People are at risk with head injuries

With last Friday being World Head Injury Awareness Day, ER24 has sent out a press release stating “head injury is a common cause of death among pedestrians who are knocked by vehicles.

According to ER24 Doctor Vernon Wessels, they attend to patients who sustain head injuries during collisions on a daily basis.

“As with most injuries, prevention is better than cure and the best way to reduce head injuries is to try and avoid the impact in the first place,” he said.

Tips

• Use safety belts.
• Refrain from speeding and driving recklessly
• Where potential impact is unavoidable, wear the appropriate headgear.
• Using a car seat for children that is correctly fitted protects them from injury.

“It protects other occupants from being hit by an unrestrained child in the event of a collision,” he said.

He suggested people must seek medical attention if a head injury leads to loss of consciousness or co-ordination, visual disturbances and loss in memory no matter how short the effects may have been.

“Life-threatening brain injuries can initially present very subtle and a medical assessment will determine if further tests or admission for observation are required, he said, “bleeding and swelling of the brain is potentially treatable with good outcomes if done before serious complications occur.”

Children will sustain minor head injuries mainly due to the relatively large size of the head during early childhood and immature motor skills.

Signs

• Loss of consciousness no matter how brief.
• Convulsions after the injury.
• Vomiting.
• Headache that worsens or does not improve with rest or oral paracetamol.
• Visual disturbances or behaviour that is not typical for the child. If there is any doubt, rather consult a doctor.

The doctor said head injuries could range from simple lacerations to devastating bleeding inside the skull cavity that causes pressure on the brain that can cause death if not urgently treated.

Types of head injuries

A concussion is the most common type of head injury and results when the brain undergoes impact that shakes the brain tissue but does not cause bleeding or visible damage to the cells.

“A patient may lose consciousness for a short while and is often confused, disorientated or has poor co-ordination. However, the effects return to near normal fairly quickly.

It is sustained through impact to the head, however indirect force can also cause this.

Bleeding occurring in the brain of a child is through violent shaking as typically occurs in abuse scenarios.

With contusion, the brain tissue is bruised by the impact and this can cause swelling.

As the brain is inside a bony cavity that cannot expand, pressure will build up due to the swelling.

With a skull fracture there is a risk of bony fragments causing direct damage to the underlying brain tissue.

This infection can be life threatening or cause permanent disability.

For any medical emergency call the ER24’s Emergency contact centre on 084 124.