Head injury observation instructions for parents and guardians

Following a head injury, your child should be kept under observation for the next 24 hours. If any concern arises that he/she is developing a problem, please seek advice from your GP or this Accident and Emergency Department or, if necessary, make arrangements to bring him/her back to hospital by ambulance, taxi or car.

The signs that you should look out for are:

• increasing drowsiness or confusion
• persisting headache
• vomiting
• weakness of one or more limbs
• difficulty in seeing or breathing
• continuous discharge or bleeding from ear, nose or mouth
• fits
• any other abnormal behaviour.

When your child is sleeping, you should arrange to observe him/her at two-hour intervals to establish:

• Does he/she appear to be breathing normally?
• Is he/she sleeping in a normal posture?
• Does he/she make the expected response when you rouse him/her gently? (e.g. pulling up sheets, cuddling teddy-bear)
• If you cannot satisfy yourself that your child is sleeping normally, he/she should be wakened fully to be checked.