Sports-based injuries and car accidents are two of the most common causes of concussions. Of course, anything that throws your head around can cause your brain to impact the inside of your skull and create a concussion.
If you have experienced an injury and are concerned about a concussion you should get someone to monitor you. If you have mild symptoms for more than two weeks you will need to see a neurosurgeon. If the symptoms are more severe you’ll want to see a surgeon straightaway.
You can tell if a concussion is serious when:
- Someone won’t stop vomiting
- They are having seizures
- Extremely agitated
- Very confused
- Behaving differently from normal, specifically agitated
If you have a concussion the following can help you heal faster:
1. Rest
As hard as it may be, you need to rest physically and mentally as much as possible. Both physical and mental activity makes your brain work harder. This places more stress on it which is something you need to avoid when recovering from a concussion.
While rest is a good idea, you shouldn’t stay in bed. It is still good to move around, just don’t do anything that gets you sweating. If you don’t feel capable of moving around then it is acceptable to stay in bed for the first 48 hours. However, after that, you should be starting to undertake
2. Gentle Exercise
As mentioned, moving around is a good way to help your brain return to normal function. But, it must be gentle movement as you don’t want to disturb your recovery. Walking around is fine, running, or any exercise that increases your heart rate dramatically should be avoided. This is not the time to be stressing your body.
3. Psychological care
Banging your head is traumatic, regardless of how the accident has occurred. It is generally accepted that talking to someone about the incident will help you to come to terms with it and move on. What you may not realize is that talking t-o a professional and getting the emotions out can help you heal faster. That’s a good reason to make an appointment today.
4. Avoiding Alcohol
Alcohol is an inhibitor and reacts directly with the brain. It’s the last thing your brain needs when it is trying to recover. For that reason, you should avoid all alcoholic beverages until you are fully recovered. It won’t do your body any harm to detox for a few days.
Factors That Slow Recovery
If you’re fit and healthy you should recover from a concussion within two weeks. If you’re still showing signs of concussion after two weeks then professional help is essential. However, it should be noted that several things can slow your recovery and you can’t do anything about these things:
- How severe the injury was – the more severe the longer it takes to recover
- Any neurological condition you are already dealing with
- Being older
- High levels of stress
- Not relaxing and taking on too much too soon
- A history of concussions, whether severe or not.
