5 things parents should know about concussions

Mind damage specialist and Nationwide Institutes of Wellbeing-funded researcher Christina Learn, M.D., says new investigation is altering what we know about caring for kids and teenagers with concussions, as perfectly as how lengthy recovery can take.

Here is what parents will need to know:

Don’t delay acquiring treatment. It is really crucial that a baby get clinical treatment as shortly as probable immediately after a concussion. That contains comply with-up monitoring to make positive recovery is continuing. Research display that in search of procedure in just the to start with 7 days “will make a large big difference in recovery,” says Dr. Learn.

Don’t rush recovery. “Formerly, we thought a concussion healed in a couple days or a 7 days or two, but it turns out a thirty day period is regular,” Dr. Learn says. She tells parents and kids that it may possibly take extended than they assume for their mind to get well and for them to absolutely return to normal activities and college.

Understand that concussion in women may possibly be diverse from concussion in males. Study exhibits that girls involving the ages of seven and 18 will take extended to get well from a concussion than boys. They also can endure extended from vision and stability challenges. This may possibly be since girls do not seek out specialty clinical treatment for a concussion as speedily as boys do, for causes that are unclear, says Dr. Learn, who co-authored the review. Nevertheless, the big difference in recovery time disappeared if both girls and boys acquired clinical procedure in just 7 days of their damage. This will make early identification of concussion by kids and parents—and anyone functioning with kids in sporting activities and activities these as coaches or athletic trainers—really important.

Don’t remain in the video game. “We’ve found from investigation that if athletes think they may possibly have gotten a concussion and pull themselves out of the video game speedily, they mend more rapidly than if they carry on to engage in,” Dr. Learn says. Kids who are strike in the head all through sporting activities “and carry on to engage in may possibly make the damage absolutely even worse.”

Glimpse for subtle indications. Signs and symptoms can be more durable to detect in kids, in particular these ages five to 11. “They may possibly complain about headaches and dizziness,” Dr. Learn says, but there also may possibly be less evident indications. These include things like sleep disruption—either sleeping also a great deal or also little—and vision challenges, like eye fatigue, Dr. Learn provides.