Bump on Toddlers Forehead from Fall

My daughter had this happen to her when she was about a year and a half. She fell while in the shower with me and hit her head on the tile thresh hold. She is now 3 years old, and I can STILL feel the lump on her forehead from where she hit. My ped said that it might never go away. My daughter is fine though. It is not visible, just able to be felt. I wouldn't worry about it if it's not bothering him.

to ease your mind before you don't have one left. Get him a cute pro football helmet if you can find a small one or else a bike helmet make it a game get one for yourself too. this will do im no good but it will sure help you. If it doesn't go away he can make up onehellofa story on how he got it fighting the bad evil doers.

My 3.5 yo has a bone bruise on his forehead from hitting the ceramic tile floor face first (YIKES, I know). It has been about four months and it is still pretty noticeable, but we were told it will fade over time (maybe a couple years?).

This is totally normal. Kids are clumsy and they are especially so when they are in a place that they are not used to being in every day.
It could take months for the bump to go down. My son had one of these "goose eggs" for several months. And the strange thing is, he seemed to hit that same spot several more times, making it worse. But eventually, it goes away, and one day you will notice that it is gone (or at least not noticeable anymore). Next time he hits his head, or any bony body part, take a large metal spoon and hold it there for as long as possible with the outside of the spoon. It takes the swelling down and keeps it from making a big bump. You may mention this to anyone you leave him with too. That's all it takes. A spoon on the area. If it's bad, it may take 30 minutes, but it's worth it. Seems funny, but it works miracles! You could try it on his bump now, but I don't know how much good it would do since it is already done.
Take Care,
T.
Mom of 4
wife of 1
child of God

I'm sure it will go down in time. My concern though is that you don't make your parents feel any worse than they probably already do. Being a grandmother myself, I know that they are probably feeling terrible that he got hurt on their watch.

Hi N.,
I have an 18 mo old who has had several severe blows to his forehead on the tile. I am super worried also about the permanent pump on his head, does not go away. It has been about 6 weeks now that he has not had any accidents but I don't see it going down. I really couldn't tell because he kept hitting his head on the same spot. I'm going to take him for his check up and see what the doctor says. Please keep me informed. Thanks.

I really hate to write this but I'll tell you about mine. When I was in 7th grade, my family was playing "Paintball War" and my younger cousin shot me in the forehead. I had googles on but not a full face mask. It caused a nasty bruise and lump. The bruise pasted but the lump in still there to this very day, which by the way, I'm now 29 years old. The good thing is that your son is so young that hopefully he's will fade or just go away. Give it time is all I can say. I wish I had better news about the bump.

As far as future falls, I know it's hard, it was for me but everytime they fall, it gets a little easier to pick them up!
Mother of a 2 and a half year old boy. Good luck! Jess

I really don't think you should worry. My nephew (who I've had for 3 years) was the clumsiest baby/toddler I have ever seen. He was always tripping over nothing and falling in the floor, he would walk into door jambs... This boy ALWAYS had a bump/bruise somewhere on his head. Nearly every professional photograph we have of him, you can see the bump/bruise on his head. We were so concerned we even took him to the doctor thinking something was wrong with him, but the ped said he was just a normal, active, although clumsy little boy. Even now, he is always hurting himself by jumping out of swings, off furniture, climbing trees....(he's 6 now and ALL BOY). Just this morning he flipped over the back of the sofa and fell on his head. I said all that to say this...he has a perfect head, he's not been disfigured in any way. Not one permanent bump on his head anywhere. Yes, they often took a very long time to go away, especially because many times the bumps were in the same places over and over again, but they DID go away eventually.

As far as the future goes, you can't protect them forever. I know that is a hard concept to deal with, but they WILL get hurt...it's a natural part of life. Just do the best you can when he is with you, only leave him with others who you know are also responsible...but accept the fact that there WILL be bumps, bruises, cuts, scrapes, and possibly even broken bones or stitches (depending on how rambunctious he is when he's older). Raising 3 boys myself, I take it all in stride. When it was stitches for one, then a broken arm for another, I just thanked the Lord that they were still alive and would heal in time. I always think about how much worse it could have been, and then I'm grateful that we haven't been there yet.

N.,
I don't know what the other moms have said, but I will check their responses later, I don't have much time at the moment.

Poor thing, you do sound frantic and with darn good reason. I am sure that your mom was livid when your son fell. She probably hurt and cried longer than your son did. She did the right thing, Ice as much as he would allow. Sometimes, contusions occur, these are bruising of the bone, but are not usually serious. Because he is so young, his bone structure is tender. The bump you are feeling may be from the bruising, (blood in the area, because the scalp and head are very vascular, (vein filled.) This will be okay. some bruises takes longer to heal, and on the head and face, for sure. Think of how long it takes a black eye to heal and equate it to that. It will be sore for sometime, maybe even after the swelling has disapated, and that is normal. You should not feel panicked or worry too much as long as he is not blacking out, having motor movement problems, or having redness on the whites of his eyes. (sclera). If he is not staring into blank space and drooling with involuntary movement of his extremites for periods of time, he is fine. It would still be okay to apply ice when he is sleeping for at least 10-15 minutes.

