Hi. I just got a scalp laceration from blunt force--I fell. It's on the back of my head so I can't see it, and my camera couldn't get a good shot through my hair. I'm in a foreign country, so I'm not sure I should go to the emergency room or even tell my host family. I'm 18 years old. I felt a little shaky, but I can't tell if that just stress or a bigger brain issue. Otherwise, the other symptoms Google told me to watch out for haven't manifested--bad balance, vomiting, etc. It's been about 45 minutes since the injury, and I have a pounding, acute headache, and the laceration is still bleeding, but slowing down from the gushing it was doing earlier. I don't feel a big bump on my head where the cut is... please help! I don't know anyone here very well, and don't speak much of the language either. Home care would be best, but I'm afraid if I don't get stitches or something, it'll get worse. Please help!

Just go to the emergency room... seriously. If you got smacked hard enough in the head to make you dizzy and make it bleed... then it ranks up there high enough to justify an ER visit.

The problem is my host family is leaving soon to go traveling in a different country--like, they're leaving tonight. And I'm going to live with some random family for a few days, and I don't know them at all. Should I tell my family now, and ruin/delay their trip? Or wait till I'm with the people I'll have just met, and have them take care of it? Or just try to keep the whole thing to myself...

If you have a bad concussion you might to to sleep tonight and not wake up in the morning would that be important enough?

If you have a bad concussion you might to to sleep tonight and not wake up in the morning would that be important enough?

Thank you. I'll go ruin my host family's vacation now. I'm worth it, right?

If you have an ACUTE headache after being smacked hard in the head... and it hasn't faded or got worse... then yeah it might be serious... concussions can be very serious.

If you broke you finger... that can wait... if you got a concussion... you don't want to wait.