After Bob Saget’s Death, a Q&A on Head Injuries

Feb. 10, 2022 — With the latest information that comic Bob Saget’s dying was resulting from head trauma, apparently from an unintentional blow to the pinnacle, medical doctors say any damage to the pinnacle must be taken critically.

Head accidents embody any injury to the cranium, scalp, or mind attributable to trauma. When the mind is affected, it’s known as a traumatic mind damage, or TBI. About 1.7 million folks within the U.S. every year have a TBI. Many others have much less severe head accidents.

Saget, 65, died Jan. 9 in Orlando, FL. Law enforcement authorities stated no foul play was concerned and there have been no indicators of medicine. This week, his household stated an investigation concluded he died of a head damage.

“Now that we have the final conclusions from the authorities’ investigation, we felt it only proper that the fans hear those conclusions directly from us,” the household stated, in keeping with revealed reviews. “They have concluded that he accidentally hit the back of his head on something, thought nothing of it and went to sleep. No drugs or alcohol were involved.”

To higher perceive how head accidents can flip lethal, and what to look at for, WebMD requested for recommendation from Joshua Marcus, MD, a neurosurgeon who makes a speciality of stroke and mind hemorrhage at Nuvance Health System, in Danbury, CT, and Ben Hoffman, MD, professor of pediatrics at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland.

How can a head damage be deadly?

“If you hit your head within the ‘unsuitable’ location, you may injure or tear a blood vessel within the mind,” Marcus says. “That is a reasonably uncommon incidence,” he says, but it surely does occur. ”That bleeding can result in elevated stress within the mind and that may be deadly.

“As the bleeding progresses, that elevated stress can have an effect on your respiration. Essentially your respiration stops because of that stress and its results on the mind.”

What ought to adults do proper after a head damage?

”There are some regarding signs after you hit your head your must be careful for,” Marcus says.

Headache, nausea, vomiting, and confusion are worrisome signs. If you do not bear in mind the occasion, that places you in danger for a extra severe damage.

Pupil modifications, with uneven or very enlarged pupils, might sign mind injury. That could also be a tough symptom for nonmedical professionals to guage, nevertheless, Hoffman says.

Weakness within the arms or legs, hassle talking, and seizures are all causes to get rapid medical consideration, Marcus says.

As for the recommendation not to fall asleep? “We assume the primary few hours — 2 or 3 — are pretty crucial [to decide if it’s serious or not],” Marcus says.

During that point, extra signs might develop, prompting the particular person to hunt medical care. Avoiding sleep for a couple of hours is really useful.

What ought to be achieved if a toddler suffers a head damage?

First, the excellent news.

“In basic, children are usually very resilient,” Hoffman says. “For essentially the most half, they bounce. I imply that in a great way.”

Consider the autumn’s circumstances. Falling off a roof may be very totally different than falling off a mattress onto a carpet, he says.

As with adults, it is very important monitor signs. Vomiting and altered psychological standing ”no less than warrant a cellphone name to the physician if not an ER journey,” Hoffman says.

Loss of consciousness is commonly related to concussion and wishes rapid consideration.

If signs do not appear severe, observe children for an hour or 2 to see in the event that they return to regular. After that, Hoffman says, it is nice to get some sleep. In basic, he says, it is nice to offer a painkiller like acetaminophen and to place a chilly pack on the realm if it is bruised.

Are some folks extra vulnerable to severe head accidents after a fall or accident?

“We see head trauma extra generally in older sufferers from extra benign sort falls,” Marcus says.

Serious head trauma in youthful folks extra generally occurs after a extreme automotive accident, for example.

If somebody is taking blood thinners or antiplatelet medicines, mind bleeding is extra probably, Marcus says.

What about restoration?

If the damage is a concussion, some signs, similar to issues with focus and imaginative and prescient, can linger for a couple of weeks, Marcus says.

Children with a concussion shouldn’t return to sports activities instantly, Hoffman says.

If any signs worsen, medical consideration is required once more, Marcus says.

As scary as head accidents are, he says, the bulk are gentle.