how bad is a head bump?

[gadoty1]

I am not on coumadin yet but will probably be soon. I read thru the warfarin.com site and it eased a lot of my fears accept for the part where it talks about if you bump your head it can take a few days to find out for sure if you are ok. It says you should be very careful with head injuries and always get them checked. My question is if I bump my head on my car door while getting out of it (like i did yesterday), will i have to go get it checked every time and then wonder for a week if i'm ok? i am pretty clumsy and hit my head at least a time or two a month. I'm sure when i'm on coumadin i will notice even more when i bump myself. I have 2 young kids too and they are pretty rough with me, pretty sure i have had my nose cracked from being head butted in it a few times. I already get bruised pretty easily from being on aspirin daily. How bad is it really? How did you feel when you first came home from the hospital? Does the coumadin have any other side effects for you short or long term? I am scared that i will already be weak and crappy feeling from having a valve replacement and having to add coumadin on top of that will just be that much worse. Or do you not even notice you're on anything, just have to get use to taking it and testing?

 

[Ross]

I would say no, not unless you feel funny. I've bashed mine on the door frame good enough to bleed externally and still had no problems other then one heck of a goose egg and a headache.

Coumadin is like taking an aspirin. Your not going to have any side effects or even knowledge that you took it outside of having your INR tested.

 

[dick0236]

Head bumps normally will not cause problems. Over the years I have had a bunch of head bumps and scrapes from wrestling with the kids, to falls, to backing into an operating ceiling fan (took a couple of stitches), two pretty serious auto accidents and others I have forgotten. None have caused more than bad headaches. Coumadine is more an inconvenience than a "life controlling" bogeyman.

Your last sentence put it very well, "you just have to get used to it". Its kinda like flossing your teeth. That's good for your dental health but it is a pain in the *%#'. As a dental hygienist you can appreciate that.

 

[Jkm7]

I've had two OHS in four years. The first I did not come home on coumadin. The second I was placed on coumadin for 2 1/2 months (supposed to be three but surgeon stopped it early.) . I felt no side effect whatsoever from coumadin. Would not have known I added a new medication other than for the testing.

 

[catwoman]

If I hit my head against a door (been there, done that), that's no big deal.

However, if I were to slip, fall and hit my head on the floor pretty darned hard, I think I would get it checked out, warfarin or no warfarin.