As children grow, their head often finds the corners of tables, the ground and too often, their siblings or friends heads (also known as a head butt). Sometimes a bang to the head can cause very severe injury, but in most cases it is just some bruising and pain for a short while.
This informational blog post is for education and general knowledge purposes only. Please consult medical advice or your closest emergency department if you or your child have experienced head trauma. If you are unsure what to do, call 000 immediately.
If you or your child have hit their head, you should report to your local doctor or emergency department if any of the following symptoms occur within the first 48 hours:
You can learn first aid and CPR with Australia Wide First Aid’s courses in several locations around Australia, including in:
Signs and symptoms of a head injury can vary from person to person. The following information is a guide to the signs and symptoms you should be aware of after a bang to the head occurs. If any of the following symptoms occur, please consult emergency medical advice immediately.
A severe head injury is when:
A moderate head injury:
A minor head injury:
Small bangs on the head can cause large bruises and large soft swellings. This is because the scalp has a very good blood supply and the bone of the skull is just under the skin, meaning there is ‘no’ padding to absorb the knock.
Sometimes, the severity of the bruise can be controlled with the application of ice to the site of swelling (if there is no ice, try a packet of frozen veggies such as frozen peas). Make sure you wrap the ice in a damp cloth, do not put something very cold directly on the skin.
The swelling of the area of injury should go down quite quickly, leaving the coloured bruise and a small spot of pain. If the swelling sight stays, you or your child should seek medical advice.
Cuts on the scalp will bleed a lot because of the good blood supply in the scalp. Put a clean dressing over the cut and apply pressure to the cut for five or 10 minutes. If the bleeding has not stopped within 10 minutes, it is recommended you seek medical advice. If the cut is longer than 1cm long, the cut may have a quicker and stronger recovery if treated by the doctor or medical department.
Some problems can be hard to detect at first but can later result from minor head injury. In the following weeks, make sure you are aware if the following symptoms exist:
Have you experienced a head injury? How was it treated? Were you the First Aider attending?
What were the signs of the head injury?
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