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    What to Do If You Hit Your Head

    Knowing in advance what actions to take can help keep you safe

    person sitting on couch holding both hands to their head as if they have a headache Photo: Ekaterina Goncharova/Getty Images

    Falling and hitting your head can be scary. In the moment, it can be difficult to figure out how serious your injury is, what you should do next, and what symptoms might signal a possible emergency.

    A blow to the head can cause a traumatic brain injury (TBI), bleeding in the brain, a concussion, or a contusion (a bruise on the brain). But quick action can help mitigate some of the most serious potential outcomes. Here, how to assess your personal risk level after a severe head injury, and when you need to call for immediate help.

    What's Your Risk?

    As people age, they may be more likely to fall and hit their head, says Matthew E. Peters, MD, an associate professor in the division of geriatric psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Medicine. That’s in part because your strength, balance, and reflexes may decline with age as well as with conditions such as osteoporosis and arthritis.

    More on Safety

    The risk of a serious head injury is also higher for older adults. One large Israeli study, published in the journal Brain Injury in 2016, found that among all age groups, they were the most likely to be hospitalized with a traumatic brain injury.

    “As you age, the brain tends to stiffen and shrink, which means there’s more room inside the skull for it to move around,” Peters says. “That moving can tear blood vessels, which [with age] are more rigid and likely to tear.”

    Some medications can also increase the likelihood that a head injury will cause bleeding in the brain. These include blood thinners—commonly prescribed to reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke—as well as the regular use of aspirin and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications such as ibuprofen, according to Matthew Robbins, MD, a neurologist at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian. Frequent or excessive alcohol consumption can raise the risk of bleeding as well, Robbins says, along with the risk of falling in the first place.

    Is It an Emergency?

    The first rule of thumb with a possible head injury: When in doubt, don’t hesitate to seek help.

    If you’ve hit your head and are experiencing weakness, numbness, a decrease in coordination, slurred speech, or increased agitation or confusion, call 911 immediately or get someone to call for you. Do the same, Peters advises, if you develop a headache that’s either the worst you’ve ever had or that’s not relieved by acetaminophen. (Consult your doctor before taking an NSAID like ibuprofen after a head injury.) Other red flags include a change in pupil size (the black of your eyes), changes in vision (such as blurriness or double vision), seizures, or a loss of consciousness. People who sustain a skull fracture could experience delayed bleeding, which can “progress in very unpredictable ways minutes, hours, or days after a head injury,” Robbins says.

    If you’re at a particularly high risk of a serious head injury—for one of the reasons detailed above, for example—you should seek emergency care after hitting your head even if your symptoms seem mild, says Ula Hwang, MD, MPH, an emergency medicine doctor at Yale Medicine and professor at Yale’s School of Medicine.

    In a nonemergency situation—you hit your head on a cabinet but otherwise feel normal and aren’t on blood thinners, for example—it’s still wise to check in with your doctor. It’s also a good practice to tell a loved one if you’ve hit your head, even if it seems minor, because the effects of some head injuries can escalate in severity over time.

    How to Prevent Falls

    Simple adjustments to your home can help prevent injuries, according to experts. Here are four tips for a safer space.

    • Remove hazards. Keep clutter off the floor and secure any rugs.
    • Dress for balance. Wear stable, well-fitting shoes, and use your cane or walker if you need one, Hwang recommends.
    • Customize your space. Add railings to your bathtub, shower, and toilet areas, and any stairways in your home.
    • If you need more help, Peters suggests checking to see whether your insurance policy covers fall risk assessments, which are completed at home by an occupational or physical therapist.

    Editor’s Note: This article also appeared in the June 2022 issue of Consumer Reports On Health.


    Ashley-Abramson

    Ashley Abramson

    Ashley Abramson is a freelance writer focused on health and psychology. In addition to Consumer Reports, she's written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Guardian. She lives in Milwaukee with her husband, two young sons, and their pair of pups. When she's not writing, she enjoys good food, movies, and the Lake Michigan views down the street.