Head Injuries
↓ Sponsored LinksWe certainly are lucky that our brain protected by the nice thick of our skull. Think of the many times that we bump our head edges of doors or fall accident and strike our poor head on the floor and ground. Our brains sure get pretty soft if they didn’t have a strong covering over them.
There aren’t many people, children adults alike, who don’t hurt their heads at least once in a while. And it can be painful, can’t it? Fortunately, of these injuries are not serious, except for a lump and some soreness we forget about them in a few hours. However, sometimes there can serious blows and we should never neglect them.
Here is how to tell whether an injury to the head is serious and needs attend by a doctor:
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1. Anyone who loses consciousness (faints or passes out) after a head injury should be seen by a doctor. Even if unconsciousness lasts only a few seconds, it should be considered serious enough to call the doctor.
The best thing to do for someone who has lost consciousness from being hit on the head is to keep that person absolutely still, even if he or he wants to get up. The person should then be taken to a nearby hospital, preferably by an ambulance.
2. Of course, if someone loses consciousness and stays unconscious after a blow to the head, everyone knows enough to call an ambulance. In almost every community in the country, the police will get an ambulance for an injured person.
3. A person who has an injury to the head and later develops a severe headache should be seen by a doctor.
4. Anyone whose head is injured and who later begins to see things double, or whose sight becomes blurred, should be seen by a doctor.
5. If bleeding from the nose or ears takes place after a head injury, the patient should be seen by a doctor, as this sometimes is an indication that one of the bones of the skull has been broken.
6. Someone who seems to recover quickly from a head injury but later gets drowsy and falls into a deep sleep must be seen by a doctor, as this may be a sign that there is bleeding inside the skull.
Following a severe head injury, bleeding on the covering of the brain (dura) beneath the skull may lead to the formation of a dangerous blood clot. Bone fragments may be driven into the brain at the site of a blow, causing a brain injury on the opposite side of the skull.
The things we have just described tell us not only that the injury has affected the bones of the skull, but that the brain and blood vessels within the head have also suffered. In many cases, the injury to the brain may be slight and temporary. But our brains are too important to neglect, and it is much smarter to keep a child who has suffered a head injury in the hospital for a day or two to make sure he or she is all right. Within a day or two, everyone can be positive that no serious damage to the brain has taken place.
When a child with a head injury goes to the hospital, they will take X rays to see if any of the bones of the skull have been broken. They will also make tests find out if any damage to the brain resulted from the blow. After they have find out the exact extent and location 1the brain injury, they will know how to treat it. Once in a while, brain surgeon will bore a small hole in the skull to relieve the pressure from the bleed within the skull. This often controls the situation pretty well, and when the round heals, it leaves practically no scar.
Most children recover completely from head injuries, even from serious ones. This is because the bones of the skull are so good at protecting the soft b rain tissue which lies beneath. As we point out in the next chapter, from a cut on the head is seldom very serious. There may be an awful lot of bleeding, but it usually stops by itself sooner or later. And when the cut is stitched, the head is as good as new again.
Here are a few things to do in order to avoid serious head injuries:
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1. Always wear a helmet when playing football or riding on a motorcycle.
2. Never dive into shallow water or into strange water where rocks may be near the surface.
3. Never jump off a high place, even if your playmates dare you to.
4. Don’t run or make sudden movements in the dark where you might not see a wall or edge of an open door.
5. If you are in the country, be aware of the possibility of rocks falling down a hill.
6. Don’t play with children who throw stones.