Do you think my child has a contusion or a concussion? my son is 3 i took him the e.r. today he fell and hit head on our tile floor. it sounded like his skull cracked. when they done the ct scan it showed up normal and they said it was a contusion, and wh

A : A concussion is simply traumatic brain injury as the result to a direct or indirect blow to the head. A ct can rule out fracture or bleeding but cannot diagnose a concussion. A contussion is merely the outer swelling/bruising of the skin and head. Symptoms of concussion include: altered level of consciousness, headache, nasea/vomiting, etc. At this point in time the most important things to rule out are bleed/fracture which the ct did. Now you just need to monitor for improvement.

You decide: A contusion is a vague label applied to any traumatic injury that disrupts the skin surface. It is usually applied to something minor. A 3 year old should be able to provide you with adequate history to confirm or exclude a concussion. If he didn't pass out, and remembers what happened before and after the fall, it does not rise to the definition of a real concussion in my book.