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Falling TV (ER)
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| Wednesday, June 17th, 2009 | | CWK Producer |
“When there’s unconsciousness, it means you have at least a concussion. Nicholas had more than a concussion. He also had bleeding over the surface of the brain.”
– Dr. Kathleen Nelson, professor of pediatrics
Selena Huck was on the phone at home when she heard a crash. “At that time I looked around for Nicholas and saw him under the TV and the night stand,” she says. Her 30-month-old son Nicholas had climbed up a nightstand where there was a television.
At the emergency room, Dr. Kathleen Nelson asks, “The whole unit, television and nightstand, all flipped over?” Mrs. Huck says yes, they “all flipped over.”
“Was he crying?” the doctor asks. The answer is no. “He was unconscious,” says Huck.
Dr. Nelson says: “When there’s unconsciousness, it means you have at least a concussion. Nicholas had more than a concussion. He also had bleeding over the surface of the brain.”
She says for now the best treatment is observation. Nicholas will spend the night in the hospital, and doctors will watch him closely. Right now he is still sleepy, but that’s normal. “You feel sick to your stomach, and you feel very sleepy. So it’s not unusual at all to have a lot of sleep after a head injury,” Nelson explains.
“Particularly over the next 24 hours, we’re worrying about swelling of the brain – and signs of that would be increasing vomiting, increasing lethargy or just difficult in arousing,” says Nelson.
But by morning, Nicholas has none of those symptoms. “He certainly is very alert,” observes Nelson. “It sounds like he’s starting to speak,” she says.
And although it’s garbled toddler speech, it’s clear that Nicholas is feeling much better. Still, doctors will watch him for a few months to make sure there are no lingering effects.
And Dr. Nelson’s advice about the TV set? “Bolt it to a TV stand to the wall – that’s much better and much safer than putting it on a piece of furniture,” she says.
Tips for Parents
The statistics from the National Pediatric Trauma Registry (NPTR) are surprising: 2,300 injuries each year from TV sets tipping over. And according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, there were at least 36 television tip-over deaths and 65 furniture tip over deaths between 2000 and 2005. Why are television sets so dangerous, especially to young children? One reason is because modern TV sets are bigger and heavier than the original ones. A 36-inch TV set can weigh as much as 170 pounds. Most of the weight is often in the front part of the set, making it easier to tip over accidentally. Many injuries happen when TV sets fall off of a cart, stand, or table.
The NPTR studied TV accidents involving 154 children (newborns through age 7) hospitalized because of injuries caused by falling TV sets. The study shows:
- 93% of the injuries occurred at home; the rest at school or day care.
- 58% of those injured were boys.
- 77% of those injured were between the ages of 1 and 4.
- 71% suffered a head injury.
- 43% were injured in more than one part of their body.
- 31% required treatment in the Intensive Care Unit.
- 20% required surgery.
- Four children died as a result of severe head injuries.
The NPTR offers these tips for parents to prevent injuries from falling TV sets:
- Don’t allow children to climb on or play on furniture.
- Keep TVs on low furniture and as far back on low furniture as possible.
- Only adults should move TV stands or audiovisual carts.
- Teachers should not permit children to climb on loaded TV or audiovisual carts, or walk in front of moving carts.
Children also suffer injuries around the house from falls that don’t involve a television. The American Medical Association has this advice for preventing accidental falls at home:
- Attach protective padding or other specially designed covers on coffee tables, furniture and countertops with sharp edges.
- Install hardware-mounted safety gates at the top and bottom of every stairway. Avoid accordion gates, which can trap a child’s head.
- Clean up any spills around the house immediately.
- Keep stairways clear.
- Make sure there are no loose rugs on the floor. Put specially designed pads under rugs to hold them securely to the floor’s surface.
- Apply nonskid strips to the bottoms of bathtubs.
References
- Consumer Product Safety Commission
- The National Pediatric Trauma Registry
- The American Medical Association
