Do you know the signs of a concussion?
Do you know the signs of concussion?
I remember it like a film on instant replay, over and over again. Her blonde hair streaked with blonde, her blue dress, both flying as she ran around a blind corner–straight into me. I even remember her name. I must have been in first or second grade, prone to melodrama. We collided and the back of my head hit the asphalt path. Hard. An hour later, I didn’t feel well. I was sick to my stomach, sleepy and dizzy, and only wanted to curl up in a bean bag and be still. It took my teachers a while to believe me, that I wasn’t just being dramatic or stubborn. Then they connected the way I was acting with the fact that I’d smacked my head on the pavement, and called my parents.
We had to stop twice on the way to the hospital so I could throw up.
The MRI showed nothing serious, just a mild concussion, and my parents spent a long, anxious night waking me up every hour. A boy in New York City was beaten on the head repeatedly by another boy, thirteen years old, as he played basketball. He went home, went to bed, and was later brought to the hospital, bleeding from his nose and mouth. He died. Perhaps, if this boy’s parents had known the warning signs of a head injury, they could have saved him.
But knowing the signs (sensitivity to light, headache, dizziness, nausea) don’t do any good if your child doesn’t tell you what’s going on. Make sure your children know how important it is to be honest about what happened, especially if they aren’t feeling well after a fight. Because if they don’t tell you they got into a fight in the first place, you won’t know to suspect anything more serious than a stomach bug.
Kid’s Health has a good page on concussions, and they list the following symptoms as indicative of a possible concussion:
“seeing stars” and feeling dazed, dizzy, or light-headed
trouble remembering things, such as what happened directly before and after the injury occurred (this can happen even with mild concussions)
nausea or vomiting
headaches
blurred vision and sensitivity to light
slurred speech or saying things that don’t make sense
difficulty concentrating, thinking, or making decisions
difficulty with coordination or balance (such as being unable to catch a ball or other easy tasks)
feeling anxious or irritable for no apparent reason
feeling overly tired
The NFL has found 70% of concussions originate at the jaw. Yet mouth guard standards have not been updated in thirty years. Concussion from blows to the jaw have been connected to football chin straps. This type of concussion has led to white spots on the brains of boxers and now football players, making them prone to Parkinson’s Alzheimer’s and dementia. For information on a new medical device proven to aide in the prevention of concussion in Professional football players go to http://www.mahercor.com
Mark, does this guard come in juvenile sizes?
Yes, the mouth guard is a jaw posistioning and stabilizing device. for this reason it should be monitored just as an orthodontic appliance, jaw growth is an issue. The posistioning device comes in two forms. An acrylic hard plastic type, which sits on the lowwer teeth like a sleep guard. It is the one 70% of the N.E. Patriots wear. It also comes in rubberized form, which adheres to the upper teeth and protects the frontal teeth, for not caged sports. This type is recomended for youth sports because it has some give and will last at least a season. The upper rubberized as a tooth protector may be covered by your dental insurance, depending on your plan. Our focus is to raise the bar on this science and have both guards recognized by all coverages. The Military wants to fit soldiers in Iraq with this device and that will go a long way to our goal.www.mahercor.com Have your dentist contact us if we don’t have one in your area, we will train him for free.
Good info and in addition, how about a reminder that kids need to wear helmets on their bikes, even if they’re not riding on the road? I’ve been at friend’s houses when their kids were riding without helmets and Mom said it was okay, because it’s just in the driveway. Well, driveways are just as hard as the road and kids can fall no matter where they’re riding. We need to protect those little noggins at all costs.
Lill
Good point, Lill. My dad tried to drive off with my kid in the front seat of his car one day — ‘it’s only a couple of blocks’ and I reminded him of how many fender benders he’s had just going to the grocery store. The boy was strapped back into his car seat before I let them drive away.
Accidents don’t look for long-distance prospects. If they did, none of us would ever fall down the stairs at home!
Thank you, Mark. Whenever I get around to maintenance on this blog, I’ll put a link up to your site so parents can find you easily.