When should I be worried about a head injury or skull fracture after receiving trauma?

Doctor's Answer

Without knowing more it’s a little difficult to know what sort of trauma you are referring to, nevertheless in sport, brain injuries are common in the form of concussion. These can occur as a result of direct trauma to the head such as contact during sport, or from a sudden acceleration or deceleration of the brain.

Usually there is no fracture or bleed noted on scanning and symptoms can be quite complex. Luckily, symptoms can settle with rest and one can usually return to sport with a graduated return.

If the trauma is perhaps associated with a greater force, such as a hammer blow to the head, a motorbike accident or a fall from a great height, then yes, a fracture is possible. If you don’t have a fracture, then you an also develop a bleed inside the skul due to injury to blood vessels.

For a skull fracture, there is usually a depression in the bone, but often with a bleed you do not seen an obvious external change. Symptoms you can develop include a persistent headache, visual or auditory changes, nausea or vomiting and even issues with movements.

I hope this helps with your problem.

BW

Dr Dinesh

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