We’ve all been there. You’re walking and slip on ice, hitting your head in the fall. You’re walking to the bathroom at night and misjudge the door. Your baby swings forward and headbutts you. You’re in a car crash and hit your head on the headrest. Most minor head injuries are nothing to worry about.
However, there are times you should be concerned. The brain is delicate and floats within the skull. When you take a blow to the head, the brain may bounce against your skull, causing trauma you don’t realize is a problem for hours or days afterward.
Protect yourself or your loved one by knowing when to go to urgent care after a head injury. Urgent care isn’t always the best solution, so it’s just as important to know when to go to the hospital’s emergency department. Knowing when to swap the ice pack for an Urgent Care visit (or an ER trip) is the difference between a standard recovery and a medical emergency.
The Problem With Head Injuries
Your brain is composed of 60% fat and 40% carbohydrates, protein, salts, and water. Blood vessels and nerves run through it. All of this is organized into two portions. The gray matter is the outer portion, while the white matter is the inner portion. Together, these structures form a soft mass connected to the spinal cord through the brainstem and located within the skull.
When you hit your head on something, the impact causes the brain to bounce around inside the skull. This impact can lead to significant problems, such as bruising of the brain and broken blood vessels that allow blood to pool and put pressure on the brain.
Most head injuries are minor and don’t cause serious damage. Instead, you may end up with a concussion. It’s a minor traumatic brain injury that temporarily affects some brain function.
Concussions: Things You Need to Know
Concussions are hard to detect on imaging like CT scans. The brain will look normal, without a contusion (bruise) or brain bleed. But the brain still suffered an injury. That injury affects brain function for a time.
Someone with a concussion might experience:
- Brain fog/confusion
- Dizziness
- Headaches
- Irritability
- Sensitivity to light and noise
- Sleep disturbances
Usually, the brain heals, and symptoms resolve within a week. However, dizziness and headaches may persist for several weeks. Having someone with you to monitor for signs of trouble is essential.
A Concussion Monitoring Checklist
After a concussion, the patient shouldn’t be alone for the first 24 hours. Ideally, you want someone around for a few days. This checklist shows what to do and what signs to look for.
- First 12 Hours – Check for mental clarity and signs of physical issues every 2 hours.
- 13 to 24 Hours – Check for mental clarity every 4 hours.
- 25 to 48 Hours – Check for delayed symptoms such as irritability or confusion every 6 to 8 hours.
You specifically want to look for:
- Blood from the ears or nose
- Brain fog/confusion
- Difficulty remembering common details, such as what year it is
- Double vision
- Headaches that worsen
- Irritability
- Nausea
- Problems finding the right words
- Problems with balance
- Pupil dilation or unevenness
- Slurred speech
Any signs of worsening symptoms or symptoms that don’t improve should have you going straight to urgent care. If the patient seems to be improving or doing well, continue helping that person recover.
- Avoid anything with alcohol or use drugs.
- Don’t use a computer, phone, tablet, or TV, essentially anything with a blue screen.
- Follow a BRAT (bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast) diet.
- Minimize noise.
- Rest and avoid any physical activity.
- Stay hydrated.
- Use acetaminophen for a headache.
Know When to Go to Urgent Care
The first two days after a minor head injury are essential. Some blows to the head are fine to treat at home. Other injuries require a doctor’s diagnosis and treatment plan. Urgent care is an affordable, convenient option for several reasons.
Urgent care doctors can order scans or refer you to a specialist, which gets you in to see the specialist sooner than usual. Doctors are available later into the evening and on weekends. That makes urgent care a wise choice for treating head injuries.
After a head injury, you may feel a bit more tired than normal or have a headache. If a headache keeps worsening, go to urgent care. You also want to go to urgent care if you experience any of the following:
- Dizziness that doesn’t subside
- Extreme drowsiness
- Feel like something is off
- Involuntary muscle twitches
- Numbness or weakness, especially if it’s only on one side
- Repetitive nausea and vomiting
- Seizures
- Small cuts that need sutures
- Uneven pupils
Some groups should go to urgent care as a precaution. They include:
- Athletes
- Infants and young children
- Older adults (65+)
- People who’ve had one or more concussions already
Know When the Emergency Department Is Best
Each year, around 1 million people go to the emergency room after a head injury. Most are treated and sent home.
While urgent care is faster and less expensive, and staffed by doctors and nurses who are experts in head injuries, there are times when the emergency room is best. Go straight to the ER if you’re experiencing:
- Complicated healing because you take blood thinners
- Excessive vomiting
- A larger cut that won’t stop bleeding
- Loss of consciousness
- Severe confusion
Trust Your Instincts
Whether your child fell off a bike or your elderly mom fell getting out of the shower, head injuries are alarming. When determining whether to go to urgent care or wait it out at home, trust your instincts. If you’re going to spend a lot of time worrying, go to urgent care for peace of mind.
A doctor can assess the injury, determine if it’s serious or not, and provide you with instructions for care once you’re back home. We feel it’s always better to be safe than sorry. Come to Premium Urgent Care for an assessment of your head injury.
At Premium Urgent Care, we understand how quickly head injuries can progress. That’s why we’re happy to see you, your child, your friend, or another loved one after a bump to the head. It’s likely nothing, but why risk it?
Walk in and be seen as quickly as possible. If you’d like to save time, our online check-in is available and gets you in line before you arrive. We also have the paperwork available online to print, complete at home, and bring with you. When you go to the registration desk, you won’t have to worry about filling out forms in the waiting room when you’re anxious and might make a mistake.