Symptoms

The symptoms of a subdural haematoma can 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 headache 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 as double vision
• paralysis (loss of movement) on one side of the body
• problems walking and frequent falls
• fits (seizures)
• loss of consciousness

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

What to do

You should always seek emergency 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 listed above any time after a minor head injury, or 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.

Read more about diagnosing subdural haematomas.

Page last reviewed: Mon May 2021 Next review due: Wed Feb 2020