A head, neck, or back injury can be very serious. The symptoms of a head injury include drowsiness or confusion, vomiting and nausea, blurred vision, |pupils| of different size, loss of consciousness (temporarily or for long periods), amnesia or memory lapses, irritability, |headache|, and |bleeding| of the scalp if the skin is broken. The symptoms of a neck or back injury include pain in neck or back, and |paralysis| or difficulty in moving. The treatment for these injuries is the same. Always assume that all injuries to the head, including the face, neck or back, may also involve damage to the |spinal cord|. Immediately call for an ambulance or medical help. Avoid moving the patient if at all possible. If the victim is unable to breathe and is lying face down, obtain assistance from several people to carefully support and roll the entire body to one side. Give |mouth|-to-mouth breathing if the victim is not breathing but has a heartbeat. If no pulse, begin CPR if you are trained to do so, and don't stop CPR until medical assistance arrives.
