Subdural haematoma
Overview
A subdural haematoma is bleeding inside the brain usually caused by a head injury. It can be very serious and usually has to be treated with surgery.
Symptoms
A subdural haematoma can happen after a head injury. The symptoms may start straight away, or come on gradually over a few weeks. Symptoms of a subdural haematoma include: a bad headache that does not get better after taking painkillersfeeling and being sickconfusion and memory problemschanges in personality, such as being unusually aggressivedrowsinessslurred speech and problems with swallowingproblems with vision, like blurred or double visionloss of balance and having fallshaving problems moving one side of your body (paralysis)seizures (fits)loss of consciousness – the person affected may not respond when you talk to, or touch them; this may just last for a few moments or could be much longer
Treatment
If you’ve had a serious head injury, you may need a brain scan, such as aCT scanorMRI scan, to check if you have a subdural haematoma. If you have a small haematoma that’s only causing mild symptoms, you may be monitored and given no treatment, or given medicines to reduce the swelling in your brain. But most people with a haematoma will need surgery to remove it. There are 2 ways surgery can be done: the surgeon cuts open a small section of your skull to remove the haematoma and the cut is then sealedthe surgeon drills some small holes (called Burr holes) in your skull, and the haematoma is sucked out through the holes