Should I take my child to the emergency room after he ran into a table?
JAN 20, 2018
Question:
My 18-month-old ran into a corner of a table. It appears that he was hit mostly on the bridge of the nose. He cried for about 20 seconds and then all was normal. His eyes are completely white, normal movement, no swelling, and there is no signs of pain or abnormal vision. There’s only a slight bruise under his eye. The only concerning symptom is that an hour after the injury, his eyes were watering and the tears had a pink hue (blood in tears). Should we be going to the emergency room? Why would he have blood stained tears?
Answer:
Unfortunately, toddlers do run into tables more often than we like. The corners can cause minor or serious injury. You were correct to monitor his symptoms. It is hard to assess vision in this age group, but that should be checked and verified to be normal. Bloody tears likely do represent minor injury to tissues surrounding the eye including the tear drainage system. It would be safer to have the child examined.