A skull fracture means some sort of head injury has broken your skull bone. And it usually requires a significant force to cause this very tough bone to break, frequently as the result of falls, automobile accidents, physical assaults or sports.
Not all skull fractures are accompanied by brain damage, but those that are may involve severe nervous system and mental health insults.
When a skull fracture occurs around a major blood vessel, life threatening brain bleeding can occur. And blood clots and hematoma can form, causing your brain tissue to be compressed. Both of which can contribute to these general fractured skull symptoms, like:
- amnesia
- headache
- confusion
- drowsiness
- concussion
- convulsions
- neck stiffness
- vision changes
- slurred speech
- cerebral edema
- unconsciousness
- balance difficulties
- nausea & vomiting
- restlessness, irritability
- wound, ear, nose bleeding
However, your only symptom may be a bump or bruise, which may not even crop up until the next day.
A basilar, aka basal, skull fracture means the fracture is somewhere around the base of your skull. The base is considered the part around your ears, eyes, nose and spine.
Basilar fractures have several symptoms unique to this type of fractured skull, including:
- ataxia
- nystagmus
- facial palsy
- hearing loss
- loss of smell
- facial nerve damage
- blindness, double vision
- bruising behind ears, around eyes
- nose & ear cerebrospinal fluid leakage
Most basal skull fractures tend to heal themselves without treatment. Yet, an antibiotic may be given because of an increased risk for meningitis resulting from your basilar skull fracture.
A depressed skull fracture means a portion of your skull is crushed in toward the brain. This fractured skull type can be very serious because displaced broken bones may cause damage to your brain and its surrounding delicate tissue. And permanent impairment could result due to this brain injury.
Two primary health concerns with a depressed skull fracture are the development of an infection and a brain abscess. Treatment for a depressed skull fracture may entail removal of foreign material, replacing displaced bones to their rightful position and stoppage of any excessive bleeding.
Linear skull fractures are the most common type of fractured skulls. It is a undistorted break in your skull bone that resembles a thin line. Linear type fractured skulls often cause few symptoms.
Linear fractures generally require no specific form of fractured skull treatment. Although you can speed up the self healing process a bit by consuming a balanced diet, paying particular attention to consuming an adequate amount of calcium. This nutritional advice applies to any bone fracture.