Someone with a severe head injury should always be seen in an emergency department.
If any of the symptoms of a severe head injury are present, immediately go to your local accident and emergency (A&E) department or call 999 and ask for an ambulance.
The healthcare professionals treating you will first make sure you're in a stable condition, before asking some questions to help with the diagnosis and treatment of your injury. These may include:
how you were injured
when you were injured
whether you've been drinking alcohol
whether you've taken any illegal drugs
If you can't remember how the injury occurred, they may ask someone who saw your accident to describe it.
You may also be asked about your symptoms, for example:
whether you've lost consciousness
whether you have a headache
whether you've been sick
If you're with someone who has a head injury, try to provide as much information as possible about the accident and the person’s symptoms.
The paramedics or doctors treating you will assess your condition using the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), described below.
If any of the symptoms of a severe head injury are present, immediately go to your local accident and emergency (A&E) department or call 999 and ask for an ambulance.
The healthcare professionals treating you will first make sure you're in a stable condition, before asking some questions to help with the diagnosis and treatment of your injury. These may include:
how you were injured
when you were injured
whether you've been drinking alcohol
whether you've taken any illegal drugs
If you can't remember how the injury occurred, they may ask someone who saw your accident to describe it.
You may also be asked about your symptoms, for example:
whether you've lost consciousness
whether you have a headache
whether you've been sick
If you're with someone who has a head injury, try to provide as much information as possible about the accident and the person’s symptoms.
The paramedics or doctors treating you will assess your condition using the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), described below.
Glasgow Coma Scale
After a head injury, healthcare professionals use the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) to assess how severely your brain has been damaged. The GCS scores you on:
verbal responses (whether you can make any noise)
physical movements
how easily you can open your eyes
Your score for each of the three areas is added up to give a total. A slightly different version of the GCS is used for children under five years of age.
A score of 15 (the highest possible score) means that you know where and who you are, you can speak and move as instructed, and your eyes are open.
A score of three (the lowest possible score) means you can't open your eyes, move or make a noise. The score indicates that your body is in a coma (a state of unconsciousness where a person is unresponsive and can't be woken).
Depending on your score, head injuries are classed as:
minor – a score of 13 or higher
moderate – a score of nine to 12
severe – a score of eight or lower
Based on your assessment, you may be allowed to go home or you may be referred for further testing and treatment in hospital.
Going home
After a head injury, you'll usually only be allowed to go home if the results of your assessment suggest you're at low risk of brain injury and a CT scan isn't deemed necessary.
You'll need someone to take you home because you won't be allowed to drive until you've completely recovered. If possible, you'll also need someone to stay with you for the first 24 hours after your injury to keep an eye out for problems.
The healthcare professionals will advise you about what to do and what not to do in the weeks following your injury.
After a head injury, you'll usually only be allowed to go home if the results of your assessment suggest you're at low risk of brain injury and a CT scan isn't deemed necessary.
You'll need someone to take you home because you won't be allowed to drive until you've completely recovered. If possible, you'll also need someone to stay with you for the first 24 hours after your injury to keep an eye out for problems.
The healthcare professionals will advise you about what to do and what not to do in the weeks following your injury.
CT scan
Based on the results of their assessment, emergency department staff will decide whether you need to have a computerised tomography (CT) scan to determine how serious your head injury is and whether you're at risk of developing any complications of a severe head injury.
During a CT scan, a series of X-rays are taken from different angles to produce a detailed image of the inside of your body. The scan can be used to examine the bone, muscle and tissue in your neck, check for damage, and identify whether there's any bleeding or swelling in your brain.
Depending on the results of your scan, you may be allowed to go home. However, you'll usually be kept in hospital for a short period of time to make certain that your injury hasn't caused any serious problems.
Based on the results of their assessment, emergency department staff will decide whether you need to have a computerised tomography (CT) scan to determine how serious your head injury is and whether you're at risk of developing any complications of a severe head injury.
During a CT scan, a series of X-rays are taken from different angles to produce a detailed image of the inside of your body. The scan can be used to examine the bone, muscle and tissue in your neck, check for damage, and identify whether there's any bleeding or swelling in your brain.
Depending on the results of your scan, you may be allowed to go home. However, you'll usually be kept in hospital for a short period of time to make certain that your injury hasn't caused any serious problems.
Admission to hospital
Some people need to be admitted to hospital for observation following a head injury. This may be because:
scans have identified a problem
you have persistent symptoms of a possible neurological problem (a problem with the nervous system)
your GCS score hasn't returned to 15
you have other injuries, such as broken bones, or health problems
you're under the influence of alcohol or drugs
there's no one at home to look after you
See how a severe head injury is treated for more information about what happens when you're admitted to hospital.
tags: Severe head injury - Diagnosis, Diagnosis, Severe head injury, head injury, injury, head, Someone with a severe head injury should always be seen in an emergency department., Glasgow Coma Scale, Going home, CT scan, Admission to hospital.
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