Any signs of concussion - an occasion to consult a doctor

The brain is one of the least explored areas of the human body, therefore, modern medicine knows relatively little about its functions and capabilities. All that is known is the approximate location of the brain regions, the composition of the tissues, the arrangement of the gyri, does not give us complete information about higher nervous activity, so various diseases and brain lesions also represent a huge problem. Any signs of concussion in the confluence of other circumstances may act as signs of other diseases, so the diagnosis requires accuracy and can not be neglected.

Concussion - causes and possible damage

Concussion is a violation of the brain, which occurred as a result of head trauma and which is not related to the existing vascular lesions. This condition is diagnosed in more than half of the patients who have had any craniocerebral trauma. During the impact, the human brain is strongly and sharply shaken, then by inertia from the inside it hits the cranium again. It is accurate to say what happens at this moment with the brain matter and what exactly causes the concussion of the brain, but there is a theory that the trauma changes the physicochemical characteristics and properties of the brain substance due to a short-term sharp increase in intracranial pressure. In addition, despite the fact that the integrity of the tissues is not disturbed, the whole brain suffers entirely because the interrelations between different departments and cells are lost, albeit for a short time, which also explains the violation of functions. Also, trauma can provoke a deterioration in the nutrition of brain cells, which also disrupts the functional connection between the brain regions.

Symptoms of concussion may differ in different patients

Virtually all patients have the first signs of concussion similar to each other, they are reduced to a short-term loss of consciousness and vomiting, memories of the moment of injury and the events that preceded it are absent. Part of the loss of memory classifies the signs of concussion, because the longer the amnesia and the longer the loss of consciousness, the heavier the patient's condition.

Degrees of lesion and determination of the severity of the patient's condition

Currently, it is common to distinguish between three degrees of concussion. The first degree is characterized by confusion, which is not accompanied by either amnesia or loss of consciousness. In the second stage, signs of a slight concussion are somewhat complicated, and amnesia occurs. The third degree is loss of consciousness and memory, the heaviest defeat. In fact, the designations of time that relate to one degree or another of the lesion are very arbitrary - for some doctors, it is enough to lose consciousness for a couple of minutes to establish a severe brain concussion, and for others it takes more than an hour. The maximum time of loss of consciousness and coma-like state is 6 hours, after which the patient's condition can no longer be classified as a mild trauma with a good prognosis, as this indicates extensive damage to brain tissue.

After the patient's consciousness is restored, complaints of nausea, tinnitus, flushing of the face, dizziness, sweating, and thermoregulatory disturbances appear. Such signs of concussion can be supplemented by pain during movement of the eyeballs, difficulty in reading, some neurological and psychiatric symptoms. The patient may be overexcited, it is difficult for him to remain in a calm state for a long time and "sit in one place," but he too can not engage in any activity for a long time. Particular difficulties are caused by the diagnosis of concussion in children, because not always they can accurately describe their symptoms and characterize their condition.