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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Double Vision After Hitting The Head?

my wife had a fall and hit her head, picked her up and sat her on the couch. she said she was fine went to take her to bed and she fell again. she was out of it for a few seconds. took her to the couch again, she said she was seeing double. stayed up for about twenty minutes. she said her head did not hurt anymore, took her to bed. what should i do?
Mon, 28 Aug 2017
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Neurologist, Surgical 's  Response
Hi, thanks for asking from HCM.


I can understand your concern. Your wife had head injury. Most probably she had concussion. She had double vision due to headache and concussion. It will settle. Her history is not suggesting dangerous (red flag) signs of head injury which are

- Vomiting
- Seizures
- Weakness in limbs
- Progressively worsening headache which is not responding to painkillers
- Altered consciousness or loss of consciousness for more than 5 minutes
- Spontaneous bleed through ear, nose or throat without injury.

If any of these signs occur, then you must take her to ER as soon as possible. NCCT head is needed urgently to rule out intracranial bleed or skull bone fracture. Further treatment will depend upon the diagnosis. Usually small bleed or fracture are managed conservatively. Large bleed which is causing deterioration in neurological status, should be surgical treated.

In your wife case, as these signs are not present, you can wait. For her pain, you can

- Apply icepack at injury site
- Keep head at higher level than chest
- Avoid any sedating drug
- Give her painkiller like Tylenol or diclofenac for few days after prescription. Headache increases on forward bending due to increased blood supply in scalp and increased swelling. So head elevation is preferred.
- Avoid pressure at pain site

If still no relief, you can consult doctor for strong painkiller and examination. But you should not worry. She will be alright.

Hope it will help. If still having doubts, do let me know.
Thanks. Take care.
Dr Ishu Bishnoi
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What Causes Double Vision After Hitting The Head?

Hi, thanks for asking from HCM. I can understand your concern. Your wife had head injury. Most probably she had concussion. She had double vision due to headache and concussion. It will settle. Her history is not suggesting dangerous (red flag) signs of head injury which are - Vomiting - Seizures - Weakness in limbs - Progressively worsening headache which is not responding to painkillers - Altered consciousness or loss of consciousness for more than 5 minutes - Spontaneous bleed through ear, nose or throat without injury. If any of these signs occur, then you must take her to ER as soon as possible. NCCT head is needed urgently to rule out intracranial bleed or skull bone fracture. Further treatment will depend upon the diagnosis. Usually small bleed or fracture are managed conservatively. Large bleed which is causing deterioration in neurological status, should be surgical treated. In your wife case, as these signs are not present, you can wait. For her pain, you can - Apply icepack at injury site - Keep head at higher level than chest - Avoid any sedating drug - Give her painkiller like Tylenol or diclofenac for few days after prescription. Headache increases on forward bending due to increased blood supply in scalp and increased swelling. So head elevation is preferred. - Avoid pressure at pain site If still no relief, you can consult doctor for strong painkiller and examination. But you should not worry. She will be alright. Hope it will help. If still having doubts, do let me know. Thanks. Take care. Dr Ishu Bishnoi