Emergency and Urgent Care - Advice for Children following a head injury

General advice following a head injury

Your child has been examined and we feel that he/she are well enough to leave the hospital.

However your child may experience some of the following symptoms:

• Mild headache
• Feeling sick (without vomiting)
• Dizziness
• Irritability or bed temper
• Problems concentrating or with their memory
• Tiredness and problems sleeping
• Lack of appetite

These symptoms should disappear within the next 2 weeks. If you are concerned about any of these symptoms in the first few days after their attendance or if they continue after 2 weeks, you should see a doctor.

Long term problems

Most children recover quickly from their head injuries and experience no long-term problems. However, some children do develop problems after a few weeks or months.

If you start to feel that things are not quite right with your child (e.g. memory problems or not feeling themselves) then please contact your doctor as soon as possible to check that they are recovering properly.

Symptoms to look out for

If your child is affected by any of the following then you are advised to bring them back to the Emergency Department or get someone to take them to the nearest Emergency Department as soon as possible:

• Unconscious or lack of full consciousness (e.g. problems keeping their eyes open)
• Any confusion (not knowing where they are, getting things muddled up)
• Any drowsiness that goes on longer than 1 hour when they would normally be wide awake
• Any problems understanding or speaking
• Any loss of balance or problems walking
• Any weakness in one or both arms or legs
• Any problems with eyesight
• Very painful headache that won’t go away
• Any vomiting
• Any fits (collapsing or passing out suddenly)
• Clear fluid coming out of the ears or nose
• Bleeding from one or both ears
• New deafness in one or both ears
• Difficulty in waking the child up

Things that will help your child get better more quickly

DO’s and DON’T’s

• DO make sure your child stays within easy reach of a telephone and medical help
• DO ensure they have plenty of rest and avoid stressful situations
• DO NOT allow them to stay at home alone for the first 48 hours after leaving hospital
• DO NOT take sleeping pills, sedatives or tranquillizers unless they are fully prescribed by a doctor
• DO NOT play contact sports for at least 3 weeks e.g. rugby martial arts etc
• DO NOT return to normal activities/return to school until you feel they are fully recovered

If you follow the above advice your child should get better more quickly and it may help any symptoms they have go away.

Contact Details

Emergency Department Telephone: 0161 627 8926
The Royal Oldham Hospital, Rochdale Road, Oldham OL1 2JH