The Ohio State University Medical Center points out that head trauma, also called a head injury, commonly causes disability in patients, such as a loss of mobility. When a patient sustains head trauma, the damage can affect the brain, causing a loss of brain function. If head trauma, occurs, patients need to seek medical attention to prevent serious complications.
Types of Head Trauma
The Nemours Foundation explains that head trauma can be categorized as external or internal. With external head trauma, the person has injuries to his scalp, but the skull does not fracture. MedlinePlus points out that a concussion, a type of head trauma in which the skull does not break, causes a temporary loss of normal brain function. With an internal head trauma, the skull does fracture, and the object that breaks the skull can directly damage the brain. When a person has an internal head trauma, he can suffer from an intracranial hematoma in which blood clots form in or around the brain. With a contusion, or intracerebral hematoma, the brain becomes bruised. Some head trauma patients may have a diffuse axonal injury, in which the injury shakes the brain back and forth.
Causes
Several conditions can cause brain trauma. MedlinePlus notes that sports injuries commonly result in brain trauma, such as a head collision with another player or a direct hit from a moving ball. Accidents at home or outside, such as falling down the stairs or off a ladder, can result in brain trauma if the person hits her head. Other causes include traffic accidents and physical assault.
Signs of Head Trauma
The MayoClinic.com notes that if a person displays certain signs after head trauma, she needs medical help. Signs of head trauma include physical injury, such as head or facial bleeding; bleeding from the nose or ears; and discoloration of the skin below the eyes or behind the ears. Patients may complain of a severe headache after the injury. After head trauma, people may start having seizures, confusion, weakness or a loss of balance. Other signs include slurred speech, change in consciousness, repeated vomiting, unequal pupil size and problems breathing.
First Aid Response
If a loved one sustains head trauma, a friend or relative can perform some basic first aid until paramedics arrive. For example, MayoClinic.com recommends keeping the patient lying down with his head and shoulders elevated, but his attendant should avoid moving his neck. If the patient bleeds heavily, the attendant should apply firm pressure to the wound using a clean cloth. However, if the patient may have a skull fracture, the attendant should not use direct pressure when using the cloth. The attendant also needs to watch for any changes in breathing in the patient. MedlinePlus adds that the attendant should not wash a deep or heavily bleeding wound, and if an object is sticking out of the patient's wound, the attendant should not remove it.
Prevention
Taking certain precautions can prevent head trauma from occurring. For example, MedlinePlus explains that bike riders need to wear their safety equipment and be visible when sharing the road with motor vehicles. The drivers and passengers in cars need to wear their seat belts, and young children should be in appropriate car seats. Other prevention methods include not drinking and driving and obeying traffic laws. The Nemours Foundation adds that after head trauma, patients need to rest before restarting activities to prevent re-injury.
