What if I accidentally hit my head? Eight things I must know

In our life, we always accidentally bump our heads, and sometimes the problem is not serious and we don't care. However, the head is one of the most important organs of the human body, and it is the center that controls the operation of human physiological functions, so we have to pay attention to it. Let's take a look at what to do if we accidentally hit our head.

If it is a car accident, a falling building and other obvious and serious impact injuries, most people know that they should be sent to the emergency department immediately; But sometimes, the impact did not cause serious trauma, and the injured were conscious, so it is difficult to judge whether they should be sent to the hospital for examination.

What if I accidentally hit my head? I want to carefully observe the patient's reaction within 1.72 hours.

Wu, director of acute and severe neurosurgery at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, said that the severity of head collision is related to the location of the collision, the intensity of the collision and the patient's own situation. No matter what kind of injury, the patient's reaction should be used to evaluate whether it is necessary to send a doctor.

Slight head injury, if only swelling or flesh injury, and the patient's mental state is good, does not need to be sent to the hospital immediately. Children bump into each other while playing, or young people are accidentally hit by a ball, which mostly means that the pain will return to normal after a few minutes.

What we need to worry about is intracranial hemorrhage, and blood clots will cause damage to brain tissue. With the different degree of bleeding, the patient may not have abnormal reaction immediately, so within 72 hours after the injury, at least every 3 ~ 4 hours, the patient should be observed for the following conditions and sent to the hospital:

1. Transient coma, loss of consciousness.

2. Dizziness and severe vomiting (especially jet-like vomiting)

3. Hand, foot or mouth twitching

4. Severe headache

5. Sleepy or difficult to wake up

6. Unilateral limbs cannot be forced or unbalanced.

7. blurred vision, different pupils on both sides, and deviation

8. The chimney door on the child's head bulges.

In fact, it is normal to have dizziness and headache for a few days, or to feel dizzy and sick once or twice. However, if the patient does feel uneasy or abnormal, he can go to neurosurgery on the same day or the next day.

For example, the artist Jam Hsiao hit his head on his teammate's knee while playing basketball. As long as he changes his posture, his head will be particularly painful. As a result, he put up with it for a week and asked his agent to take him to the doctor in the middle of the night, which was not quite right, Wu Shuo.

2. Write down the details of the injury as much as possible.

When an accident happens, bystanders should calmly write down the collision, and if they need to be sent to the hospital, these descriptions can help doctors judge the injury.

For example, Wu, for example, hitting the side of the brain (near the temple) is usually more dangerous than hitting the back of the head, because the skull in this position is thin and the head is very fragile. Or if a child falls from a chair, if the height is known, the impact force can be evaluated.

Pay attention to the details:

Whether the patient fainted on the spot, the reaction after the injury (crying, shouting, or staring blankly), what was the injured part, how high it fell from, whether the symptoms of vomiting were jet vomiting, and whether the patient himself had abnormal coagulation function.

3. Computed tomography is meaningful only when it is done at the right time, and it should be observed continuously within 1~2 months.

When seeing a doctor, the doctor will do neurological examination and consultation for the patient. If it is judged that there is a possibility of cerebral hemorrhage or fracture, a more detailed injury judgment will be made by computerized tomography (CT) to determine whether the patient needs surgery or hospitalization.

However, some people often think that it is necessary to have an imaging examination to feel at ease, even if the symptoms are mild, they still insist on doing it. To some extent, this has happened in the main emergency room: family members insist on a CT scan, but doctors don't need to evaluate the patient's condition. Results After the patient was transferred to another hospital, he wrote to complain that the original doctor did not perform his duties.

Lin Anyuan, a neurosurgeon at the Affiliated Hospital of Medical University, said that CT scanning contains trace radiation, and it is not entirely a good thing to do more tests. It makes sense to do it at the right time.

Lin said helplessly, sometimes family members will ask doctors to ensure that patients are safe and sound without taking pictures (CT), but CT does not mean safety guarantee, because it can only reflect the state of the brain when it is being examined. And even if the doctor's assessment is normal, the patient still needs to continue to observe for one or two months after returning home. Because some brain injuries may not appear until at least 3 days to a month after injury.

A 64-year-old wife was slightly hit on the head in a car accident. No obvious bleeding or fracture was found after emergency CT scan. However, about 3 weeks after discharge, she began to have symptoms such as unstable walking and headache. She was sent back to the hospital for examination and was diagnosed with chronic cerebral hemorrhage.

4. The child hit his head.

Parents are the best medical staff. Children are not good at expressing physical reactions, and adults need to observe the changes of daily activities after collision. "Parents (or caregivers) are more important than medical staff, and no instrument can replace them. Wu Shuo, who is also the director of children's neurosurgery, if the impact is too strong and affects the balance system, his appetite will be affected, but the medical staff will not know the child's usual food intake, and it is difficult to compare the abnormal situation.

