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Head Trauma, Hip Fractures and Extremity Injuries from Falls can Change Your Life in an Instant. Plum’s Award-Winning Falls SafetyWear™ Help Keep You Safe from the Dangers of Falls. Freedom… Safety… Empowerment. For Life.™

baby helmets

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of death and disability in children. The most common causes of TBI in children: falls.  One cause of the frequency of toddler head injuries is that the toddler’s head is his center of gravity, proportionally larger than the rest of his body, and hence can easily propel him forward or backward.  As parents we want to give our babies and toddlers freedom to explore their new world. But we also want to protect our toddler’s head in the process. We wonder whether all the bumps, falls, tumbles, and “mild” head injuries are serious, or could be serious long term, especially when our child gets up and keeps going.

The short answer to that is: Yes.

Traumatic brain injury during the first 3 years of life is completely different when compared with adults. Children are not young adults. The scalp in children is highly vascularized [developing many blood vessels]. Even a small loss of blood volume can lead to hemorrhagic shock in a newborn, infant, and toddler, which may occur without apparent external bleeding.

Childhood brain injuries, including concussions, are associated with an increased risk of subsequent mental illness, poor school attainment and premature death, according to a new study.

People who had experienced a single mild, moderate or severe brain injury during childhood were at twice the risk of being admitted to hospital as a mental health inpatient and were 50% more likely to use a mental health service than unaffected people in the same age group.

Many studies indicate far-reaching and long-term consequences of child head injury.  And thus reinforces what we knew already — that prevention is key. It is easier to prevent head injury than to cure or recover from head injury.

The challenge is to protect the toddler’s head in a  comfortable and effective manner that  addresses the unique and critical head safety needs of small children.  Protective Headgear for small children must be very comfortable, very lightweight, custom-fitting so it does not slide around, have full head coverage and of course, been proven safety effective in absorbing impact energy from a bump or fall.

Those crucial criteria are found in  Plum Enterprises’s ProtectaCap®, the protective headgear specifically engineered and designed to meet the critical head safety needs of babies, toddlers and small children.  More information can be found on ProtectaCap.com.

 

Plum's® ProtectaCap® and ProtectaCap+Plus® Helmets for head in jury prevention

Many caregivers and guardians frequently assume that only children with special needs are at risk for falling but the same can be true for adolescent and older adults as a result fall injuries. No age group is completely safe from head trauma, and the utilization of dependable safety headgear is of extreme importance for both children and adults, particularly those individuals with certain medical conditions, special needs, balance concerns, epilepsy or seizures.

There has been extensive research conducted on the impacts of wearing a protective cap to reduce the risk of head injuries originated as a result of a collision. In actuality, even a fall from a low elevated surface such as a bed can result in head trauma. 

To determine the best type of helmet, begin by remembering that a good helmet also needs to be adjustable so that it is snug, lightweight, stays put and is very comfortable. Regardless of the direction in which the individual falls, the protective helmet should minimize the impact so it is crucial that the headgear stays on securely during the fall. 

Some types of epilepsy make the person inclined to drop attacks, these seizures lead to individuals falling wherever it occurs. Those people should protective helmets to protect their heads in the event that they fall against concrete or any other hard surface. In fact, Plum’s® ProtectaCap® custom-fitting protective headgear is recommended by the Epilepsy Foundation. Protective headgear is also important for individuals with hemophilia, autism, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, people who are at risk for head injuries and for post surgery following craniotomy, craniotomy and shunts.  The most important criteria for choosing a protective helmet are its proven superior safety effectiveness and a lightweight comfortable fit.  Plum’s® ProtectaCap® custom-fitting protective headgear and ProtectaCap+Plus® advanced fall safety protective helmet meet those criteria.

Sometimes a protective helmet can make a huge difference between a minor fall and a trip to the emergency room at the hospital. As the Boston Medical Center indicated “For children who have frequent seizures that cause them to fall to the ground, helmets are recommended”.  

 

Plum® Keeps Kids Safe and Active with Fall Protection ProtectaCap® and ProtectaCap+Plus® Helmets head injuries, head trauma, brain injury, protective helmets

A preventative strategy is an ideal approach to managing head injuries in children. In fact research demonstrates that most head injuries in children are often foreseeable and preventable. It is probably not a surprise to anyone at this point that there have been thousands of studies directed at the number of childhood head injuries.

While the research may focus on various specific topics, they all have one thing in common:  the likelihood and frequency of childhood head injuries and the necessity to prevent injuries in babies, toddlers and small children. Actually, children age 4 and younger are at highest risk of falling and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).  Protective headgear for small children reduces the risk of a significant brain injury and even death, because children’s heads are much more fragile and vulnerable to head trauma.

But just as important as wearing a protective helmet is wearing the right protective headgear. A helmet must fit properly as well as provide proven safety effectiveness. Plum Enterprises offer a wide selection of superior quality protective helmets for children. In fact, Plum’s® ProtectaCap® custom-fitting protective headgear was designed to meet the specific head safety criteria of babies, toddlers and small children

In light of what we now know about concussions and head injuries in small children,  it is important to take necessary means of precaution to protect their vulnerable heads.

As stated by The Centers for Disease Control “Recovery from a concussion is slower among young children. And those who have had a concussion are at higher risk of having another concussion.”

Children are not small adults.  Their vulnerability to head trauma is far greater and has long-reaching consequences into their adulthood.  This is why childhood head injury prevention is crucial for the health and wellbeing of our children during their childhood and for the rest of their lives.