What if a toddler falls, hits their head and their eyes roll back? This happened to the toddler in this Q&A and the mom wonders what to do.

toddler fell off the couch eyes rolled backPin
Mom’s Question:

My 16-month-old toddler fell off the couch. I went to her right away and picked her up, but her eyes were rolled back and almost crossed and her whole body was really stiff. It was like she snapped right out of it in 30 seconds and then proceeded to cry.

Should I take her to the E.R.? It happened less than 5 minutes ago.

Holly


Emergency Room Or Not When Baby Falls?

I am sorry to hear about your daughter’s fall. It happens so quickly…

Regarding having her examined, I think yes, you should definitely take her to the ER, since she passed out. It is important to rule out any concussion or bleeding. It is a good sign that she snapped out of the seizure (or whatever it was) quickly and started to cry. Seizures that go on for a few minutes are a reason to call 911.

Also, take a close look at how your daughter acts and moves now after the fall to spot any other injuries. You may also want to check her pupils and eye movements, so everything looks normal.

All these things said, young children often handle a fall well, but of course, we should take no chances. Head over to the emergency room.

You can read more about danger signs after a fall here. (That article also includes a long thread of parents experiencing a similar situation as yours.)

Warm wishes,
Paula

Find comments below.

Comments for “Toddler Fell Off The Couch And Eyes Rolled Back – ER?”

Jul 24, 2016 baby ok
by: Anonymous


how is your baby now? I hope she is ok.


Jul 26, 2016 Son’s eyes rolled back after falling from a couch

by: Anonymous


I took my 13-month-old son to ER after falling off on our couch and landed on the hardwood floor facedown. He cried and when picked him up his eyes rolled back and unresponsive until I started to blow on his face and shake him a little bit, then he cried again but a little bit disoriented for a couple of seconds then back to his normal self. This happened twice now and the doctor told me that this happens to some kids etc… I was just wondering what the doctor told you. How is your son now? Please let me know… or if anybody knows…


Aug 31, 2016 pls am soooo scared

by: Anonymous


Please this same thing happened to my daughter 2ce, what causes it, and what can I do?


Sep 01, 2016 Danger signs when baby hits head

by: Paula (Baby Help Line)


Hi,

Loss of consciousness and/or rolling eyes are two warning signs of concussion when a baby has hit his or her head. I would definitely take my baby to the ER for a check-up if this happens.

Other signs to look for immediately after the fall are vomiting more than three times, loss of balance, prolonged crying (for over one hour), on pupil being larger than the other, that the baby is unusually weak and unresponsive.

In addition, observe your baby while asleep during the next 12-24 hours. Being hard to wake up, becoming pale or blue, irregular breathing, and twitching are all signs of injury too.

While babies can usually have quite hard hits on their heads and nothing happens, it is NOT worth taking any chances with head injuries. Call the doctor or visit the ER if at all in doubt.

I hope this helps,

Paula


Oct 15, 2016 my baby is 7 months now and she fell off the bed 6 times started when she was 6 months.

by: j-ann


my baby has no eyes since birth. started when she was 6 months until now she is 7 months, she fell off the bed 6 times. every time it happened, there are times she cries just a little and sometimes she cry so hard. there are times she vomits too. but later on..she’s okay. we just thinking that maybe she is just full. now..her sleeping time was changing. sometimes she will sleep the whole day then wake-up the whole evening until morning.sometimes..she will sleep from 1pm until 6 or 10 or 12 in the evening. then, wake-up from 1 is to 6 or 9 in the morning. someone told me that it is normal for the baby. but I am really worried because everyday i can’t understand her sleeping time.I guess..she sleeps more time now than before. I’m worried about her head and her brain. someone told me that in this case..sometimes the brain will be affected. please help me. I’m just a new mom. she is my first baby.. I need your opinion and advice


Oct 19, 2016 Falling off the bed and not sleeping for a blind baby
by: Paula (Easy Baby Life)


Hi J-Ann,

I understand that you are worried, and I actually think it would be prudent to have your baby examined by a doctor since she has fallen so many times. In many cases, a fall will not really hurt the baby, but better safe than sorry. And since you feel that your baby has changed her behavior, it is, even more, a reason to have her examined.

Regarding her not sleeping at night – it is a bit more tricky to teach a blind baby the difference between night and day since they don’t get the clue from the lights at all. You will have to make as big a difference as you can between day and night, with a lot of fun activities, sounds and interaction during the day and low voices, low activity levels, and a lot of lying down and snuggling with mom or dad at night.

6 months old many babies enjoy activities away from home, and for example, joining a baby swim class in a warm pool can be great fun if your baby enjoys splashing in the tub.

You can find more sleep tips for blind babies in this article by wonderbaby.org. (opens in a new window.)

I hope this helps,

Paula


Dec 04, 2016 My 15 days baby fell down

by: Anonymous


My 15 days baby fell from the sofa to hit the wooden floor, she started crying for 1 minute then she is fine. She is not vomiting and seems ok. Do I have to take her to the ER? It happened 3 hours ago.


Dec 06, 2016 Falling and Hitting Head When Newborn

by: Anonymous


My son fell off the couch when he was 3 months old and I took him to the ER. They told me that parents should always bring their newborn to 4-month-old babies in if they have hit their head no matter what.


Mar 15, 2017 my 7-month baby fell off the bed
by: Angelica


She was crying at first the I laid her on the bed with pillows to keep her from rolling, I went to get her bottle. Then suddenly I heard a fall, then ran to go after her but she was already on the floor laying on her stomach, crying.

I didn’t know what to do and I was crying with her blaming myself. All I did was hold her in my arms because she is my first baby and scared that I would have lost her. Please I need some answers from anybody to tell me what to do?


