Everything You Need to Know About Concussions
What Are Concussions?
They are injuries of the head, also known as mild traumatic brain injury. A concussion is a head injury after a traumatic blow on the head or sudden violent shaking. In concussion emergency rooms, most patients with head injuries are involved in accidents and injuries. It could be a fall, blow, bump or jolt on the head. Concussions occur when the traumatic external force impacts the brain, causing sudden movements in the skull.
Are Concussions That Serious?
When the brain is involved in an injury, you must consider it a serious phenomenon. While concussions are not necessarily life-threatening, they cause severe health problems, and their effects may last a long time. It is why you need ER treatment for your concussion for your doctor to monitor your mild brain injury, preventing progression and advancement of the concussion.
Who Is at Risk of Concussions?
Although anyone can get a mild brain injury, the following groups of people are at a higher risk than not:
- Older adults and young children – people who are likely to fall frequently.
- Sportspersons – participating in high contact sports like boxing, rugby, and football.
- Drivers, cyclers, and bikers – as you could get into a car collision or motorbike accident.
- Soldiers in combat.
- Victims of physical abuse.
How to Know You Have a Concussion
The easiest and most accurate way to find out about your health is to visit us at Express Emergency Room Temple or any other 24-hour emergency room near you. A health exam by a medical expert will come up with the correct diagnosis. However, even before visiting a doctor near you, you can consider the symptoms you are experiencing as pointers to the problematic areas of your health. Some symptoms of concussions are:
- Headache
- Blurry vision
- Ringing in your ear
- Ear pain
- Drowsiness and lightheadedness
- Fatigue, nausea, and vomiting
- Loss of balance
- Confusion and inability to recognize your surroundings
- Loss of consciousness and seizures
- Forgetfulness and amnesia
- Slurred speech and delay in responding to questions or conversing
- Irritability and mood changes
- Difficulty concentrating
- Disrupted sleep patterns and appetite changes
- Sensitivity to light and noise
When identifying the symptoms of a concussion, realize that you may not experience them all immediately after your accident. For some people, it could take days before they first experience symptoms. It makes it important to seek immediate concussion care in the ER nearest your location as soon as an accident happens. Besides, some symptoms are more pronounced than others, depending on the severity of the brain injury.
When Should You Seek Urgent Care for Concussions?
Brain injuries are generally alarming, whether they happen to a child or a grownup. However, not all concussions require urgent care in an emergency room in Temple. Sometimes the concussion is so mild that no symptoms show up even after several weeks. Therefore, after a head injury, be keen to observe any changes in behavior and physical well-being to determine whether the concussion is indeed mild. However, you should immediately visit a doctor if:
- You lose consciousness – especially if it happens repeatedly.
- You are vomiting repeatedly or have severe nausea.
- You start bleeding from your nose or ears – sometimes the fluid coming out may not even be blood, but you still need urgent medical care.
- Prolonged changes in your speech – whether slurred speech, inability to organize thoughts for communication or difficulty pronouncing certain terms.
- You cannot remember anything that happened before your injury, even after several days of recovery.
- You have seizures or convulsions.
- The brain injury symptoms worsen with time instead of getting better.
Can Concussions Be Prevented?
Although accidents and injuries are random and can happen to anyone, some measures can help you get ahead of concussions. These measures are mostly useful for high-risk people. They include:
- Wearing headgears to protect the head – especially during sporting activities.
- Using anti-slippery coatings for flooring systems – especially in homes where infants, toddlers, and the elderly are.
- Put on your seatbelt whenever in a car – whether you are in the driver’s seat or not.