Any fall is frightening, and it becomes even more so when your client hits their head. Any knock on the head must be attended to, even if there is no bleeding and your client seems to be okay.

Your client may adamantly deny knocking their head during the fall, but you must make the paramedics and doctor aware that this has happened so that your client can be checked out.

After a hospital stay, and on return home you may notice some changes in your client’s behaviour and their mood swings.

A study done by Welsh scientists suggests that even a small bang on the head can start a ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ change effect in a person’s personality.

What often happens with a bump on the head is that the person loses the ability to show any empathy to other people, and this can be a stressful situation for all concerned.

What about when my client becomes nicer?

Although this is not the ‘norm’ with a bump on the head, it does happen to some people. Similarly, when some people start talking in another language after a bump this can happen, but it is not the norm.

As far as your client becoming nicer after a bump on the head, this can very often be put down to the fact that they have just found out how much they value you as their carer!

Suddenly, you achieve a higher status because you are there when friends and family go home. You stay with them through the night, and you are there in the morning. Somewhere in their minds they realise that they cannot do without you.

In the blink of an eye, your less than nice client is suddenly calm, kind, and sweet! Don’t you wish that would last!

Will it last?

Unfortunately, this phase does not last. As your client improves, they become more independent again and realise that they can do things without you. This makes you in their eyes, less important than when they were ill and totally depended on you.

How long will it last?

This recovery stage after a bump on the head can last from one week to several months depending on the severity of the knock and how fast the client recovers.

Your client may go through good times and less than good times as they recover, and they may be frustrated by things that they can no longer do.

Unfortunately, just as your client went overnight from being mean to sweet and kind, the reverse can also happen. Literally overnight you may be on the receiving end of that temper and frustration again.

Final thoughts

It would be lovely if every client, on bumping their heads, became a nicer person and stayed that way. Often their personalities may change this way, but it will not last.

As they recover from a bump on the head they will return to their original characteristics and may even be a little grumpier!

So, enjoy any positive changes in personality while you can, and then be prepared to resume your relationship as it was before the bump. You will need plenty of patience as they recover but perhaps they will realise that you are still there to help them and keep them safe.

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