Mar 16, 2017 Very frightening when baby falls
by: Paula (Easy Baby Life)


Angelica,

In most cases, a baby will be just fine after a fall, but there are signs to look for right after and during the next couple of days.

You can read about the warning signs after a fall here.

I really hope your baby is just fine!

Paula


Jun 24, 2017 four-month-old acting different after fall
by: Anonymous


My husband let our four-month-old son roll off the couch a little over 24 hours ago. He cried but seemed fine. A small to medium bump showed up this morn on the right of the head next to soft spot but on the bone. He seemed fine still laughing n smiling tho not as much as normal and as a mommas boy he has always gone crazy when I come home from work n today it was a while before he acted like he even knew me and just seems a little different I don’t know if I should be worried or not but even my mother in law noticed he seemed different without knowing about this. He just seems different but that’s the only problem I’ve noticed. Should I get him checked about???


Aug 01, 2017 baby fell off the bed

by: Emma


My 3-month-old son fell out of bed on is fro hent part of his body he cried for a few minutes is he going to be ok please help??????


Dec 31, 2017 please help
by: Anonymous


My preemie is already 8 mths but I left her asleep on the sofa and she rolled and fell. What should I do? She seems ok but I’m scared….she fell and landed face up. I only got up to give my other daughter something to drink. Please help!!!


Apr 16, 2018 My 9 weeks old son fell off from the chair
by: Anonymous


I put my son in the carry chair for babies, I buckled him up and took for the handle. Everything happened very fast, the handle broke and he fell off face down on hard floor. He cried, I pick him up and cried with him, in 5-10 mins I nursed him and he fell in sleep. He seems to be ok, he lies but a little bit upset. His head looks ok but there is a little red spot. It does not look that he could hit this part of the head but anyway. Should I take him to the ER. I’m so worried. Please, help!!!


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This Post Has 9 Comments

  1. Darley

    Hi, yesterday evening my baby (11.5 months old) fell off her small car, the car is half her size. She fell on the carpet in the living room. The distance she fell from is about half her size, but I am concerned because although she started crying right away, when 8 picked her up she rolled her eyes back and stopped crying for like 4 seconds, then came back after i blew on her face and she continued to cry for about a minute or two. After that she was totally normal. Balanced, she ate solids, drank water, and played as usual. I haven’t been able to get any sleep because I am monitoring her sleep and I am so anxious. She is fine, sleeping fine, has woken up to breast feed as usual (well she never fully wakes up she just kind of lets out a scream telling me hey I want food now, and she is doing that as usual) breathing patterns are normal but the rolling eyes back is keeping me up. I already sent a message to her doctor’s offIce, hopefully they get back to me in a few hours. I don’t know if I should head to the ER please give me advice!! I am so worried.

    1. Paula Dennholt

      Hi Darley, I totally understand that you are worried.
      However, both the fact that your daughter fell from such a low height and that she is acting normally now are signs that she is not severely injured. Of course, her passing out, or at least rolling her eyes back, on the other hand, indicates that she may have hit her head quite hard. As a mom, I would worry too, and probably take her to the ER. Better safe than sorry and better to simply be sent home and she is just fine… My guess is that she is completely fine, but – yes – I would have her checked.

      Good luck and please let me know how things go. Take care!

  2. Angel

    My 4 month old fell off a couch and the car seat fell on the top of the baby and the baby was in someone else’s care at the time. Should I head to the hospital now.

    1. Angel

      The baby nose was also bloody

      1. Paula @ EasyBabyLife

        Hi Angel,
        It all depends on how bad it seems. A little bit of nose bleeding doesn’t have to be a concern, but obviously more abundant bleeding, the nose seems to be injured, or your baby is showing any other signs of injury, then yes absolutely go to the hospital immediately! Better safe than sorry. I hope your baby is fine!

  3. Katie

    My 13 month old fell over the aide od the coucb. I did not see how he landed and scooped him up immidiately. He cries for a second, and then went unconscious with his eyes wide ooen for about 1p seconds. Came back to, and cried for a minjte or so on me.. Got up. Seemed fine. I checked his pupils immidiately, and they dialate with light. He ate some watermelon, walked around fine.. And went to bed.. I went and checked on him 30 mins later. He openes his eyes when i said his name. 20 mins later he flinched his eyes with a flashlight on his face to check his color… He seems okay.. Should i be worried?

    1. Paula @ EasyBabyLife

      Hi Katie,
      It is likely that your son is fine, but since he went unconscious for a little while, I think you should take him to a doctor asap. It’s been a few hours now since you wrote – how is he acting? Are his behaviors completely normal? Are there any changes at all in his eating or sleeping? Is he cranky? The thing is, even just a few seconds of losing consciousness is a sign of brain injury, although probably mild.

      It is a good sign that he was acting normal after that, but I still think you should have him examined, to make sure everything is fine.

      Good luck and let me know how things go!

  4. Melissa

    Last night my 6 month son climbed over the back of the futon and fell, hitting his head pretty hard on the metal frame. His head bruised and was a tad swollen where he hit but he cried for about a minute then he went back to acting normal. Today he had 2 small nose bleeds, should I be concerned?

    1. Paula @ EasyBabyLife

      Hi Melissa,
      It is now three days since his fall – is he still acting completely normal? The fact that he only cried for a minute and then was normal is a very good sign, but I understand your worrying about the nosebleed. If he seems different in any way – more sleeply, dizzy, or anything; have him checked up, to exclude the risk of some small internal bleeding. He is very likely to be completely fine, but better safe than sorry!

      Good luck!