Hit Forehead And Have Bump. Having Soft Spot, Redness And Pain. Should I Be Worried?

Posted on Thu, 24 Oct 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Thu, 24 Oct 2013 Answered on

Sat, 9 Nov 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : I hit my forehead on Saturday and the bump that was left was a little bigger than a baseball but had an indented soft spot in the center. The bump is gone but the soft spot is still there and is also red and painful I get head aches and it hurts even more if I look towards the ground is there anything I should be worried about.

Answered by Dr. K. Naga Ravi Prasad (55 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
It could be a soft tissue Hematoma.

Detailed Answer:
Hi, thanks for writing to XXXXXXX

Based on the description and symptoms, I suspect that you could have suffered a Soft tissue Hematoma (blood clot). This generally is self limiting and usually heals spontaneously within 2-3 weeks.

An xray of the injured area is necessary to rule out any fracture of the frontal bone of the skull. As you are also experiencing headache,(to be on the safer side) it is wise to undergo a CT scan of the brain to exclude any intracranial pathology (which may be unlikely in your case).

The general treatment guidelines of a Hematoma is as follows -

- Protect the injured area from further injury by using some form of soft padding
- Use an elastic compression bandage around the injured area to limit any swelling
- Use simple analgesics like Ibuprofen, Diclofenac or Naproxen as needed.
- Ice packing the painful area for 10-15 minutes once in 3 hours. Ice will help calm the inflammatory response and stimulate blood flow to the area.

If you are still concerned, consult your PCP for further evaluation and management.

Hope I have addressed your query. Happy to help further

Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar