The Highway to Health Bumped Heads

By: Tony Howarth - [health]
I recently had a reader send me this comment:

As a full-time dad I have to deal with just about every minor illness my two
children pickup, everything from a bump on the head to chicken pox. I found the
Highway to Health ebook very useful and it's one of the first things I reach for when
something goes wrong!

Mr John Bradbury
United Kingdom

It got me thinking - although the Highway to Health does cover headaches,
perhaps going into a little more detail about 'bumps on the head' would be useful. So here we go...

There are two main types of head injury - concussion and compression.

*Concussion* is the commonest:

* It's when your brain gets 'shaken' inside your head. Like anything, it gets a
little bruising. Like any bruise it heals with time.
* It can be caused by all sorts of things:
- Kids banging heads, perhaps playing sport.
- A child recently ran in to a coffee table and got concussion.
- Falling off things, running into things, tripping over...
* It's common and not too serious.

* You might feel a bit shaken up at first, might even pass out for a few
moments, but not for long.
* You could feel dizzy or confused as well.
* You'll have a headache - but you knew that, right?
* You'll probably get a bruise or bump on the outside too.
* You might feel or be sick, but this will pass.
* Your vision might get blurred, but this passes.

> Sit down and take it easy.
> Put a cold compress (e.g. wet sponge) on the bump.
> Try not to worry - or if it's a child, try to reassure and comfort them.
> Five to ten minutes later, you should be feeling a whole lot better.
The headache won't have gone yet, but it will settle.
You might still feel sick, but everything else should have cleared.
> Now you can take whatever pain relief you'd usually have for the headache
(and see http://www.thehighwaytohealth.com/ for a whole chapter on relieving
headaches).

> Take it easy for the next three days.
> Keep a watch out for the signs and symptoms below (and have someone else
watch out for you too).
> You'll soon be wondering what the fuss was about!

*Compression* is the other type of head injury:

* Just like anything that gets injured, your brain can swell.
* This is bad news - it's trapped inside your skull and has nowhere to swell to.
* So you get a build-up of pressure on your brain, which causes problems.
* It is usually caused by something a bit more severe than a bump on the head
- more like a bat over the head, or a bigger fall, or a traffic accident.

* This often starts out like concussion, but doesn't get better in a few minutes.
* That feeling of sickness gets worse, and you start to be sick a lot more often.
* The headache just gets worse, even when you've treated it.
* The dizziness or confusion will get worse, and you might pass out for a lot
longer. You might have a fit or convulsion.
* Your vision might blur and keep getting worse.

>> You need the hospital - and quickly!
>> Anyone who has these symptoms goes straight to hospital.
>> Even if it started out as concussion, this can take up to 72 hours to develop.
(It's commonest within the first four hours.)

Tony Howarth is a UK qualified pharmacist. After graduation he studied for a PhD - this looked at ways people use the Internet to access health information and included methods of making the information easier to understand. He then spent several years in a local pharmacy (where he still works) to understand just what people want to know about and have problems with. Now that information is here!
http://www.TheHighwaytoHealth.com/

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