Prognosis of Head Trauma

People usually develop an injury to their scalp, brain or skull because of a car accident, fall from a high place or impact by an object. Head trauma often only causes a minor external injury, but people with internal head trauma can develop a brain injury.

Prognosis

• Most head injuries are not fatal because people's skull protects them, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. Some people with a severe head injury develop prolonged or permanent speech problems; paralysis; seizures and/or problems with their senses.

Statistics

• About 1.4 million people sustain a traumatic brain injury each year because of a severe head injury, approximately 50,000 of whom die, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Symptoms

• People have a more difficult time recovering from a head injury if they go into a coma; develop amnesia, a contusion or brain hemorrhaging or stop breathing, according to the Neurology Channel.

Home Treatment

• A person has a better chance of recovering from a head injury if you do not move him, perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation on him if he is not breathing and/or apply pressure to his head wound, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Medical Treatment

• Doctors often prescribe diuretics to reduce the amount of bodily fluids in patients with a brain injury. Many people with a traumatic brain injury need to undergo surgery to get damaged blood vessels in their head or brain tissue repaired or pressure in their skull reduced.