Treatment Options for Concussions

A concussion is a reversible dysfunction of the brain that results from trauma. It is believed that with a concussion there is a violation of the connections between the nerve cells of the brain. Among the causes of concussion are road traffic accidents, industrial, domestic, and sports injuries. A concussion is the leading traumatic brain injury.

What to do in case of a concussion? The first aid to a patient with a concussion, if he quickly regained consciousness, is to give him a horizontal position with his head slightly raised. If a person who has received a concussion has not yet come out of unconsciousness, it is advisable to transfer him to a certain position (on the right side, the head is thrown back, the face is looking down, the left leg and arm are bent at right angles at the joints). This posture prevents the patient from suffocating due to the retraction of the tongue, the ingestion of saliva, vomit into the respiratory tract. If bleeding wounds are visible on the head, a bandage should be applied.

If a concussion occurs, the victim must be transported to a hospital, where the primary diagnosis is clarified. A patient with a concussion is assigned to bed rest for 1-3 days, which is then gradually expanded over a period of 2-5 days. If there are no complications, it is possible to be discharged from the hospital for outpatient treatment, the duration of which is up to 2 weeks.

Diagnosis for Concussions

As soon as you come to the hospital, the doctor will evaluate your signs and symptoms, check your medical history, and conduct neurological testing. Often concussion signs and symptoms appear hours or days after the injury. The doctor will put you through a neurological examination, cognitive testing, and imaging tests.

Neurological examination for concussions

Upon answering detailed questions about your traumatic brain injury, your doctor will perform a neurological examination.  He or she will check your vision, hearing, balance, coordination, and reflexes. 

Cognitive testing for concussions

After neurological examination, the doctors will conduct tests to evaluate your cognitive abilities. This test will determine such factors as memory, ability to concentrate, and ability to recall information.

Imaging tests for concussions

Doctors will point patients with severe headaches, seizures, or repeated vomiting towards brain imaging. It will help the doctors determine how bad your injury is and the best way to treat it. 

Observation for traumatic brain injury

Many people with concussion symptoms got hospitalized overnight to make sure that they will not suffer any additional signs.

You can convince your doctor that you will be observed at home by your family member or a friend. Don’t try to cheat on this. It is your health and life that is at stake. Ask a close one to watch over you for at least 24 hours. Besides that, your caregiver needs to wake up regularly to be sure that you are ok.

Treatment of a concussion

Step 1: Physical and mental rest

Specialists recommend having some mental and physical rest after a concussion. Have a break from your everyday businesses and chill out at home. You can order some pizza and chill out. It is essential to let your body rest in the first few days after a concussion. 

Relative rest and limiting activities that require thinking and mental concentration are highly recommended for the first several days after the accident. However, it will be a bad idea to lay down in your bedroom and avoid all stimuli for two days.

Besides limiting your mental activities, it will be a great idea to avoid intense physical exercises like sports or exertion. Those mentioned above can make your symptoms worse.

After a period of relative rest, it’s recommended to gradually increase daily activities such as screen time or a few physical exercises. Remember that pushing yourself hard can provoke concussion symptoms. It would be good to start doing some basic physical and mental activities that don’t cause a significant worsening of your symptoms.  Mild physical activity beginning a few days after injury tends to help you to recover faster.

Besides that, the physician will recommend you to have shortened workdays or school days or get fewer work assignments during your concussion recovery. Additionally, it would be great to have some kinds of therapies to help you rehabilitate your vision, balance problems, or cognitively rehabilitate for problems with thinking and memory.

Step 2: Making your way to your previous routine 

As you start to feel better, you can increase your daily activities that require extensive use of cognitive abilities, such as doing more homework or taking more work assignments. 

Usually, two days after the injury, the doctors allow their patient to resume primary physical activity like jogging or bike ride. Make sure that you don’t overwhelm yourself; it can lead to worse symptoms. 

Eventually, you will get better and have a conversation with your doctor concerning when it will be safe for you to play sports again. You need to do it carefully because starting to play sport too soon drastically increases the risk of having another brain injury.

Step 3: Pain relief during the treatment of a concussion

It is common for people that suffered a concussion to have headaches in the days or weeks after a trauma. The doctor will prescribe you some pain relievers to make your concussion recovery easier. However, ibuprofen and aspirin increase the risk of internal bleeding.

Conclusion 

Traumatic brain injury can cause concussions; this is a severe condition that will make you feel terrible. Thus, it is essential to get all concussion tests and stick to your doctor’s recommendations. It will include having someone watch over you for 24 hours after the accident or to stay overnight in the hospital. Besides that, the doctor will recommend limiting your physical and mental activities during the next several days. You will be required to take days off from your school or work to rehabilitate from traumatic brain injury.  After two days of concussion recovery, you can start implementing some cognitive and physical things into your day.

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