Wu suggested that if the baby hits his head, parents can observe from the following points:

Is the activity as usual? For example, I usually run and cry, and suddenly it becomes quiet. )

Is there anything unusual in your mood? (For example, suddenly become restless and talkative)

Is your appetite normal?

Did you sleep longer than usual? (for example, the number of waking up in the middle of the night suddenly increases or decreases, and suddenly does not turn over)

No matter how serious the old man's head is, he should have a physical examination.

If the injured are elderly, family members must be vigilant and seek medical treatment as much as possible.

Hu Naiwen, a nurse practitioner in the emergency department of the hospital, met an 80-year-old grandfather who got up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet and accidentally hit his head, but he told his wife that it was okay and continued to lie down and sleep. A few hours later, I went to the toilet. 10 minutes later, I didn't come out, and my wife found her unconscious. When he was sent to the emergency department, he died of excessive cerebral hemorrhage.

Old people's bones are fragile, they are not sensitive to nerves, and it is easy to ignore the pain after collision. Hu Naiwen suggested that it is safer to send a doctor for detailed evaluation and examination when hitting the head. Even if it is not convenient to send a doctor at the first time, it is best for family members to carefully observe whether there is any abnormality in their elders.

Jiang Tong, a late national treasure Chinese medicine practitioner, once accidentally fell on the bus and hit his head. As a result, he kept walking around the house that night and didn't dare to sleep until he was sure there was no way out late at night.

In addition, most of the collisions of the elderly are caused by falls. Hu Naiwen suggested that in addition to observing the head injury, we should also carefully understand the cause of the fall and wonder whether it was caused by diseases such as stroke and dizziness.

If the family can't be around 24 hours, Lin suggested that you can call every few hours to see if your parents' speech reaction and mental state are good, or ask your neighbors to ring the doorbell to say hello. Because if the elderly have an unwell reaction, they often feel that they are just mentally ill or embarrassed to disturb their families, thus delaying medical treatment.

In case of cerebral hemorrhage, the elderly usually feel abnormal in the late stage. Family members are advised to pay special attention for at least 2 months after the accident.

6. Pay attention to painkillers, sleeping pills and anticoagulants.

You may have a headache after being hit in the brain. You can take painkillers in time to relieve discomfort, and you don't need to worry about covering up your abnormal reaction. Wu Shuo, due to the pain caused by severe cerebral hemorrhage, taking painkillers cannot be reimbursed.

But if you can't sleep, don't take sleeping pills. Within 72 hours after the accident, the patient's consciousness is a very important observation index. When you are unconscious, others will not notice you.

In addition, in order to avoid cerebral hemorrhage, if you take anticoagulant drugs when you are injured, you should discuss with your doctor whether you need to stop taking them.

7. Don't rub where you hit it, but ice it.

When the scalp is bruised and bleeding, many people will "crash" in the swollen place. Rubbing can not only relieve the pain, but also make the scalp swell up and become a bigger bag. Because the body will quickly coagulate blood to inhibit bleeding and form blood clots, rubbing with hands is easy to cause blood vessel rupture and hematoma is more serious.

The correct treatment method is ice compress, and ice compress more within the first 48 hours of injury to accelerate blood vessel contraction. Ice for 20 minutes each time and rest for 20 minutes. If the child's pain is not easy to calm down, you can ice it for 5 minutes at a time, rest for 5 minutes, and repeat it 4 ~ 6 times. It doesn't matter if you ice it many times a day.

After 48 hours, hot compress can help the brain absorb blood clots.

Swelling has nothing to do with the severity of the injury. Wu Shuo, when a child hits, it often swells up into a big bag, so you don't need to ask a doctor to suck it out. When the child recovers quickly, he will naturally absorb the blood clot, and the swelling will be reduced in about half a week to a month.

8. "Empty" is the best way to rest.

Rest more within 3 ~ 5 days after the collision to help the brain recover. The brain tissue is soft and will vibrate slightly when it is hit. "Like a pendulum, it needs to stop slowly," Lin said.

The best way is to clear your brain, think nothing, or go to sleep. Lin Lingyuan reminded that we should try our best to avoid things that will stimulate the brain, such as watching TV, playing online games and worrying about work. , will not achieve the effect of rest. It should be pointed out that:

1. Don't use excessive force, such as blowing your nose, lifting heavy objects, forcibly defecating, etc.

2. Reduce engaging in brain-intensive things, such as preparing for exams and work proposal reports.

3. Avoid irritating drinks, such as drinks, coffee or tea.

4. When resting in bed, you can raise your head 30 ~ 40 degrees.

5. Eat more high-fiber fruits and vegetables to prevent constipation.