Head injuries can be frightening because someone may have serious injury to his or her brain without even realizing it.
While open head wounds show obvious damage, you should observe someone who has suffered a closed head wound to make sure that they are not suffering from internal damage.
Recognizing head and brain injuries is an important step in treating the trauma.
As mentioned above, open head injuries are easier to treat than closed ones because the damage is probably obvious.
Open head injuries include cuts and open wounds on the scalp.
Open injuries are especially scary because the head tends to bleed a lot.
Shallow lacerations may require sterilization and proper bandaging, while deeper cuts may need stitches or staples from a doctor.
With these types of head injuries, it is important to protect yourself against infections since the site is so close to the brain.
Sometimes, open head wounds can indicate deeper problems, such as fractures.
On the other hand, you may suffer from a skull fracture without showing any outward sign, like a gash.
There are four types of skull fractures: linear, depressed, diastatic, and basilar.
Because linear fractures do not move the skull, they can be difficult to recognize.
With depressed fractures, a part of the scalp may actually look lower and sunken in rather than in line with the rest of the head.
Diastatic and basilar fractures also do not have very obvious outward signs, although basilar fractures can cause someone to have eye and ear bruising, as well clear fluid leaking from the nose and ears.
Next, internal bruising in and around the brain may not be clear at first, but if the bleeding is allowed to continue, it can cause a person to gradually lose consciousness and even die.
Intracranial hematomas, or ICH, are blood clots inside the skull that can place severe pressure on the brain.
There are several types of ICH: epidural, subdural, intracerebral, and diffuse axonal injury.
Because these are inside the skull, there is often not an outward sign of injury.
However, the symptoms of bleeding on the brain include: o Nausea o Blurred vision o Tinnitus (ringing ears) o Lethargy o Slurred speech o Severe headache o Difficulty or weakness with one side of the body o Loss of consciousness Head trauma is dangerous because it can cause permanent nerve damage that may prevent someone from returning to his or her normal life and work.
Sadly, head injuries, both internal and external, can be caused by a variety of different accidents, such as car wrecks, construction-site accidents, and even slip-and-falls.
If you or someone you know has been harmed due to someone else's negligence, you may have a personal injury case.
For more information, check out the personal injury attorneys from Habush Habush & Rottier, S.
C.
, today.