Head Injury: What To Do
Injury to the head, from a minor bump to significant trauma.
Last revised
Serious bleeding inside the skull can develop hours after an injury that looked minor at the time.
Key takeaways
- Anticoagulants: any head injury needs urgent assessment
- Delayed symptoms: can develop hours or days later
- Most useful single change: Have someone stay with the person for the first 24 hours.
- Commonest mistake: Alcohol in the first days after a head injury.
- See a doctor if any of the signs under "When to get help" below apply to you.
Do
- Have someone stay with the person for the first 24 hours
- Rest relatively for a day or two, then reintroduce activity gradually
- Seek assessment early rather than waiting
Do not
- Alcohol in the first days after a head injury
- Returning to sport the same day
- Assuming a brief injury with no blackout is fine, on anticoagulants
The figures behind the list
Each item above follows from these, published in the guidance named at the foot of the page.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Anticoagulants | any head injury needs urgent assessment |
| Delayed symptoms | can develop hours or days later |
| Concussion | does not require loss of consciousness |
| Return to sport | never the same day after a suspected concussion |
Where to go next
- Myths About Head Injury, Checked Against the Guidance
- New to Head Injury? Start Here
- Head Injury — the reference entry
- Recognising an Emergency: Sorting the Evidence From the Noise
- CPR and Defibrillation: What the Evidence Actually Says
When to get help
Call 999 for loss of consciousness, repeated vomiting, worsening headache, a seizure, weakness or numbness, clear fluid from the nose or ears, unequal pupils, or increasing drowsiness or confusion after a head injury. Anyone taking anticoagulants needs urgent assessment after any head injury, however minor it seems.
Where this comes from
How this page was put together
Every figure, recommendation and warning above is taken from the guidance named in Where this comes from. Nothing on this page is inferred, summarised or generalised beyond what those bodies publish: where they give a number, it is their number, and where they are silent, so are we. Pages are rebuilt whenever the underlying record changes. Sign-off by a named clinician, where it has happened, is shown at the top of the page along with the date.
Medical disclaimer
This article is general information, not medical advice. It cannot account for your own history, medication or circumstances. Always speak to a GP, pharmacist or another qualified health professional before making changes that affect your treatment, and never delay seeking medical advice because of something you have read here. In an emergency, call 999.