Top 5 Ways to Prevent a Head Injury in Your Infant

As a parent of an infant, you may wonder what you can do to keep your baby as safe as possible. Along with making sure your baby eats, wets diapers as he or she should, and gets enough sleep at night, you can also safeguard your infant by knowing how to prevent infant head injuries. You might believe that head injuries are restricted for adults and older children; however, infants can and sometimes do fall victim to accidents that result in either external or internal skull injuries. You can learn what to do to make sure this injury does not befall your baby by taking these suggestions into consideration.

 

1) Control Your Infant’s Head

This suggestion sounds comical; however, it is also necessary for you to control your baby’s head, particularly during his or her early infancy. Babies do not have good head and neck control during early infancy. Their heads are too heavy for their bodies to support.

 

A baby whose head is allowed to loll back and forth could hit his or her head on the floor or a crib railing, resulting in an injury. You can prevent this injury by supporting your baby’s head while you hold him or her, as well as laying your baby on a padded blanket while he or she is on the floor or in the crib.

 

 

2) Keep Your Baby Away from Heavy Objects

You may think nothing of laying your baby on the floor in front of the TV stand or in front of a bookcase. However, if the stand or case falls over, it will land on your baby and hurt him or her. Many babies are hurt each year by falling objects. A book falling off a case or a figurine falling from a shelf can significantly injure an infant. You should avoid putting your baby near such fixtures.

 

 

3) Watch Older Siblings

If you have a baby and a toddler in your house, the toddler’s curiosity about the baby may inadvertently lead to the baby being hurt. While your toddler may not mean to hurt your infant, he or she may throw something or hit the baby and cause the baby to suffer a head injury.

 

Many babies are hurt each year because of an older toddler sibling inadvertently acting out against the infant. While your children are young, they should be properly supervised, and your toddler should be told as much as possible to be nice to the baby rather than hitting or throwing things at the infant.

 

 

4) Use Car Seats

This tip also seems absurd, given how much a public awareness push there has been lately regarding the proper use of car seats for infants. Even so, many parents brush off these warnings and instead put their babies on their laps or in the front seat while they drive. You can prevent your baby sustaining a head injury by using a car seat every time you and your baby get in a car.

 

 

5) Protect Against Shaken Baby Syndrome

While you may never hurt your baby, other people could put your baby at risk if they shake the infant. If your spouse, partner, child, babysitter, or anyone else shakes your baby, your infant could suffer irreversible brain injuries.

 

You should educate yourself, your family, and everyone who comes into contact with your infant about shaken baby syndrome. This suggestion cannot be understated. Babies die every year because they are shaken by someone who is supposed to love and care for them.

 

 

Better Safe than Sorry

If you are in an accident, if your baby falls or otherwise has sustained an injury, seek medical attention. According to manhattanaccidentattorneys.net, what you think is a minor accident can actually be much more serious than you think. Brain injuries often do not show symptoms. It is very important to visit a doctor if you are in any situation where you think your baby may have been hurt.

 

These ideas can help you safeguard your baby’s health. You can follow these suggestions to protect your infant against internal and external head injuries.

 

 

Writer Melanie Fleury is the mother of four children and has been involved in an accident with all four in the car. While there were no visual injuries to her family, she made sure to follow up with a doctor to ensure that her children were injury free. The attorneys at manhattanaccidentattorneys.net stress that a injury can often take time before symptoms start to surface. Make sure to seek proper medical attention as soon as possible.

 

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/footloosiety/5465554441/

Categories: baby syndrome, car seats, early infancy, head injuries, head injury, infant, injuries nbsp, medical attention, nbsp nbsp, prevent, shaken baby

When Fido Fights You: Dog Bites and How to Deal With Them

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 4.5 million Americans are bitten by a dog every year. Unfortunately, 885,000 of these bites will be serious enough to require medical attention. Because of this, it is imperative for everyone to pay close attention to the warning signs of a potential dog attack. For example, if a dog begins growling at you, it is never a good idea to confront them. However, no matter how many precautions you take, it is still possible that you could end up facing one of the most common dog bite injuries.

 

 

The Five Most Common Dog Bite Injuries

 

1) Puncture Wounds - If a dog punctures your skin, you will need to seek medical attention immediately, regardless of whether or not the bite caused you to bleed profusely. After all, any puncture wound could cause an infection, so you should never take the chance of letting the bite turn into a more serious issue. Puncture wounds need to be treated with antibiotics, and you will also need to have the wound cleaned thoroughly before it is covered up.

 

 

2) Scarring - Most dog bite wounds will heal completely, but it is definitely possible to end up with scarring as a result of the incident. Unfortunately, children are especially prone to developing scars, and this can have a negative impact on their quality of life. In order to treat this problem, a dog bite victim will often need to go through expensive reconstructive surgery.

 

 

3) Infection - As previously mentioned, a puncture wound can lead to an infection. Children, the elderly and people who have a weakened immune system are more susceptible to infections, but anyone could end up dealing with this issue. The symptoms of an infection include swelling, tenderness, pus, heat and redness, and you will need to visit your doctor for the appropriate medication.

 

 

4) Emotional Damage - Many people who experience a serious dog bite will end up dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This could leave them feeling afraid of dogs, and they might even be scared to go outside. Additionally, PTSD can cause nightmares that will make it difficult for the sufferer to sleep. If you are experiencing PTSD as a result of a dog bite, it will be very important for you to visit a trained counselor in order to work through your anxiety.

 

 

5) Nerve Damage - Although most dog bites do not cause extensive damage, it is still possible for an angry canine to damage the nerves in your neck, arm, leg or face. Sadly, this can lead to chronic pain and a lifetime of mobility issues, and your doctor might not be able to provide you with much assistance aside from pain medication.

 

 

Even if you love dogs, it is still possible for one of them to have a bad reaction to a situation that seems normal. Therefore, you should never let your guard down around another person’s animal. However, if you are still bitten, you should contact an experienced personal injury lawyer to help you recover your medical expenses.

 

 

Writer Melanie Fleury has two dogs and cannot imagine them ever biting anyone , but every dog can potentially cause harm if put in a bad situation. She used the website http://www.mblklawfirm.com/san-bernardino-personal-injury-attorney/ to learn more about what specific laws are regarding dog bites and liability. 

 

 

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/statefarm/8736140828/

Categories: dog bite, Dog Bite Injuries, dog bites, infection, injuries nbsp, nbsp nbsp, puncture wound, puncture wounds