Question

[kellymccleavy]

I would be grateful if you could provide me some feedback. This may sound a little over the top (or paranoid), but 6 months ago my son hit is head, and vomited a little later. We took him to a local hospital and they did a CTscan, everything was fine. He described the procedure as sticking his head into the apparatus and having a green light "move" around for approx. 5 seconds.
This brings me to yesterday when a neighbor child was over and remarked that her cousin failed to have a CTscan after a head injury because the doctor told the child's mother that it could lead to a tumor for the child later down the road. I understand exposure to radiation is not a good thing, but is there really any need to be concerned over a CTscan like the one I described above? All the information I have found online seems to say no - but I would appreciate your opinions.

Thanks,
Kelly

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[Idiopathic]

I dont think I am overstepping the bounds of reality by saying that the risk of a single CT scan causing a brain tumor is so remote when compared to the risk of possible intracranial bleed following head trauma. I would doubt your friends story before I would believe that a physician would not cover his/her own ass and do a CT. Just my thoughts, and certainly not intended to provide medical advice or diagnosis/treatment options.

As a caveat, oftentimes there are clinical signs that lead you towards/away from a particular diagnosis, and the stories here could very well have fit into two different tracks, one of which would lead one to suspect possible injury, and the other to discount it.