People at risk

• Alcoholic, chronic or acute intoxication and the taking of drugs are highly exposed to cranial traumas (falls, road accidents, etc.).
• If everyone can be affected one day or another, young men between 15 and 30 years are the most frequently affected, especially by road accidents. Before 5 years and after 70 years, head trauma occurs by a fall mechanism.
• For equal trauma, women seem more exposed in terms of sequelae and speed of recovery.
• Taking anticoagulant (or aspirin) constitutes an additional risk in the event of head trauma (fall in the elderly in particular).
• The lack of protection (helmet) also exposes people to head trauma (cyclists, motorcyclists, public works, etc.)
• Babies, when subjected to shaking (shaken baby syndrome)
• The existence of a genetic susceptibility (presence of an unfavorable protein factor) which would slow down recovery capacities.

Symptoms 

They depend on the intensity of the initial trauma and the injuries caused. Apart from pain and local lesions in the scalp (wound, hematoma, bruise, etc.), head trauma can be accompanied by:

• In initial loss of consciousness with a gradual return to consciousness. The duration of the loss of consciousness is important to know.
• On the immediately coma, in other words the absence of return to consciousness after the initial loss of consciousness. This phenomenon is present in half of severe head injuries. It is attributed to axonal ruptures, ischemia or edema occurring diffuse in the brain. In addition to the persistent duration of the coma and the data from the imaging examinations, the severity of a head trauma is also estimated by the use of the so-called Glasgow scale (Glasgow test) which makes it possible to assess the depth of the coma. .
• On the secondary coma or loss of consciousness, in other words which occur at a distance from the accident. They correspond to the onset of brain damage. This is the case with extradural hematomas, for example, which can occur up to 24 to 48 hours sometimes after the head trauma because they are formed gradually.
• De nausea et vomiting, which should encourage caution when returning home to a conscious person after a shock to the skull. They require monitoring for several hours.
• Various neurological disorders: paralysis, aphasia, ocular mydriasis (excessive dilation of one pupil in relation to the other)