URGENT! can you put ice on back of head?

ds2 hit his head on the metal gas outlet, right on the back above his neck, theres a protruding lump, can you put ice on that part of the head????

cold face washer is what you need to put on it.

Cold washer sounds better than ice. Hope he's okay. :hug:

If you want ice you'd need to wrap it in a wet facewasher or towel/cloth

Ouch!!! hope he is ok??

Ice is definatley not recommended for injuries of the head. When I worked at a child care centre this was taught to us. If you are concerned give Nurse On call a ring :)

Thank you so much for the quik replies! did the cold facewasher straight away and its gone down a bit. Doesn't help that he's been super grizzly all week, suspect teething. But he doesn't seem bothered by the head bump. Will keep an eye on it because it was a hard knock, he was having a tantrum and threw himself back as they do, and well the gas metal point was where he flung his head.

I did do the child/baby red cross course before DS1 was born but that was 4 years ago now, i should do a refresher because i had a total mental blank, but had a feeling ice wasn't okay.

Thank you so much!

Oh the poor thing, I hope he's OK :hug:.

I've heard that ice isn't recommended for head injuries, but I'm not sure why. Definitely call Nurse On Call (or a nurse service in your state) to ask for advice.

ETA - We posted at the same time! I'm glad the lump has gone down a little. The poor little man.

I suspect that applying ice to the head is dangerous because it might send the delicate brain cells into shock... ice slows down circulation... which is safe enough for other parts of the body but reduced circulation to the brain is not good.

Bumps to the head always look worse than they technically are. Just observe his responses and state of consciousness (for the rest of the day) and take him to hospital if there is anything out of the ordinary like complaining of a headache or drowsiness when he shouldn't really be tired.

When DS fell off a chair and hit his head on the tiles Health Direct (WA) told me to put a cold flannel on it and to watch out for a temp, stumbling when he walks and if his pupils in his eyes are different sizes (indicates concussion) and if any of those occured to ring them back or take him to GP/hospital asap. Also, if he wants to sleep, let him but check him after one hour, wake him up to make sure he's still going ok.

Awh, your poor little man. I'm glad the lump has gone down some and it's not bothering him that much.

xox

Thank you for all the quick responses! The cold face washer worked well, he's fine now :)