What is a Head Injury?

A head injury is any sort of injury to your brain, skull, or scalp. This can range from a mild bump or bruise to a traumatic brain injury.

Children and adolescents with concussion can take up to four weeks to recover, but most concussions will get better on their own over several days.

  • Severe headaches
  • Vomited more than twice
  • Memory problems
  • Blackouts
  • A seizure (fit or spasm of arms, legs or face)
  • Difficulty staying awake
  • Blood or clear fluid coming from your ears or nose

Common symptoms of a minor head injury include:

  • Drowsiness when you would normally be wide awake (but see below).
  • Worsening headache – which does not go away with paracetamol (but see below).
  • Confusion, strange behaviour, and any problems with understanding or speaking.
  • Inability to remember events before or after the head injury.
  • Being sick.
  • a headache
  • Loss of use of part of the body – for example, weakness in an arm or a leg.
  • Speech difficulties.

Care at Home

  • vomiting more than once
  • bleeding or any discharge from the ear or nose
  • fits/seizures/twitching/convulsions
  • blurred or double vision
  • poor coordination or clumsiness
  • any new arm or leg weakness, or any existing weakness that gets worse or does not improve
  • difficulty swallowing or coughing when eating or drinking
  • sensitivity to noise
  • slurred or unclear speech