Mild Head Injury Definition, Reason, Symptoms, Treatment & Prevention
Definition
Mild head injuryis a condition of mild brain disorder caused by injury. Usually caused by impact to the head during a fall, exercise, or accident.
This condition can affect the brain but generally does not cause permanent damage to this one organ. Sometimes people who have experienced mild head trauma are not even aware of their condition.
This brain disorder will usually recover by itself within a few minutes to hours. Mild head trauma is experienced more by children than adults.
Mild Head Injury Symptoms
Symptoms of mild head trauma usually last only a short time. Symptoms that commonly occur are lightheadedness, nausea, and vomiting, dizziness, spinning body, feeling of floating, blurred vision for a moment, or feeling tired. Usually, these symptoms only last a few hours.
If mild head trauma occurs in children, several other signs may accompany the above symptoms. For example, a child who cries more easily than usual loses balance, is fussy, and has a change in attitude (such as not being interested in doing things he usually likes).
However, similar symptoms can also be found in severe head trauma. Therefore, if these symptoms are felt to be getting worse, or accompanied by other conditions such as seizures, hearing loss, or vomiting, then the patient needs to be taken to the nearest hospital immediately. This is necessary because there is a possibility that the head trauma experienced will be quite severe.
Symptoms of mild head trauma usually appear shortly after the injury occurs. However, in some cases, signs of new trauma appear several hours or several days later.
Mild Head Injury Reason
The most common causes of mild head trauma are bumps, falls, sports, or traffic accidents. Children experience it more often because their motor activity is still very active.
Diagnosis
A detailed medical interview and physical examination by a doctor are very important to ensure that head trauma is mild. The doctor will ask in detail about the chronology of the injury.
In addition, the doctor will also examine nerve function to ensure that there are no neurological disorders. If there is a possibility that the head trauma is not mild, sometimes the doctor will also advise the patient to do a CT scan of the head.
Mild Head Injury Treatment
Mild head trauma generally does not require hospitalization. However, after the injury, sufferers are advised to rest for at least 24 hours, to speed up recovery. If there are complaints of mild headaches, pain relievers such as paracetamol can be taken.
In addition, sufferers should avoid physical activity during the recovery process. Likewise with activities that require full concentration (such as working on a laptop).
Although it doesn’t require hospitalization, someone should be watching the person with mild head trauma for 24 hours after the injury occurs. If the complaints are getting worse – such as looking constantly drowsy, difficulty to wake up, or have seizures – the patient should immediately take him to the nearest hospital.
Prevention
To reduce the risk of head trauma, several things that can be done include:
• Wear head protection when riding a bicycle, or motorbike, or when playing games that involve a lot of sliding on hard surfaces. For example roller blades.
• Reducing items that can cause injury to children at home. For example, a bed that is too high.
• Follow traffic safety regulations when traveling.