HEAD INJURY
INTRODUCTION
Head Injury is any trauma to the scalp, skull or brain. The injury maybe only a minor
bump on the skull or a serious brain injury also called traumatic brain injury. Head injury maybe
close or open it doesn’t matter. A closed head injury is any injury that doesn’t break skull and an
open (penetrating) head injury is one in which something break the scalp and skull and enter the
brain. Assessing head injury only by looking is so hard because there are minor head injury but it
bleed a lot, while some major injury don’t bleed at all. So it so important to assess and treat all
head injury problem. Males keen to get frequently head injury than women because of their
lifestyle and work. Common head injuries injuries mostly happen are concussion, skull fracture
and scalp wound.
In general, head injuries can be divided into two categories based on what causes them.
They can either be head injury due to blow to the head or head injury during shaking. Head
injury caused by shaking is mostly common in infants and small children, but they can occur at
any time such as violent shaking. Head injury caused by blow to the head are usually associated
with motor vehichle accident, fall from high ground, physical assault and sport-related accident.
However, severe head injury also can be associated with injuries to the spine.
TYPES OF HEAD INJURY
There are many major types of head injury that could happen such as
1. Hemorrhage
2. Hematoma
3. Concussion
4. Edema
5. Skull Fracture
6. Diffuse Axonal Injury
1. Hemorrhage
A hemorrhage in uncontrolled bleeding inside the skull either space around the brain
known as subarachnoid bleeding or bleeding within the brain tissuealso known as intracerebral
hemorrhages. Bleeding in subarachnoid space often causes headache and vomiting. The severity
of the intra-cerebral hemorrhages depend on how much bleeding there is, but over time the build-
up blood can cause the intra-cranial pressure in brain to increased and can resulted to other
complications
2. Hematoma
Hematoma is a collection or clotting of blood outside the blood vessels. It can be very
serious if a hematoma occurs in the brain. The clotting can lead to pressure building up inside
your skull and can cause to lose consciousness or result in permanent brain damage.
3. Concussion
Occur when there was a severe impact to the head causing severe brain injury. It is
thought to be the result of brain hitting the hard wall. Damage cause by concussion is temporary
but repeated concussion trauma can lead to permanent damage in the brain.
4. Edema
Any types of trauma to brain can lead to edema or swelling. If many injuries, it can lead
to the swelling of the surrounding tissue, it will be more serious when in occur inside the brain.
The skull can’t stretch to accommodate the swelling. This leads to pressure buildup in brain,
causing the brain to press against the brain skull.
5. Skull Fracture
Unlike most bones in the body, the skull bone doesn’t have bone marrows which make
skull bone very strong and difficult to break which reduce the absorption of another impact of
blow causes the brain to be damaged. Any break in the cranial bone, aslo known as the skull. In
many types of skull fracture, one major impact or blow to the head can cause the skull bone to
break. Following the impact to the skull bone it also can damaged inside the skull that is the
brain. However, a fracture around the skull isn’t always easy to see, but based on a common
symptom indicating and suspecting fracture can be easily assessed.
6. Diffuse Axonal Injury
Diffuse axonal injury is conditions that do not causes bleeding but rather damage the
brain cells. The damaged cells in the brain cells can result in them not being able to function and
causing someone to have daily life activities. Afar from the cell brain damage, it also can caused
swelling and causing more damage. Though it isn’t as outwardly visible as other form of injury,
a diffuse axonal injury is the most dangerous one of head injuries. Even so, this can lead to
permanent brain damage and the most saddest part of this is it can cause death.
PATHOPHSYIOLOGY
Brain Suffer From
Traumatic Injury
Swelling or Bleeding In The
Brain
Increase Intracranial
Volume
Intracranial Pressure
Increase
Blood Pressure In Brain
Cause Blood Flow To Brain
To Slow
Cerebral Hypoxia and
Ischemia Occur
Intracranial Pressure
Increasing Cause Brain To
Herniate
Cerebral Flow Ceases
Coma and Died
SYMPTOM AND CLINICAL MANIFESTATION
There are many causes of head injury in children and adult. The most common traumatic
injuries are from motor vehicle accidents, from fall, violence, or as a result of child abuse.
Subdural hematomas and brain hemorrhages known as intra-parenchymal hemorrhages can
sometimes happen spontaneously in head injury. When the head receive a blow or impact for
example from a blunt object, its normal to feel and getting headache and nausea followed by
dizziness and disoriented right afterwards.
The person who having head injury will have a variety degree of symptom associated
with the severity of the head injury. Below is the most common symptom of a head injury.
However, different individual may experience symptom differently.
1. Mild Head Injury
Bruise or bump in swollen area
Superficial cut in the scalp
Headache
Sensitivity to noise and light
Easy to be irritated
Confusion
Dizziness
Loss of balance
Nausea
Disorientation
Change in sleep pattern
Blurred Vision
Tired Eyes
Tinnitus
Alteration in taste
Lethargy
2. Moderate and Severe Head Injury
Loss of consciousness
Severe Headache
Repeated Nausea and vomiting
Short-term memory problem
Slurred Speech
Ataxia
Sweating
Seizure of Convulsion
Behavior Changes
Blood or clear fluid coming out from the ears or nose
One of the eye pupil will constrict when exposed to light
Open wound
Coma
Vegetative State
Locked-in-syndrome