How long must you stay awake after a head injury to insure things will be ok?!


Question:

How long must you stay awake after a head injury to insure things will be ok?

My father got hit in the head with a golf ball this afternoon. He did pass out for about 30 sec. to a minute. He did get sick. He was also bleeding and dizzy. He refuses to go to the hospital to get checked out because he thinks he is ok. Does anyone have any advice for my mother and me?


Answers:

The problem with head injuries is that you may have little or no symptoms and then drop dead.
See if this helps: Presentation varies according to the injury. Some patients with head trauma stabilize and other patients deteriorate. A patient may present with or without neurologic deficit.

Patients with concussion may have a history of seconds to minutes unconsciousness, then normal arousal. Disturbance of vision and balance may also occur.

Common symptoms of head injury include those indicative of traumatic brain injury:

* loss of consciousness,
* confusion,
* drowsiness,
* personality change,
* seizures,
* nausea and vomiting,
* headache,
* a lucid interval, during which a patient appears conscious and alright only to deteriorate later (this is due to bleeding inside the brain and is very dangerous)

Symptoms of skull fracture can include:

* leaking cerebrospinal fluid (a clear fluid drainage from nose, mouth or ear) may be and is strongly indicative of basilar skull fracture and the tearing of sheaths surrounding the brain, which can lead to secondary brain infection.
* visible deformity or depression in the head or face; for example a sunken eye can indicate a face fracture
* an eye that cannot move or is deviated to one side can indicate that a broken facial bone is pinching a nerve that innervates eye muscles
* wounds or bruises on the scalp or face.
* Basilar skull fractures, those that occur at the base of the skull.
Because brain injuries can be life threatening, even people with apparently slight injuries, with no noticeable signs or complaints, require close observation. The caretakers of those patients with mild trauma who are released from the hospital are frequently advised to wake the patient several times during the next 12 to 24 hours to assess for worsening symptoms. (He can go to sleep but should be woken up and checked). For the first few hours every hours then every 2 or 3 hours. Look for confusion, slurred speech, visual changes, unequal pupil sizes, abnormal mental state, agitation, anger, numbness or tingling or can't move part of the body, continued vomiting, etc--anything not normal for the person is a red flag to go to the ER immediately.
Some parents are pretty stubborn!




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