If you suffer from any sort of blow to the head, you need to take immediate stock of your physical state and see a doctor quickly. A doctor will take a look and determine the level of medical care you need, which will differ depending on the level of injury you suffered from.
You can start by understanding the potential signs of a traumatic brain injury, which can range from mild to severe and may cause significant disruption in your ability to function.
Effects of mild TBIs
Mayo Clinic discusses the potential signs tied to traumatic brain injury. For mild injuries, you may even struggle to realize something feels wrong at first. Most victims of this type of injury will experience relatively moderate headaches that may go away with time, some mental fuzziness and perhaps unexplained exhaustion. Some people do not experience any side effects at all.
Moderate to severe TBI impacts
Moderate to severe injuries have a much more notable impact, though. This type of injury can lead to periods of unconsciousness or even a comatose state, excruciating headaches that get worse over time, ringing in the ear, nerve damage, and even bleeding from the ears or nose.
You may also lose cerebrospinal fluid from the ears or nose. This clear fluid surrounds the brain within the skull, and if it leaks, that is a sign of major damage present.
However, it is impossible to tell exactly how severe a brain injury is until your doctor sees you. Thus, after any blow to the head, you should seek medical attention no matter how “fine” you feel at the time.