are unresponsive or you are worried, call 999 or 112 for emergency help.

While you do this, hold something cold against the injury to help reduce the swelling, like an ice pack or a frozen bag of vegetables wrapped in a tea towel.
While you do this try to assess the baby’s level of response using the AVPU scale.
- A – Are they alert? Are their eyes open?
- V – Can they respond to you if you talk to them?
- P – Does the baby respond to pain? If you flick the bottom of their foot, or pinch their ear lobe, do they respond to you by moving or opening their eyes?
- U – Are they unresponsive to all of the above? If they are unresponsive or you are worried, call 999 or 112 for emergency help.
If they have any wounds, treat them by applying direct pressure to the wound.
Keep checking the baby’s level of response until they’ve recovered or medical help arrives.

Severe head injury

Signs and symptoms

Look for:

drowsiness
headache
vomit
if they suffer a seizure or fit
unequal pupil size
blood or blood-stained watery fluid coming from the ear or nose
unresponsiveness.

What to do

If you know that your baby has had a severe knock to the head or a minor head injury is getting worse, you should call 999 or 112 for emergency help and tell ambulance control that you suspect a serious head injury to your baby.
While you’re waiting for help to arrive check your baby’s breathing and ensure their airway is open and clear. If they stop breathing at any point prepare to start CPR. If possible, try not to move your baby in case they have a spinal injury. However having a clear airway is always a priority.