Young person with a red mark on his forehead is sitting next to a bench at the side of a badminton court as a player look on.

How confident do you feel about helping someone who has a head injury?

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Nick is smiling.

Nick and Simon are playing badminton, when Simon falls and hits his head on a bench. Simon needs help and Nick knows just what to do.

Young person with a red mark on his forehead is sitting next to a bench at the side of a badminton court as a player look on.

Simon and I often play badminton together – it’s a tough workout and a good laugh. We were practising for a doubles match when Simon dived to save a shot.

Young person with a red mark on his forehead is sitting next to a bench at the side of a badminton court as a player look on.

He fell badly – hitting his head on the gym bench on the way down. It looked like a nasty fall so I went over straight away to check if he was okay.

Young person with a red mark on his forehead is sitting next to a bench at the side of a badminton court as a player look on.

Simon said his head hurt and he could feel a bump coming up. It must have been painful to hit his head like that. He hadn’t cut himself though and he didn’t seem to be hurt anywhere else.

Seated young person holds an ice pack wrapped in a cloth to his head. A helper's hand is on the young person's shoulder.

I quickly grabbed an ice pack from the gym’s reception and headed back to sit with Simon.

Seated young person holds an ice pack wrapped in a cloth to his head. A helper's hand is on the young person's shoulder.

I wrapped the ice pack in my spare t-shirt and told him to carefully hold it against the bump on his head.

Nick and Simon are sitting on the gym floor talking.

I phoned his sister Lucy to see if she could come and pick him up. As we waited for her to arrive I kept talking to Simon.

Nick and Simon are sitting on the gym floor talking.

I wanted to reassure him and make sure he wasn’t confused or starting to feel sick or dizzy. I knew those were signs that his head injury might be more serious.

Nick and Simon are sitting on the gym floor talking.

When Lucy arrived I told her what had happened. I also let her know what the signs of a more serious head injury were so that she could keep an eye on Simon at home.

Nick decided Simon needed help. How do you think you would react in a similar situation?

Why is it important to apply something cold to a head injury?

To reduce swelling and pain To keep the person cool To keep the injury clean
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Watch this animation to see how the key action works.

Young person with a red mark on his forehead is sitting next to a bench at the side of a badminton court as a player look on.
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If you think someone may have a more serious head injury, what are some of the signs to look for?

Confusion Feeling sick Drowsiness All of these
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Young person with a red mark on his forehead is sitting next to a bench at the side of a badminton court as a player look on.

How confident do you feel about helping someone who has a head injury?

0
Not at all
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Totally
Seated young person holds an ice pack wrapped in a cloth to his head. A helper's hand is on the young person's shoulder.

Take action: If someone has a head injury, apply something cold to the injury.

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