Head injuries are one of the most common reasons for an emergency room visit. They can be extremely detrimental to health or life-threatening, especially if left uncared for. While the consequences and treatments can vary significantly depending on the cause and severity, head injuries can be potentially life-threatening due to the damage they can cause to the scalp, skull, or even the brain itself in some cases.
In the fast-paced life we live in, anything can happen anytime, which is why you should always be prepared for the worst. Hence, it is extremely useful to remember what to do when helping victims of serious head injuries.
Start By Identifying Head Injuries
Accidentally hitting your head on a hard surface when standing up, misfortunes out of sheer clumsiness, or an unexpected blow to the head, we have all been there. But what we do not take seriously are the events that follow. If such accidents are causing even the slightest bit of headache or pain around the head and neck region or have left a bump on the head, it is best to weigh out the possibility of a serious head injury. Remember not to take any such accidents for granted, as quite often, the effects of head injuries start to show up as symptoms later than expected, leaving the patient perplexed.
If you have encountered someone facing the same trouble, it is advisable to look into the bigger picture, identifying the head injury through its symptoms before the trouble starts to aggravate.
Remembering The Major Symptoms Of Head Injuries
When helping a victim with a serious head injury, you need to remember the following major and minor symptoms:
State Of Confusion:
When head injuries get serious, the victim may be in a state of confusion, unaware of what is happening around them, where they are, and might also have no memory of what happened to them.
Changes In Vision And Drowsiness:
Loss of vision, blurred vision, and double vision; these three symptoms are quite common in patients that have suffered from a severe head injury. This, combined with drowsiness, renders that they are taken straight to the hospital.
Signs Of A Concussion:
A concussion occurs when the brain gets abnormally shaken inside its skull due to any injury to the head. This makes the person unconscious for a fair amount of time. While people recover from concussions fairly easily, if the individual you are caring for is continuing to be unresponsive, it is best to seek professional medical assistance.
Simultaneously, calling a brain injury compensation lawyer is a smart move, especially to keep the patient away from hefty hospital bills. They can also assist in negotiating a fair payout with the given evidence of head injury and accident.
Feeling Of Sickness:
Severe head injuries are often accompanied by vomiting, stiff neck, and nausea, all of which need serious attention.
Keep The Victim Still
After identifying a head injury following the basic symptoms, the first thing to do is to immobilize the victim’s head and neck in the position they were found to limit unnecessary movement. Next, if there is no injury to the neck, elevate the victim’s head and shoulders carefully to keep their airway clear. However, ensure that no other part of the individual’s body is elevated.
Watch For Changes In Alertness, Breathing, And Movement
It is critical to monitor the victim of a head injury. If they show unresponsiveness in terms of alertness, breathing, and movement, check for a pulse and perform CPR, when dealing with such a case, remember to control breathing and alertness at the earliest.
Caring For Physical Injury
Apart from notable symptoms, if the sufferer has any physical injuries, it is best to cater to them at the earliest. Apply something cold to the injured region to reduce swelling and discomfort.
Similarly, if the patient is bleeding from the scalp, control the bleeding by covering any open cuts with gauze and applying pressure around the wounded area till medical assistance arrives. However, be sure not to wash the wound or put any antiseptic on it. It is best to leave that in the hands of the medical professionals.
Although it can be an ordeal to manage and take immediate action to prevent further damage from accidents that cause head injuries, a simple act of kindness can help put victims of serious head injuries out of misery and potentially save their life.