Concussion

Concussion is a disturbance to the cells in the brain as a result of a traumatic brain injury. This means the brain's function is temporarily put on hold and often the patient will have no recollection of the incident. Often there will be temporary loss of consciousness.

Concussion can be caused by a head injury from a road traffic accident or fall.

Concussion is usually associated with less serious head injuries. These are defined as where the patient is unconscious for less than 15 minutes or has post-traumatic amnesia for less than one hour. Whilst concussion in itself is usually not serious the patient should still be monitored carefully to ensure the brain injury has not caused an aneurism. Medical treatment should always be sought where the patient has been unconscious, they become sleepy and confused, or vomit.

A common problem with more minor head injuries is that they go undetected. This is because either no brain scans are carried out or if they are they show no damage. If you feel you or a member of your family has suffered a brain injury which has gone undetected a second opinion should be sought from a neurologist or a neuro-psychologist.

Even after brief periods of unconsciousness a person may still suffer some side effects including:

• Confusion which is known as post traumatic amnesia
• Ongoing headaches
• Poor attention or concentration span
• Interruption of thought process 
• Loss of memory
• Alteration of personality

The longer the period of concussion; the greater the increased risk of developing epilepsy.