Head injury is a trauma that includes scalp wounds, skull fractures, brain injury and bruise on the brain. Motor accidents, falls, accidents at workplace, home, outdoors or while playing sports can cause head injury.

Minor injuries do not require hospitalization. First aid is however important to treat these injuries. If the head injury is serious, giving first aid until the ambulance arrives can help save the life of the victim and reduce the severity of damage. The brain is a delicate organ. Brain and spinal cord injury are serious. Undergoing training in head injury first aid can help prevent serious complications like coincident hypoxia.

Things You May Not Know About Head Injury

Each year, millions of people get injured in their heads due to accidents. More than half of them are minor. The skull is thick enough to offer great protection to the brain. However, severe injury may damage the skull and leave the brain vulnerable. It is therefore important to learn to distinguish between serious head injury and a minor one and administer first aid. Proper first aid given at the right time can save lives.

If a person is injured in the head, check for the following symptoms:

– Change in pupils

– Fluid draining from nose, ears and/or mouth

– Low breathing rate

– Loss of consciousness

– Stiff neck and vomiting

– Seizure.

If you notice any of these symptoms, you must call emergency medical service as soon as possible. It is important to give first aid if the victim becomes drowsy, suffers from a severe headache or vomits several times.

You can take certain steps for moderate and serious head injury:

– Check the victim’s airway. If essential start giving rescue breathing.

– If the victim is unconscious, check the breathing and heart rate. If they are normal, you may administer first aid assuming that the unconsciousness is caused by spinal injury. Keep the victim’s head and neck straight and place your hands on both sides of the head.

– If there is any blood loss, apply firm pressure on the wound and stop bleeding. If the injury is serious, do not move the victim’s head.

– If you think that the patient has a fracture in skull, wrap the wound with sterilized gauze dressing. Applying pressure on the wound or removing debris from the wound is not advisable in case of suspicious skull injury.

– If there is any swelling in the victim’s head, you can apply ice packs on the affected area.

– If the victim vomits, roll the head, neck and body to prevent choking.

– If it is a mild head injury the victim may not require any treatment. However, observe for the next 24 hours for any problematic symptoms. This is especially important if the victim is a child.

– If the victim suffers from mild headache, you can give over the counter pain medicine. However, avoid ibuprofen or aspirin as they can increase the risk of bleeding.

– You must not wash a head wound that is bleeding a lot.

– If you suspect serious head injury do not move the victim.

These are some of the aspects you must know about as you deal with victims with moderate to severe head injury.

For more information, please visit our first aid courses website.

For more information, please visit our first aid courses website http://www.firstaidexams.com

Author Bio: For more information, please visit our first aid courses website.

Category: Medicines and Remedies
Keywords: Illness,Injury,First aid ,First Aid Guidelines ,First aid training