About this topic
Concussion is a brain injury caused by a hit to the head. Anything that makes the brain bounce around and against the skull can cause a concussion. This might include falling, sports injuries, car crashes, or a hit to the head. ‚
Some signs of a concussion may show up within minutes to hours. Your child may have been knocked out at the time of the injury. Your child may have a headache afterwards or feel confused. Sometimes, your child may not be able to remember what happened. Your child may have an upset stomach or throw up. It is normal for your child to feel sleepy or act cranky or out of sorts. Concussions can also cause your child to have signs that show up days to weeks after the injury happens. Signs include: ‚
- Trouble walking or talking
- Problems with memory or paying attention
- Trouble sleeping
- Mood or behavior changes
- Changes in vision
- Feeling bothered by noise or light
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What care is needed at home?
- Ask your doctor what you need to do when you go home. Make sure you ask questions if you do not understand what you need to do to care for your child.
- Healing may take time. Be patient with your child.
- Be sure to look after your child for the first 12 to 24 hours after you are home. It is OK for your child to go to sleep. Your doctor may want you to wake your child up every 1 to 3 hours for the first 12 hours. Make sure your child is fully awake and knows where they are. Call for help if your child does not fully wake up or does not know where they are.
- Make sure family and friends know of your childs injury and how to help.
- Let your child rest. Do not let your child work out, use exercise machines such as treadmills, or do other heavy activities. Light activity is OK.
- Have your child rest the brain. Keep your child away away from doing things that need a lot of thought or focus. Keep your child away from TV, computers, and video games until your doctor says OK.
- Make your child as comfortable as possible. Place an ice pack or a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a towel over the painful part. Never put ice straight on the skin. Do not leave the ice on more than 10 to 15 minutes at a time.
- Give pain-relieving drugs if your child's head hurts.
- Be sure to watch your child closely after a head injury, especially when outdoors. Let teachers, the school nurse, and coaches know about the injury.
What follow-up care is needed?
- Your doctor may ask you to make visits to the office to check on your childs progress. Be sure to keep your child's visits.
- Your doctor may do tests, such as a CT scan, MRI, or x-rays. These tests will check to see if other structures inside your child's head were harmed.
- Your doctor may send your child to a rehab expert. The expert may be able to help your child get back brain function and help your child recover faster.
What drugs may be needed?
The doctor may order drugs to: ‚
- Help with pain
- Help with dizziness
- Treat or prevent seizures
Will physical activity be limited?
- Physical activity may be limited for some time. Doing things that require thinking or memory might also be limited. Check with your doctor about when your child can go back to normal activities. Activities may be limited as long as your child has the signs of a concussion.
- Your child should be able to do light activities like reading and walking. Slowly add activities. Avoid tiring activities, heavy exercise, and swimming.
- Make sure teachers know about the problem if your child is in school.
- Avoid activities that may put your child at risk of another head injury.
- Ask your doctor when it will be safe for your child to return to playing sports.
What problems could happen?
- Bleeding or swelling in the brain
- Damage to the brain which may lead to changes in mental, physical, and emotional behavior
- Seizures
- Low mood
- Hearing, smelling, or eye problems
- Memory loss
- If your child gets a new concussion while not yet fully recovered from the first one, your child might have brain swelling which could be dangerous.
What can be done to prevent this health problem?
- Always have your child wear a seatbelt when riding in a car.
- Have your child wear proper protective equipment when playing sports.
- Have your child wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle, bicycle, skateboard, roller skates, or when skiing or snowboarding or doing other similar activity.
- Keep your child away from unsafe activities that may cause falls.
When do I need to call the doctor?
Problems with your childs brain like: ‚
- More confusion, drowsiness, or any change in ability to think clearly
- Not being able to remember things
- Very sleepy (more than expected) or hard to wake up
- Behavior changes like angry outbursts or thoughts of hurting himself or others
- Headache gets worse or feels different
Problems with your child's eyes, ears, or mouth like: ‚
- Trouble speaking or slurred speech
- Blurry eyesight, seeing double, or other problems with eyesight
- Bleeding or clear liquid drainage from the ears or nose
Problems with how your child moves or feels like: ‚
- Upset stomach and throwing up that won't go away
- Dizziness or fainting
- Staggering or trouble walking
- Lack of strength or numbness of an arm, leg, or any part of the body
- Stiff neck
- Seizure
- Losing control of the bladder or bowels
Teach Back: Helping You Understand
The Teach Back Method helps you understand the information we are giving you about your child. The idea is simple. After talking with the staff, tell them in your own words what you were just told. This helps to make sure the staff has covered each thing clearly. It also helps to explain things that may have been a bit confusing. Before going home, make sure you are able to do these: ‚
- I can tell you about my childs condition.
- I can tell you what may help my child rest the brain.
- I can tell you what I will do if my child has problems remembering things.
Where can I learn more?
Brain Injury Association ‚
http://www.biausa.org/mild-brain-injury.htm ‚
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ‚
http://www.cdc.gov/concussion/index.html ‚
Healthy Children ‚
http://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/injuries-emergencies/sports-injuries/Pages/Concussions.aspx ‚
KidsHealth ‚
http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/aches/concussions.html ‚
Consumer Information Use and Disclaimer
This information is not specific medical advice and does not replace information you receive from your health care provider. This is only a brief summary of general information. It does NOT include all information about conditions, illnesses, injuries, tests, procedures, treatments, therapies, discharge instructions or life-style choices that may apply to you. You must talk with your health care provider for complete information about your health and treatment options. This information should not be used to decide whether or not to accept your health care providers advice, instructions or recommendations. Only your health care provider has the knowledge and training to provide advice that is right for you. ‚
Copyright
Copyright ‚ © 2015 Clinical Drug Information, LLC and Lexi-Comp, Inc. ‚