How Long Can You Live While You Have Internal Brain Bleeding?

There are a lot of variables involved in surviving damage to the brain. If you were bleeding heavily, you could die within a number of minutes. Minute bleeding may not cause any problem and you would be able to live a normal life span. The location of the bleeding may also be important. Furthermore, blood causes swelling of the brain tissue, known as edema. This blood can pool, forming a hematoma. This puts pressure on the brain and kills brain cells as well as reducing blood flow. It can lead to stroke, severe headaches, seizures, weakness in an arm or leg, lethargy, nausea, vomiting, tingling or numbness in the body, changes in vision, trouble speaking or understanding, problems reading or writing, difficulty swallowing, hand tremors, loss of coordination or balance, loss of consciousness, or brain damage. Hemorrhaging can also cause a slow or stop of cerebral spinal fluid, causing hydrocephalus. This can result in coma or death.

The doctor can run a number of imaging tests that can reveal internal bleeding or a hematoma. Neurological exams can also show swelling of the optic never. Blood tests and lumbar punctures can show that the cerebral spinal fluid and blood is mixing, as well. Treatment may include medication such as painkillers, corticosteroids, or diuretics to reduce the swelling and anticonvulsants to treat seizures. Enzymatic drugs may be used to treat any blood clots that have formed. The problem may be treated through the use of a catheter passed into the blood vessels to widen or close off blood vessels without brain surgery. Surgery may need to be performed if there is no other treatment available. In this case a craniotomy will be done. An incision is made to lift the skin away from a portion of the skull and a small window is cut in the skull. This will allow the surgeon to treat the bleeding. The piece of bone will be put back in place either during this surgery or later if there is too much swelling, and the incision stitched or stapled closed.

The best course of action for head injuries is to see the doctor, even if you feel fine.

This depends on the severity of the bleeding, as well as the location of the bleeding. You can have tiny little bleeds that have very little impact. You can live out your full lifetime with these and not even know they occurred. At the opposite end of the spectrum, you can have massive, huge bleeds that can result in death within a matter of minutes. The most important thing is that if you have a head injury, it is always wise to go seek medical attention immediately to get it checked out. Sometimes you will think you are fine. You may not feel anything at all, but you can still be bleeding inside of your brain. Then suddenly you may develop an excruciating headache and can die shortly thereafter if you are not treated soon enough. People who have had concussions (Bruises to their brains from the brain bouncing around in the skull after they hit their head) are more likely to have a more severe response even to minor injuries if they hurt their heads again within a short amount of time after the injury. For this reason, after any head injury, it is important to be careful to wait awhile before returning to sports or other activities that may possibly cause the head to be injured again.

Cheryl BryantBruce, M.D.
Elite Personal Physician Services, Inc.

If a person has a stroke and the brain has a bleeding mass how long will they live if it is not stopped?

Internal brain bleeding is very dangerous and  can cause brain death. If brain is dead then are history. Its good that your mind is working and you posted the question here but still its better you go to your doctor for complete checkup.

I was kneeling down when a ceramic doll fell on and hit my head.  It was bleeding on the scalp in three spots, but I don't have a headache, at least not one severe enough to even classify as one.  Do I have internal brain bleeding?

I had a brain bleed for 2 weeks before I collapsed, I just couldn't take any more pain.

I never have headaches until I got this one, it was horrendous and every time I coughed or sneezed it felt like my right eye and top of my head were going to burst.

Don't be fobbed off by your Doctor, mine told me it was "just" blood pressure and for 2 weeks that was what he treated me for, back and forward every other day to him, he was useless.

I got 4 coils fitted and I came out after 10 days in intensive care and 7 days on the ward and I am just fine now, tired easy though and a bit forgetful but my god I can take that but not that headache.

You will know when you get this headache, the only way I can describe the pain is like a tooth abscess, if you have had one of those, transfer that pain to your head and multiply it over the area, that's what it was like, out of 10 I would say the pain was a 9.

DON'T HESITATE, get it sorted if any doubt, I was lucky and I was told that 1 in 3 don't even make it to the hospital so BE QUICK!!

How long can the human body function without the human brain?

I don't know... You can DIE when you have internal hemorrhage