An injury to your brain can be deadly, especially because the injury is typically something you cannot physically see. The person experiencing the injury may not even know how extensive it is and may exhibit normal behaviors to those around them. This does not mean the injury is minimal or that the person is okay. In fact, of all injuries a person can sustain, one to the brain can be the most deadly because of its elusive nature. A brain injury, or concussion, happens when a person sustains a blow to the head, or suffers an injury that jars or shakes the brain inside the skull. Knowing the signs to look for after someone experiences this injury can mean the difference between life and death.
Football is a national past-time. We love it at all levels of play. Recently, there has been a lot of media coverage regarding the concussions sustained by NFL players and the debilitating side effects that have handicapped them for life. But, a concussion can happen at any age, and not just with football either. A fall on the ice, a collision with another player during a soccer game, a hit in the head with a lacrosse stick can all cause a concussion.
Surprisingly, only 10% of concussions actually result in loss of consciousness. If that’s the reality, what happens the other 90% of the time? To help you identify whether or not someone has suffered a concussion, here is a list of common symptoms:
- headaches/migraines
- visual problems
- light sensitivity
- noise sensitivity
- nausea
- dizziness
- attention problems
- trouble with memory
- fogginess
- fatigue
- trouble sleeping
- sleeping less than normal
- sleeping more than normal
- increased emotions
- sadness
- irritability
- nervousness
To be safe, it’s always best to seek medical treatment with any head injury. And although a concussion is considered a “manageable injury” by healthcare professionals, the key is early detection and proper treatment.