Diagnosis of Head injury

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Head injury is usually diagnosed based on the events leading to the injury, for example being hit on the head by an object or falling off a bicycle and bumping your head. If you canâ€™t remember what happened, ask someone who saw your accident to describe it to you, so you can tell the doctor. As well as physical symptoms such as dizziness and pain, in cases of closed injuries there may be a bump or swelling on the head that can be felt by your GP or a doctor in A&E.

Penetrating head injuries usually cause a lot of bleeding as well as a break in the skull that you can see. In cases of serious head injury, there may also be cognitive (to do with thinking) and emotional symptoms such as loss of memory or in the long term, behavioural symptoms such as becoming more easily irritated.

A computerised tomography scan (CT scan) may be needed to look for any swelling, bruising or bleeding in the brain. Head X-ray may be taken to see if there has been any damage to the skull.

You may also be assessed using the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), which is a system for working out how badly your brain is hurt, following head injury. It scores you according to your symptoms, such as fits, bruising, and if the skull is fractured.

In cases of severe head injury, your blood pressure, heart rate and breathing will be monitored. Depending on how your head got injured, you may be given further tests to see if other parts of your body are damaged, for example you may have a neck or chest X-ray.