Head trauma: First aid

A head injury, also known as head trauma, can occur from a car crash, a fall from a ladder, a collision while playing a contact sport or another accident. Some head injuries need emergency care while others can be seen by a healthcare professional during a scheduled visit.

Call 911 or your local emergency number if someone has had a serious head injury — such as a fall from a ladder or a motor vehicle accident — or if the person has the following symptoms. With potentially serious head injuries, it is important to protect the person’s neck and spine. Do this by having the person lie still. Don’t move the person until emergency medical help has arrived and made an evaluation.

Adults

• Serious head or facial bleeding.
• Bleeding or fluid leakage from the nose or ears.
• Change in consciousness for longer than a few seconds.
• Not breathing.
• Confusion, agitation or restlessness that continues to get worse.
• Loss of balance.
• Weakness or not being able to use an arm or leg.
• One pupil bigger than the other. The pupil is the black part of the eye.
• Slurred speech.
• Seizures.

Children

• Any of the symptoms for adults.
• Persistent crying.
• Refusal to eat.
• Bulging in the soft spot on the front of the head in infants.
• Repeated vomiting.

Follow these first-aid steps while waiting for emergency medical help to arrive:

• Keep the person still. The injured person should lie down with the head and shoulders slightly elevated. Don’t move the person unless necessary. Avoid moving the person’s neck. If the person is wearing a helmet, don’t remove it.
• Stop any bleeding. Apply firm pressure to the wound with sterile gauze or a clean cloth. But don’t apply direct pressure to the wound if you suspect a skull fracture.
• Watch for changes in breathing and alertness. If the person shows no signs of circulation — no breathing, coughing or movement — begin CPR.

Someone with head trauma can be driven to the emergency department if the person can walk and is alert but has:

• Black-and-blue marks below the eyes or behind the ears.
• Confusion.

Head trauma that results in concussion symptoms needs to be evaluated by a healthcare professional. Concussion symptoms include:

• Nausea or vomiting.
• Ringing in the ears.
• Trouble with balance or staying steady.
• Headaches.
• Blurry vision.
• Trouble concentrating.
• Memory loss around the event that caused the head trauma.