What Should You Do If You Have A Concussion?
If you have fallen or been in some kind of accident where your head got hurt, you may have a concussion. If you do have a concussion, you may want to know what you can do to help feel better while you are getting better.
Concussion
When you hit your head, the force caused your brain to move around in your head and bang around on the inside of your skull. That's what causes the concussion, like a bruise to your arm when you bang it on something. Generally, there aren't any real physical signs that you have a concussion, although you may have a bump or bruise on the injury site. You may have uneven pupils, but not necessarily. When you have the original injury, you may knock yourself unconscious, but not necessarily. Other symptoms can include nausea, dizziness, fatigue, headache, and blurred vision. So, what are some things that you can do to treat your concussion and feel better?
Rest
One of the biggest things you can do to treat your concussion and start to feel better is to get as much rest as possible. That can include getting extra sleep, not going out, and staying home from work or school. You should also refrain from driving if you are having any problems with dizziness or blurry vision until those problems have been gone for a couple of days without any reoccurrence. You may also want to think about resting the thinking part of your brain and avoiding watching TV or playing video games because the flickering could exacerbate a headache.
Acetaminophen
Since one of the things you are going to deal with while you have a concussion is a headache and you may be dealing with a bump, bruise, or knot where your head got hit, you are going to want to have some kind of painkiller to deal with that pain. You should take acetaminophen or something similar because ibuprofen or aspirin could actually make trouble worse by exacerbating any tiny bleeds that may be in your head. You can also try ice on the injury spot, which could also help with any headache that you get from the concussion.
If you got a concussion, you want to make sure that you are taking care of yourself properly. If the symptoms don't go away in a day or two or you had a prolonged loss of consciousness, you should see your doctor. They may recommend you see a neurological services and treatment center to make sure that you don't have any long-term or severe damage.