Head Injury Care

In the world today, it is almost, if not completely impossible to write off the possibility of a concussion or a head injury, what with our active and fast paced lives. The next time you are at a traffic junction, stop for a while and look all around you, you’ll see cars and bikes whizzing past. Stop at a playground and you’ll see numerous kids and youngsters ‘busy at play’. Stop at a construction site and you’ll see construction workers ‘busy at work’. Has a realization dawned on you yet? If it has, you have probably realized how prone everyone is to a concussion or a head injury. An injury to the head, however, cannot be necessarily limited to a playground or a construction site. It can take place absolutely anywhere, even in the comfort of your home. This only gives you that one big reason to gain knowledge on how to care for a concussion or a head injury. This is your shot at gaining awareness on a ‘life-skill’. Go ahead and read on to know more on how to care for a head injury.

 

Assess The Victim And The Wound
Take a good look at the victim and the wound. You will literally have to hunt for physical symptoms that include loss of balance, headaches, poor hand-eye coordination, numbness, and sensitivity. Emotional symptoms may include difficulty in concentrating, atypical irritability and excitability, mood swings and tearfulness. Apart from looking for symptoms, you will also have to take a good look at the victim’s wound. This can be little tricky, because sometimes profuse bleeding can be the result of a minor head injury while a serious damage to the brain can be the result of a less visible impact. The easiest way to decide between a minor or serious head injury is to look for symptoms. If the victim shows two or more of the above symptoms, you can take for granted that the accident has resulted in a concussion or a serious head injury. 

Ensure The Victim Stays As Still As Possible
In case of a concussion or head injury, you will have to make it a point to keep the victim as still as possible. Moving the victim will only cause further injury. However, this does not mean you do not ‘move’ the victim to a hospital in case of a severe accident. Also, make it a point to remain with the victim when calling for help. You don’t want to have the victim wandering around with a serious injury in the head. Ensure that the victim stays calm and stick by him/her at all times and at any cost. 

Check For Consciousness
It is extremely important to know if a victim is unconscious or almost on the verge of going into a state of unconsciousness. For this, you can use the AVPU code. The letter ‘A’ in the code stands for ‘alertness’. Check to see if the victim is alert and see if he/she is answering your questions. The letter ‘V’ stands for ‘voice’. Here, you have got to determine if the victim is responding to your voice. The letter ‘P’ stands for ‘pain’ or touch. You’ve got to see if the victim is responding to pain or touch. Pinch the victim to gauge his/her reaction to the same. If there is absolutely no reaction, your victim is definitely unconscious. The letter ‘U’ stands for ‘unresponsive’. If the victim is unresponsive to everything you do then without any doubt he is unconscious. For an unconscious victim, you will have to ensure that his/her head stays raised and cool. You can cool the victim’s head with an ice pack or a damp cloth. You will also have to call for medical help as soon as possible. 

Ask Questions To A Conscious Victim
If the victim happens to be conscious, you have got to ask him/her questions continuously. This will help keep the victim awake and will also help you judge the consciousness of the victim. You can ask the victim any number of questions, just make sure the victim continues to talk or stays awake until professional help arrives.