Causes
Common causes of head injury include:
• Accidents at home, work, outdoors, or while playing sports
• Falls
• Physical assault
• Traffic accidents
Most of these injuries are minor because the skull protects the brain. Some injuries are severe enough to require a stay in the hospital.
Symptoms
Head injuries may cause bleeding in the brain tissue and the layers that surround the brain (subarachnoid hemorrhage, subdural hematomata extradural hematoma).
Symptoms of a head injury can occur right away. Or symptoms develop slowly over several hours or days. Even if the skull is not fractured, the brain can hit the inside of the skull and be bruised. The head may look fine, but problems could result from bleeding or swelling inside the skull.
The spinal cord is also likely to be injured in any serious trauma.
Some head injuries cause changes in brain function. This is called a traumatic brain injury. Concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury. Symptoms of a concussion can range from mild to severe.
First Aid
Learning to recognize a serious head injury and give basic first aid can save someone's life. For a moderate to severe head injury, CALL 911 RIGHT AWAY.
Get medical help right away if the person:
• Becomes very sleepy
• Behaves abnormally
• Develops a severe headache or stiff neck