Head injury — advice for parents & carers
What to look out for, and how to help your child recover, after a head injury.
We have examined your child and it is safe for them to go home. Serious problems after a head injury are uncommon, but can sometimes develop over the first few days. Please read this, keep it handy, and watch your child closely.
Your care details
To be completed by the team before you leave.
These can mean bleeding or swelling inside the head and need an ambulance.
- Knocked out again, or very hard to wake or keep awake
- A fit or seizure (convulsion)
- Weakness in an arm or leg, or trouble speaking or understanding
- New confusion, or they do not know where they are
- A baby with a bulging soft spot, a high-pitched or non-stop cry, or who will not feed
- Their breathing changes, or they go blue or grey
Bring them back to the ED or the urgent service named above — these do not need an ambulance.
- Being sick (vomiting) more than once after coming home
- A headache that will not go away, or that keeps getting worse
- Sleepy for more than 1 hour when they would normally be wide awake
- Trouble walking or balancing, or any problem with their eyesight
- Clear fluid or bleeding from an ear or the nose
- You cannot watch over them at home, or you are worried and cannot get advice
For the first 24–48 hours
- Do not leave them alone for the first 24 hours.
- Keep a phone nearby in case you need help.
- No cycling, scooter or skateboard until completely better.
- For pain, give paracetamol or ibuprofen if they can take them.
Symptoms that are usually nothing to worry about
These are common and normally settle within about 2 weeks:
See your GP if you are worried in the first few days, or symptoms last beyond 2 weeks.
Getting back to normal
- Rest for 2–3 days, then ease back to school as symptoms allow.
- Start light activity (no contact) once they feel better.
- Avoid contact sport for 3–4 weeks, until a health professional confirms full recovery. After a skull fracture, avoid it for 4–6 weeks.
Longer-term recovery
Most children recover fully. A few have symptoms lasting longer (sometimes called post-concussion). In a baby this may show as more crying, or changes in feeding or sleeping. See your GP if symptoms last beyond 2 weeks or you are worried. For support, visit the Child Brain Injury Trust or Headway.
Watching your child at home
- A responsible adult should stay with your child for the next 24 hours and be able to get them back to hospital if needed.
- It is fine to let your child sleep. You do not need to wake them hourly, but check they are breathing normally and rouse as usual.
- Keep them off sport, rough play and screens for the first day or two, and let them return gradually as they feel better.
- Tell their school or nursery about the head injury so they know what to watch for.