At the outset, “Concussion” is a loosely used term. Essentially it’s a mild traumatic brain injury where three-pounds of grey matter move inside the skull just like the egg inside the shell. It can occur in a number of ways: from the usual road traffic collision, to the sports field, and also due to domestic violence and shaking a baby violently.
There is no single symptom that indicates to a doctor that a person has had a concussion. Instead they look for a number of aspects to diagnose a brain injury. There are a few obvious ways to know–like if you were actually knocked out, are suffering from amnesia or are dazed or dizzy. Doctors also use neurological tests that look at speech, the pupils, one or more cranial nerves as well as tests for motor and sensory skills.
Less obvious symptoms are vomiting, seizure and headache (children may suffer actual swelling of the head). In five percent of concussion cases people can suffer from bleeding or clotting in the brain and that’s what CT scans are looking for. Regardless, if you hit your head, see a light or any sort of change in vision or feeling, feel dizzy, nauseous or generally out of sorts, go see your doctor.
Don’t mess with brain function. It is the CPU of your life and no one can protect your brain health as well as you can.
These extract has been taken from ‘www.theinertia.com’.
Commodore Ranbir Talwar
ED, IHIF