Following the news that actor and comedian Bob Saget's cause of death was due to head trauma, doctors are advising the public on what to do after hitting your head.
Saget's family released a statement that was obtained by TMZ and said, "The authorities have determined that Bob passed away from head trauma. They have concluded that he accidentally hit the back of his head on something, thought nothing of it and went to sleep. No drugs or alcohol were involved."
Dr. Erich Anderer, Chief of Neurosurgery at NYU Langone Hospital–Brooklyn, spoke to 1010 WINS to discuss Saget's case and the likelihood of dying from a head injury.
"It's a really sad case, I would say it's fairly uncommon to die of a head injury, particularly given the circumstances that we're hearing about here," Dr. Anderer said. "Where it sounds like it was a relatively benign sort of bump on the head. And then subsequently, obviously, he had a very serious brain injury."
"Overall, head injury is an extremely common problem, I would say it's one of the more common things that we see in emergency rooms," Dr. Anderer said. "I think for hospital admissions, for example, it accounts for almost one in six hospital admissions. It's something that's a very common thing out in the community, so everybody has to have some familiarity I think to deal with these injuries."
Dr. Anderer noted that it usually has to be a violent or hard hit on the head to cause a serious injury or even death, but if you are suffering from any symptoms to go see a doctor. He added that there's no harm in getting a scan done if you are concerned.
CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen spoke to PEOPLE about what can happen to a person's brain after a head injury.
"When you hit your head, you could have bleeding in different ways," Wen said. "An epidural hematoma is a type of brain injury. You can also have a subdural hematoma, another possibility as well."
"A subdural hematoma is a very common hematoma. Both of these are when veins are ripped from a head injury, that causes pooled blood to put pressure on the brain," Wen said.
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It remains unclear what Saget hit his head on prior to his death. Authorities say he could have fell or hit his head on the bed's headboard and didn't think much of the injury before going to sleep.
Wen then gave the proper steps someone should take if they are concerned about a head injury, with her main advice being to "tell someone."
"If you have a substantial head injury, tell someone," Wen said. "Call your doctor if you're particularly worried, but you should at least tell someone, and don't be alone. That way, somebody can help to monitor you and make sure that you're OK."
She noted that certain people should take extra care of themselves if they are at a higher risk for a brain bleed.
"I would err on the side of caution, especially if you are someone at higher risk. For example, if you are on any kind of blood thinners," Wen said. "Also if you are older, you also have a higher risk of bleeding in the brain."
Joshua Marcus, MD, Neurosurgery, Nuvance Health, gave similar advice for those people that are taking blood thinners.
"Patients who are on blood thinners or antiplatelet medication — any type of blood thinner — are high-risk patients who really need to be pretty vigilant any time they hit their head, and really seek medical attention," Marcus said. "We're more aggressive with getting CAT scans for those patients than we would be for younger patients, which is where it's more rare to have catastrophic [head injuries]."
Both doctors advised not to overreact after initially suffering a head injury, do your best to stay awake, and to take it very seriously if symptoms progress.
"If you develop any sort of weakness or numbness or a seizure-like activity, those are obviously signs to immediately seek medical attention and go to an emergency room," Marcus said. "You shouldn't have any motor weakness, shouldn't have real confusion, shouldn't have language trouble."
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