What exactly is a concussion?
The CDC (Centers for disease control and prevention) defines Concussion as a traumatic brain injury (TBI), it is a head injury that temporarily disrupts normal brain function. Concussions can result when a person experiences a blow to the head that causes the brain to be jostled inside the skull. Brain injuries commonly happen through athletic activity, a sudden and violent hit of an object on the brain, a car accident, fall, or any other daily activity that causes your brain to hit the inside of your skull. It depends on the type and severity of the injury, like the sports injuries or whiplash. In such injuries, the brain may hit the inside of your skull more than once. Often there are no signs of injury or trauma externally, but this can result in an altered mental state. Injuries like this can cause severe symptoms that require immediate medical treatment.
Symptoms of Concussions
The possible symptoms that generally appear soon after Concussion include:
Temporary loss of consciousness, blurry vision, confusion, vomiting, nausea, ringing in the ear, headache (intense and prolonged), dizziness, fatigue, slurred speech, sensitivity to noise and light, memory problems, trouble concentrating, sleeping problems, insomnia, restlessness, and irritability.
How Concussion appear to the people around a person with a concussion
A person with a Concussion appears:
Dazed or stunned, speaks slowly, face difficulty in recalling the events before Concussion, seems confused, may lose consciousness after hit, moves clumsily, a person in some cases many also shows behavior, mood, or personality changes.
The reason behind the symptoms
Our brain has a consistency like gelatin, and it is protected from sudden jolts and bumps. Clear fluid in your brain, known as cerebrospinal fluid, surrounds your brain. It cushioned the brain from any external injury or damage. Any violent blow to the head or neck can cause the brain to jolt or shake powerfully inside the skull. This causes a back and forth movement of the brain that can lead to internal brain injuries. Such injury may result in prolonged drowsiness and confusion, sometimes with other symptoms due to bleeding in or around the brain. However, Concussion is a kind of mild head injury that usually does not cause permanent brain injury but can result in some worrisome medical symptoms.
Emergency symptoms
The full effect of the injury might not be noticeable at first. For example, in the first few minutes after the injury, someone might be just slightly confused or appear a little bit stunned. But after some time, other severe symptoms start to show up, for example, memory issues. Therefore, it is crucial to look for the signs and symptoms of Concussion repeatedly after the suspected TBI. If the symptoms get worse, one should immediately seek medical emergency treatment.
Diagnosing and Treating Concussion
Usually, the concussions are diagnosed in the emergency room after the injury or accident. In contrast, some cases are diagnosed a bit later when a person seeks medical treatment after noticing brain injury symptoms. You never want to take your brain-related injuries lightly since the effects of any brain injury could be devastating. Concussions are usually neglected until the symptoms of injuries become severe and more damage has been done to the health.
Testing
A doctor can start testing with a simple interview to notice the symptoms like difficulty speaking or post-traumatic amnesia. MRI and CT scans are performed routinely in the diagnosis of concussions, and they are used to rule out the possibility of any severe injury, such as bleeding in the skull. If these scans do not show any visible injury, it will be evaluated as Concussion.
Emergency Room Treatment for Concussion
If you have suffered head trauma, it is a good idea to visit an emergency room. You can have an expert doctor's opinion on the severity of the injury, proper diagnosis, and treatment options.
Visit our emergency room and have our expert emergency room doctors diagnose and treat your injury. Crescent Medical Center provides comprehensive patient care for concussions resulting from mild traumatic brain traumatic injuries such as concussions. We diagnose specific injuries and symptoms and offer a convenient and tailored treatment approach to individual patients based on their injury type.
If you experience Concussion symptoms, visit your nearest emergency room in Lancaster, TX, US. We are available at Crescent Medical Center. We provide 24-hour emergency room service to diagnose and treat Concussions.