Concussion

Concussion Overview

The term concussion describes an injury to the brain resulting from an impact to the head. By definition, a concussion is not a life-threatening injury, but it can cause both short-term and long-term problems. A concussion results from a closed-head type of injury and does not include injuries in which there is bleeding under the skull or into the brain. Another type of brain injury must be present if bleeding is visible on a CT scan (CAT scan) of the brain.

• A mild concussion may involve no loss of consciousness (feeling "dazed") or a very brief loss of consciousness (being "knocked out").
  
  
• A severe concussion may involve prolonged loss of consciousness with a delayed return to normal.

Concussion Causes

A concussion can be caused by any significant blunt force trauma to the head such as a fall, a car accident, or being struck on the head with an object.

Concussion Symptoms

• Loss of consciousness after any trauma to the head
  
  
• Confusion
  
  
• Headache
  
  
• Nausea or vomiting
  
  
• Blurred vision
  
  
• Loss of short-term memory (you may not remember the actual injury and the events some time before or after the impact)
  
  
• Perseverating (repeating the same thing over and over, despite being told the answer each time, for example, "Was I in an accident?")