Symptoms of a subdural haematoma

The symptoms of asubdural haematomacan develop soon after a severe head injury, or gradually over days or weeks after a more minor head injury.

Sometimes you may not remember hitting your head at all.

Symptoms of a subdural haematoma can include:

• a Headaches that keeps getting worse
• feeling and being sick
• confusion
• personality changes, such as being unusually aggressive or having rapid mood swings
• feeling drowsy and finding it difficult to keep your eyes open
• speech problems, such as slurred speech
• problems with your vision, such asdouble vision
• paralysis (loss of movement) on one side of the body
• problems walking and frequent falls
• seizures (fits)
• loss of consciousness

These symptoms can often be mistaken for other conditions, such as strokes , infections or dementia .

What to do

You should always seekemergency medical treatment after a severe head injury . Go to your nearest accident and emergency (A&E) department , or dial 999 to request an ambulance.

If you develop the symptoms above any time after a minor head injury, or if you don't remember hitting your head, you should also go to your nearest A&E department or call 999 for an ambulance as soon as possible.

A subdural haematoma can be very serious and needs to be assessed as quickly as possible. .