This article provides some information on the symptoms that are associated with head injury, both in children and adults, along with their causes and the relevant treatment.
Any trauma that leads to injury of the skull, brain, or scalp is referred to as head injury. It could range from a minor bump in the head to serious brain harm. It is to be noted that, this condition may not always include damage or injury to the brain. Basically, it is of two kinds; closed and open (penetrating). While a closed head injury refers to the one in which no damage is done to the skull, an open injury or penetrating head injury is referred to as an injury occurring when an object penetrates through the skull, thereby, gaping the dura mater.
Further, there isn’t a large number of causes of head or brain injury as all types of these injuries can be a result of trauma. Motor vehicle accidents, falls, and assaults caused by activities such as skating or biking, may result in serious head injuries. The following section explains all the signs of this condition in adults and children.
Symptoms
Whether it is a minor blunt head injury or a serious blunt head trauma, the symptoms of brain injury and damage occur immediately. However, there are cases wherein the symptoms may develop at a steady pace, over hours or days. The issue with this condition is that even when one’s head looks totally fine from the outside, there are possibilities of complications that may have occurred inside the head. Bleeding or swelling inside the skull could lead to serious head damage.
The signs and symptoms, if not diagnosed and cured on time, could even lead to death. Following is a compiled list of the symptoms of the condition:
- Severe headache
- Fracture in the skull
- Bruising of the face
- Impaired vision and hearing
- Memory loss and confusion
- Personality changes and irritability
- Lack of coordination and dizziness
- Blurred vision with distorted features on face
- Sensory issues
- Intracranial bleeding
- Nausea
- Fatigue
- Blood draining from nose and mouth
- Change in the size of pupils
- Death (if no treatment is carried out)
Treatment
This condition cannot be cured at home by using some quintessential home remedies used for treating headaches. Instead, some serious advice from medical professionals would be required. However, in the case of minor injuries on head, which are visible, such as swelling, minor bleeding, bruises, etc. the application of ice does help. It would decrease the swelling and also stop the bleeding. Strict bed rest and regular pain killers in case of headaches should be given to the affected people.
However, in case of critical head injuries, the moment the symptoms are diagnosed, the injured person shall be rushed to the hospital, without fail. It is the neurosurgeon who will be able to consider the various factors such as the location of bleeding, visible and non-visible injuries, and the speed at which the symptoms progress, and thereby prescribing the correct aid.
There are many cases of head injuries where surgery is the only option. Proper medication and pressure monitors are brought into use in order to keep the affected person’s situation under surveillance. Thus, on observation of the aforementioned symptoms, it is always advisable to rush to the concerned doctor as he would recommend the proper treatment, depending upon the type of injury on the head.
It is necessary that the affected person is transparent about his/her condition with the concerned doctor and informs all about the injury, including the past. It is only then that the doctor would be able to carry out the relevant treatment, in accordance with the symptoms that one has delineated.
