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Have Stitches On Forehead And It Is Swollen. CT Scan Shows No Brain Injury. Suggestions?
My son was knocked out sunday morning and required 17 stitches from the middle forehead hairline to his left eyebrow. The swelling seems to be getting worse. They did a CT scan and a few dense foreign bodies but no brain injury . We did wake him every 3 hours last night and thru the day today, but he has done a lot of sleeping. Mostly we are worried about so much swelling clear down to his chin . We have been icing it just recently. The weight of anything on his face is pretty painful. He is 32 years old if that matters. Should we be doing anything else?
Sat, 16 Feb 2013
Hello,
The fact that there was no brain injury on CT is a good sign. However am worried about him sleeping so much. If he is not on sedating medications I would expect him to be more alert. Decreased level of consciousness or drowsiness is an indicator of brain injury.
The external swelling may be more alarming to look at, but does not really matter in long run. once the inflammation subsides it will go off. The routine anti-inflammatory medications should be able to take care of that.
If drowsiness persists, then scan may have to be repeated. If foreign bodies are not metallic, I would prefer a MRI scan.
Good luck.
The fact that there was no brain injury on CT is a good sign. However am worried about him sleeping so much. If he is not on sedating medications I would expect him to be more alert. Decreased level of consciousness or drowsiness is an indicator of brain injury.
The external swelling may be more alarming to look at, but does not really matter in long run. once the inflammation subsides it will go off. The routine anti-inflammatory medications should be able to take care of that.
If drowsiness persists, then scan may have to be repeated. If foreign bodies are not metallic, I would prefer a MRI scan.
Good luck.
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