CONCUSSION
CONCUSSION
CONCUSSION
 Concussion
describes an injury to the brain following trauma. Doctors use the term
concussion to describe an injury to the brain that results from an impact to
the head. By definition, a concussion is not a life-threatening injury, but
it can cause both short-term and long-term problems. In medical terms, a
concussion might be described as a closed head injury or head trauma.
Concussions
do not include injuries where there is bleeding under the skull or into the
brain. Another type of brain injury is present if bleeding is visible on a
CT scan of the brain.
A
mild concussion may involve no loss of consciousness (being
"dazed") or a very brief loss of consciousness (being
"knocked out").
A severe concussion may involve prolonged loss of consciousness with a
delayed return to normal.
Symptoms
-
Loss
of consciousness after any trauma to the head
-
Confusion
-
Headache
-
Nausea
or vomiting
-
Blurred
vision
-
Loss
of short-term memory (you may not remember the actual injury and some
time before and after the impact)
-
Perseverating
(repeating the same thing over and over, despite being told the answer
each time, for example, "Was I in an accident?")
When
to Seek Medical Care
Call
the doctor to ask about any of the following situations. The doctor will
recommend home care, set up an appointment to see you, or direct you to go
to a hospital's emergency department.
-
A
person was pushed to the ground or struck a hard object with the head
(for example, tile floor, ice, bathtub) but did not lose consciousness
-
Vomiting
more than once after a head injury
-
Confusion
-
Extreme
drowsiness
-
Weakness
or inability to walk
-
Severe
headache
-
Loss
of memory of the event (amnesia)
-
Perseverating
(saying the same thing over and over)
-
Someone
who takes
warfarin
(Coumadin) for a medical problem and suffers a blow to the head
Go
to an emergency department by ambulance in the following situations. For
people with less severe injuries not requiring ambulance transport, a car
may be taken to the hospital.
-
Severe
head trauma, a fall from more than the height of the person or a hard
fall onto a hard surface or object
-
Prolonged
loss of consciousness (longer than 5 minutes)
-
Any
delayed loss of consciousness (for example, the injured person was
knocked out only momentarily, then was awake and talking, then lost
consciousness again)
-
Vomiting
more than once
-
Confusion
-
Extreme
drowsiness, weakness, or inability to walk
-
Severe
headache
-
Loss
of memory of the event (amnesia)
-
Perseverating
(saying the same thing over and over)
-
Someone
who takes warfarin (Coumadin) for a medical problem suffers a
significant blow to the head
-
If
the person fails to regain consciousness after 5 minutes, or the injury
was very severe even if 5 minutes has not passed, do not move the
person. Special care must be given to prevent movement of the neck that
may cause spinal injuries. If the person needs to vomit, carefully roll
the person onto his or her side without turning the head.
Should
an injured person be allowed to fall asleep?
Many
people mistakenly believe that it is important to keep a person, especially
children, awake after they have been struck on the head. Children are often
more emotionally upset than they are physically injured after a minor fall.
They will cry and be upset, but as the parent rushes them to the hospital,
children may begin to calm down. Because they have expended a lot of
physical and emotional energy crying, they will often want to fall asleep.
-
You
do not need to keep the child awake. In many cases it maybe helpful to
the emergency doctor to be able to awaken the child who is now more calm
and rested and will be able to behave normally. This gives the doctor a
much better assessment of the severity of the head injury.
-
If,
however, a child who was initially normal after a head injury cannot be
awakened, or is extremely difficult to awaken, then the child may have a
more serious head injury and should be evaluated by a doctor.
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