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Dr Gérald Kierzek (Medical Director)
According to information from the regional press, a 14-month-old baby fell 2 meters in a defective playground, causing numerous fractures in the child and amazement in his parents. But how do you react in the event of an accident? What are the reflexes to be aware of in the event of a fall? Dr Gérald Kierzek, medical director of Doctissimo answers us.
Every parent knows it: an accident happens so quickly, but knowledge cannot prevent everything. On February 21, according to the daily The voice of the North, a 14-month-old child could have succumbed to his injuries in a 2-meter fall in a playground. The action happened in seconds.
Several serious fractures, due to a damaged net
According to the article, the father who was holding the little girl in his arms also had to help his older son climb a slide. He then had the idea of placing his daughter on one side of the structure dedicated to 4-12 year olds, apparently secured by nets. Unfortunately, the protective net being perforated, the little girl fell on the concrete in a few seconds. Transferred to a district hospital then to the University Hospital of Amiens, the child then remained under observation, and would suffer from several fractures.
“She vomited, remains agitated but the medical prognosis is reassuring, even if her injuries are significant: a fracture of the right occipital bone, therefore of the skull, and a double fracture of the arm. Fortunately, the CT scan did not show any bleeding in the skull.”, confided his mother in the pages of the daily. If the girl should get out of it, the parents have decided to file a complaint.
What to do if your child falls?
Whatever the responsibility of each one, in the event of a fall of a child, it is a question of reacting quickly and knowing how to do it. For Dr. Gérald Kierzek emergency physician and medical director of Doctissimo, there are several parameters to quickly assess:
- If the fall is high kinetic, that is to say violent, from a great height (one floor) that the risk of trauma is significant: medical advice is sought (SAMU center 15, or emergencies).
- In other cases of falls, the child’s condition is assessed: is he conscious or not, does his behavior seem normal to you, is there any deformation, blood flowing from the nose, ears …“If something is not normal, we also seek medical advice quickly.”
- When the fall is not violent, and the behavior of the child is normal, we can keep him at home, while monitoring him for the first 24 hours, waking him up every 2 hours. “If headaches, vomiting or a disturbance of consciousness occur, again, we call 15”.
Obviously, if your child knows a medical history, that he is on anticoagulants for example, we don’t wait to go to the emergency room or call the SAMU either. On site, only a scanner will be able to determine if an intracranial hematoma has formed.