Symptoms of concussion

Symptoms of concussion can be mild to severe, andin some cases emergency treatment may be needed. The most common symptoms of concussion are: confusion, such as being unaware of your surroundings, a delayin answering questions,or having a blank expression headache dizziness nausea loss of balance feeling stunned or dazed disturbances with vision, such as Double vision , blurred visionor "seeing stars" or flashing lights difficulties with memory Difficulties with memory can mean: you are unable to remember events that occurred before the concussion happened (this usually only affects the minutes immediately leading up to the concussion)retrograde amnesia you are unable to remember any new information or events after the concussion happenedanterograde amnesia Bothtypes of memory lossusually improve within a few hours. Less common symptoms Less common symptoms include: loss of consciousness slurred speech changes in behaviour, such as feeling unusually irritable inappropriate emotional responses, such as suddenly bursting into laughter or tears When to seek medical advice As a precaution, it is recommended that you visit your nearest accident and emergency (A&E) department if you or someone in your care has a head injury resulting in concussion and then develops any of the following signs and symptoms: loss of consciousness from which the person then recovers amnesia (memory loss) , such as not being able to remember what happened before or after the injury persistent headaches since the injury changes in behaviour, such as irritability, being easily distracted or having no interest in the outside world this is a particularly common sign in children under the age of five confusion drowsiness that goes on for longer than an hour when you would normally be awake alarge bruise or wound to the head or face prolonged vision problems, such as double vision reading or writing problems balance problems or difficulty walking loss of power in part of the body, such as weakness in an arm or leg clear fluid leaking from the nose or ears (this could be cerebrospinal fluid, which normally surrounds the brain) a black eye with no other damage around the eye sudden deafness in one or both ears Anyone taking warfarin should seek medical assistance after a head injury, even if they feel well. Anyone who is drunk or high on recreational drugs should also go to A&E if they have a head injury. It's often easy for others around them to miss signs of a more severe head injury. Certain thingsmake you more vulnerable to the effects of a head injury, such as: being aged 65 or older a previous history ofbrain surgery having a condition that makes you bleed more easily, such as haemophilia , or having a condition that makes your blood more prone to clotting, such as thrombophilia taking anticoagulant medication (such as warfarin ) to prevent blood clots, or taking low-dose aspirin When to seek emergency medical treatment You should phone 999 for an ambulance immediately ifthe person: remains unconscious after the initial injury is having difficulty staying awake, speaking or understanding what people are saying is having a seizure or fit has been vomiting since the injury is bleeding from one or both ears