You had been riding a bike without wearing a helmet and the bike lost its balance. You fell and landed on your head, however, you felt fine immediately after. The same situation happens if you lost your balance on the stairs and fell down and landed on the hard floor, and you landed on your head first.
Right after the fall, you may feel fine other than being sore, but that does not mean you are out of the woods. If you had broken a bone, you would know right away due to the extreme pain. But you may not feel extreme pain in your head at first. But that does not mean you are free of any head injuries. And you don’t always lose consciousness when it comes to the presence of a head injury as many people believe.
In fact, if you display any of the following 10 signs of head injury just hours after (or sooner), then you need to go to the ER.
Headaches That Worsen
Having a headache of some sort is expected after falling on your head or having some type of blow to your head. And if the headache does subside, and remains that way, then there is a good chance that you don’t have a head injury. However, if the headache persists and worsens then you need to get to the hospital.
Vomiting Repeatedly
A mild head injury can be indicative of some nausea and perhaps vomiting just once, and feeling much better after. However, if the vomiting is repeated and becomes violent, then that is a clear sign that there is a head injury.
Muscle Weakness And Numbness
The area of your brain that controls muscle movement can easily be impacted if there is a blow to the head. If there are signs of muscle weakness and numbness such as struggling to hold onto objects with some weight after a blow to the head, then that is a serious issue.
Speech That Is Slurred
If the head ended up with a blow, then the area of the brain that controls speech could be affected. Therefore, speech may be similar to someone talking that is intoxicated. In other words, the speech is slurred and that is also a serious sign of a major head injury if that happens.
Poor Coordination
The area of the brain that rules muscle movement would be impacted after a head blow also controls gross and fine motor skill coordination. That means if the one who had a fall cannot zip their jacket or is struggling to stay balanced enough to walk, then that is also a sign of a head injury.
Extreme Drowsiness
If the individual who had a fall and landed on their head is struggling to stay awake, that can be a sign of a concussion which means they must stay awake so they don’t slip into a coma. This is a sure sign that there is a concussion and that they need to go to the ER.
Confusion
If the individual seems confused by not knowing where they are or even knowing who familiar people are, then that also is a sign that there is the presence of a serious head injury. The way to test the individual’s lucidity is by asking them questions such as who the president of the USA is, and holding up a certain number of fingers and asking them how many they see.
Agitation
If there is a presence of agitation and irritability, then that is also a sign that the blow to the head made some impact. If the individual is picking a fight with you over something you said that they don’t agree with, then don’t take it personally and take them to the ER instead.
Restlessness
Sometimes drowsiness does not happen after a head injury. The opposite can also happen whereas the individual is restless and cannot sit or lie still for a moment. They cannot stop moving and is quite fidgety.
Convulsions
It is unlikely that a minor head injury would cause a seizure or a convulsion but a serious one can. And the convulsions can start to happen not long after the blow to the head.
Therefore, if someone who had an accident that involved them experiencing a blow to the head, and are experiencing just even a few of the symptoms listed above – then they need to be taken to the ER to be examined. Most of the time they just need time to heal and rest, but occasionally surgery or other procedures are needed to prevent serious damage from occurring.