I think you are doing fine, just relax a little. Many of us mom's have been in this position before and we came out okay and so did our children. Give the bruising time, most people will tell you, everyone's bruising heals at it's own pace.

You are doing great, you are monitoring the site and checking for changes, you really cannot do more than that at this time. You are a good mom! If this is still a problem over 30 days from now, demand that your ped's check further. I think it will subside. this is from my nursing experience, but always seek a doctor's advice. Kiss the baby and hug yourself!

Jen. H.

Welcome to the toddler years (and having a boy). My son is 3 1/2 and rarely doesn't have some sort of bump, bruise or scratch--and it was much worse when he was learning to crawl and walk.
With head bumps--it really is the behavior of the child that is important--if he seems OK, then he most likely is. Many bumps take weeks to go down completely.
If it is a bone bruise-then it can take a few months to completely heal -- but if he is acting fine-then don't worry!
Also, don't let this mishap make you overly paranoid or worried--this is one of MANY injuries he will get in his childhood--as parent a caregivers it is our job to ensure they are not severe and life-threatening--we can not stop them from getting hurt though, nor should we expect other careivers too--it's all apart of growing up.

my oldest used to tumble out the front door as a toddler on a possitive note its just a small step down on a negative its cement and get those little knots and bumps and bruises. however she is now 10 and has no signs of any of her baby mishaps. i can tell you those falls will happen whether he is with you or being babysat and tend to make you feel much worse when you are there. it should go away bone bruises are worse than breaks in that a break will heal in a few weeks a bone bruise can take months or years to heal and go away. i had a bad one on my foot and thats what the ortho told me it just takes alot more time to heal. gl.

Hi my 18 month old son fell off the bed, while i was there in like 1 second while I was packing his clothes to go by the sitter... I am feeling really horrible this happened especially on my watch...... it happened on Monday morning. i put ice well as much as he would let me... while screaming his lungs out and i petrified at the menacing bump wellin up on his forehead. warm iodex on tuesday, wednesday and thursday (today), i have been rubbing it while he sleeps with the warm iodex.... is there anything else I can do... i called the doctor as soon as it happened and got all the advice you all gave.... i must say the comments have been very reassuring and I am not freaking out as I have been all week thus far.... he is happy, normal, energetic with the same daily routines.... its just that bump as a constant reminder of 1 second of looking away.... he was just laying on the bed looking over the side and I was saying come away from the dge son its dangerous... i pulled him back ... he gave me 1 of those mischeivous grins and as i thought suppose this boy thinks I am playing a game with him...and as I thought it and i blinked .... there it was his two feet up in the air on his way down .... i grabbed for him ...it was 2 late... sped around 2 the other side ... he was already up rubbing his head...screaming his lungs out.... i replay it in slow motion.... its his 2nd fall...the last 1 was abt a year ago.... my only child.... thanks you all for this site where i can get support.... so ice still works then even a week later.... excellent!!!! K.L.

This happened to my eldest daughter at about the same age. The bad news is that she still has the bone bruise at the age of 7. The good news is it is much less noticeable and it improves every year. My pediatrician feels that it will eventually get fully absorbed as she grows and if not I consulted with a facial plastic surgeon that said he could completely get rid of it, but he would rather do it once she is a teenager.

My almost two year old tripped and hit his forehead on an end table. It sounded like a belt cracking it was sooo loud! Immediately he had a goose egg that started from his eye brow and went straight up to his hair line. Working in the medical field, my first response was to take him to the ER to make sure he did not have a concussion. What I found out is that if it is quick to swell, then it is less likely an internal injury (concussion and so on). I have worked in a hospital for 8 years and never knew that. So we stayed for a couple of hours to make sure he was ok and then went home. That was about a month ago and of course my little one still has a very noticeable bump on his forehead. I asked my doc about it and was told not to worry.

I have three children all together and my youngest is by far the scariest of the three. Two days after hitting his head he was found by my mother-in-law standing on a stool that he had put on the bed trying to reach a cieling fan cord. I do not imagine this will be our last trip to the ER with him. :(

Like your baby boy, our little one's bruise has gone away and most of the swelling. He just still has a very hard and rather large knot on his little head. Hopefully it will go away soon! :0) Take care and good luck!! Sending lots of hugs your way!!

I was searching for information on a similar situation and came across your post. I see this was several years ago now. Did the bump ever go away.