Concussion And Post-Concussion Syndrome

If you were born before the age of smartphones and tablets, then you probably spent your childhood watching cartoons, where if a character fell on his or her head or got hit on the head by a falling object or a projectile, stars would spin around the character’s head.  Today’s kids probably see the same images from the same cartoons, except remixed beyond recognition into TikTok videos or YouTube Shorts, in ways that are as incomprehensible to the current audience of children as they are to their parents.  Getting hit on the head messes with you; unlike in cartoons, you don’t just get up and go back to your wacky adventures.  In fact, you feel worse and worse over the next hours and days.  It is best to go to the doctor before you start feeling bad.  If you get diagnosed with a concussion, there is not much you can do but wait for it to heal.  If you suffered a concussion, with or without post-concussion syndrome, as a result of a car accident, contact a Jacksonville car accident lawyer.

What Is a Concussion, and How Do They Happen?

A concussion is a traumatic brain injury; it is the effects on the brain of an impact to the head.  Doctors make a diagnosis of concussion, as opposed to TBI, standing for traumatic injury, based on the severity of acute symptoms; they decide that it is a concussion as opposed to a “real,” full-fledged TBI if the patient did not lose consciousness, or if he or she lost consciousness only briefly but quickly woke up.  Common causes of concussions and TBI include car accidents, accidental falls, and contact sports like tackle football and rugby.

What If Your Concussion Is Worse Than It Originally Appeared?

Sometimes the symptoms of concussion go away within a few weeks.  If they continue longer than this, doctors can make a diagnosis of post-concussion syndrome.  The symptoms of post-concussion syndrome are the same as the acute symptoms of concussion, except that the duration is longer.  The main symptom is headaches, which can feel like tension headaches that start at the back of your head, or they can feel like migraines concentrated at one side of your head.  Other symptoms include dizziness, nausea with or without vomiting, and sensitivity to light.  More troublesome than the physical symptoms, though, are the mental symptoms, such as impaired memory, difficulty concentrating, anxiety, irritability, and depression.

It is not always possible to tell whether a concussion will resolve quickly or result in post-concussion syndrome.  The chances of developing post-concussion syndrome are greater if you have previously suffered a concussion.  Women are slightly more likely than men to develop post-concussion syndrome, when matched for age and medical history.

Contact Gillette Law About Car Accidents

A personal injury lawyer can represent plaintiffs in car accident lawsuits and help them recover compensation for medical expenses and lost income associated with post-concussion syndrome.  Contact Gillette Law in Jacksonville, Florida so we can begin investigating your claim.

Source:

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK534786/