What should you do when you hit your head hard?

A stroke can cause brain hemorrhage after a few days. Theoretically, the possibility of death cannot be ruled out.

In everyday life, there are many situations that can lead to a sharp blow to the head. For example: at traffic accidents, skating, brawling . Sometimes a small carelessness such as bending down to tie a shoelace, lifting your head up to the edge of the table also makes you dizzy.

The question is whether a scratch will make you worry too much? Theoretically, we cannot rule out the possibility that it will cause brain injury and death. But practically, what should people do if they or someone is hit hard on the head?

Does this situation lead to death from a traumatic brain injury?

1. Theory and practice

First of all, it must be said that a head injury or head injury is not a medical diagnosis. It does not have the same meaning as stroke or heart attack and it is necessary to have an immediate emergency for doctors to intervene and minimize the damage to the victim.

"[Going to the hospital] told the doctor that you had a head injury didn't make much sense," said Douglas H. Smith, director of the Center for Brain Injury and Recovery at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. prefer. "It implies similar to predicting that some damage has occurred to the brain."

For this reason, sometimes the word "brain injury" is used more accurately.

can be considered an occupational disease, with boxers, wrestlers or rugby players. People who are constantly shaken at the beginning for many years of competition. As a result, they can change their personality, or.

However, the first beating of the head was not in this type of brain injury. It was another medical condition, Smith said.

It is estimated that in the United States each year there are about 4-5 million cases of traumatic brain injury in general. The number of cases of traumatic brain injury caused by a single head smash is not statistically sufficient. However, Smith said this number could be very low.

"The impact of most headaches is not serious and does not last more than a few hours , " he said.

There are rare cases, a single head stroke that causes brain hemorrhage.

There are rare cases, a single head stroke that causes brain hemorrhage. The blood that flows inside the skull puts pressure on the brain, which requires the victim to get emergency treatment immediately. Symptoms to recognize head blows that cause brain hemorrhage are seizures, slurred speech and vomiting.

However, this extreme situation is very rare from common head smashes, said Richard A. Figler, medical co-director of the Craniofacial Center at Cleveland Clinic.

If a person after a collision has dizziness or headache, and you are not sure if this condition is serious enough to go to the hospital, what to do is monitor the victim, see if their symptoms become worse or worse. is not.

'Watch for symptoms for an hour , ' Figler said. This delay does not affect the effectiveness of treatment. In most cases, a traumatic brain injury has occurred immediately after the impact. Emergency doctors cannot do anything to the victim.

When monitoring victims, the symptoms you need to pay attention to are: headache, dizziness, confusion, fatigue, nausea, slurred speech, ringing in the ears, loss of temporary consciousness, and memory loss event leading to injury.

For athletes, post-match health checks, to see if brain-impact collisions do not include a questionnaire. For example: 'Which field did we play today?', 'Who scored the last goal for the match?', 'Has your team won the last round?'

These are simple sentence patterns that you can refer to and variations for your situation. Ask the victim.

Theoretically, we cannot rule out the possibility of hitting the head causing traumatic brain injury and death.

However, the effects of head smashes can also occur in later days. Alicia Sufrinko, neuroscience researcher from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's Sports Medicine Program, said: "While you're still feeling good all day after a headbump, symptoms can go away. currently at a few days later in many forms'.

In some cases, Sufrinko said, the victim will not recognize serious injury until trying to perform a high concentration activity, such as reading a book or using a computer. Symptoms may also appear when the person enters an environment that requires more hard work in the brain, such as a busy street or office.

For those who suffer from prolonged injuries because of concussions, detail what happens to them to monitor. The brain is still a very mysterious thing and neurologists are just beginning to understand the effects of brain injury. There is no definite prediction about when the victim will ever count as a complete loss.

2. What is the worst thing that can happen?

In 2009, actress Natasha Richardson crashed her head while skiing near Quebec, Canada. It doesn't seem like a problem, she's still healthy, goes back to the hotel, walks and talks normally with everyone.

But a few hours later, Richardson complained about an intense headache. She was taken to New York Hospital for emergency treatment. A few days later, Richardson died of brain hemorrhage.

Bad actress Natasha Richardson.

Richardson's case made people panic when they thought that a slight fall could start a cycle that led to death. Some of the stories in the newspaper also include a frightening non-medical phrase: "walking and death syndrome" , referring to deaths that happen silently and unexpectedly after being hit.

Even so, Figler said: "While there are other cases like Richardson, usually the brain hemorrhage does not happen so quietly. When blood flows in the brain, creating a pressure, millions. Common symptoms such as vomiting and seizures will appear ".

In the elderly or patients who take blood-thinning drugs, detecting brain hemorrhage becomes more difficult and necessary. However, in most cases, you will know if the victim of a head attack is brain hemorrhage, it is easy to recognize.

3. Handling situations

Now, with this knowledge, you know how to handle the situation. If someone is hit hard on the head, what to do is put them down for a while.

Lying still and watching doesn't make things worse. Headache does not require emergency emergencies like a stroke.

If a few hours after the impact, the victim feels unable to concentrate, also shows dizziness, does not remember the events of the day or appears more severe symptoms, which is when taking them to the hospital emergency.