Be aware of the signs so you’re always prepared
Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) lead to about 2.5 million emergency department (ED) visits every year in the United States. A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) caused by a blow to the head or body.
Of these ED visits, over 21% are attributed to injury during sport, according to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.
These injuries do not only affect high school and professional athletes — school-aged children with developing brains are at a high risk, too. In fact, young children and teens are more likely to get a concussion and generally take longer to recover than adults.
Here’s what you need to know about your child’s brain health.
How do I know it’s a concussion?
Several signs and symptoms that hint at a concussion.
- Appearing dazed, confused or stunned
- Headache
- Memory issues
- Slow to respond
- Changes in sleep habits
- Unusually sad or irritable
- Nausea or vomiting
- Sensitivity to light and/or noise
- Fatigue and/or low energy
- Change in personality
- Difficulty concentrating
- Mood swings and/or irritability
When should I take my child to the doctor?
It’s always better to be cautious with head injuries. If you suspect your child may have a concussion, you should get them to the doctor.
If any of the following symptoms are present, seek immediate medical attention.
- Seizure-like activity
- Weakness or tingling in the arms or legs
- Cannot recognize people or places
- Confused, restless or agitated
- Difficult to arouse or unable to awaken
- Repeated vomiting
- Slurred speech
- Bloody or clear fluid from the nose or ears
What will the doctor do?
After gathering information about the injury, your child’s doctor may conduct several exams. A physical test is done to check your child’s balance, eye movement and range of motion. Cognitive tests use brain games to check memory and brain function.
How do they know it’s a concussion?
The information your doctor gathers from physical and cognitive exams helps them diagnose a concussion. Your child most likely won’t need a CT or MRI scan. Those tests check for structural changes in the brain, not the function.
Do I have to worry extra about my student athlete?
Student athletes have a higher chance of head injury through sports, so they take more precautions before and during the season.
Concussion screenings are a key factor in identifying if your athlete is facing a concussion or TBI. A baseline screening, such as the ImPACT test, could be completed at the start of your athlete’s season as an extra precaution. The ImPACT test analyzes their verbal and visual memory and their brain processing and reaction time—the parts of your child’s brain most affected by TBIs.
Concussion screenings can then be done following an injury to compare brain function before and after head trauma. Along with traditional concussion tests, staying on top of screenings can lead to a quicker and easier recovery for your student athlete.
Children who have, at any point in their lives, had a concussion have an increased risk of another concussion. If you’re worried about your child, click here to learn more about concussion management at OhioHealth.
Want to hear more from the experts?
Tune in to this episode of OhioHealth’s The Wellness Conversation podcast, where Dr. Ben Bring and Dr. Obi Moneme break down what concussions are, how they’re diagnosed, and the safest way to recover, whether you’re on the soccer field or in the workplace.
