There is never a role for opioids in the treatment of a concussion. After that time, when the possibility of a brain bleed has passed, any OTC pain medication can be taken. Other over-the-counter medications that may thin the blood, such as Advil and Aleve, should be avoided altogether within the first 12 hours of a concussion. SEE ALSO: When Concussion Symptoms Linger, a Neuropsychologist May Help Over-the-counter acetaminophen (Tylenol) can be recommended to help reduce pain associated with a concussion but it should not be given until four hours after the concussion due to the rare possibility of a brain bleed. Pain medication should never be given after a concussion. We recommend melatonin for these patients, along with the standard sleep “hygiene”: no cellphones, tablets or TVs in the bedroom. Often, patients experience ongoing fatigue, causing them to sleep during the day and resulting in nighttime insomnia.
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After that, the individual should be allowed to rest, sleep and conserve energy for the next 48 to 72 hours.Īs a person further recovers from a concussion (following the 48- to 72-hour rest period), it’s also important for them to maintain their normal sleep patterns. While checking on the individual within the first four hours of a concussion is important, the risk of a more serious brain injury typically passes after approximately four hours.
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Concussion patients should be awakened every few hours so they don’t lose consciousness. If the individual doesn’t have severe symptoms - loss of consciousness for more than a minute, increasing confusion, repetitive vomiting or seizures, severe neck pain, weakness or tingling in part of the body, agitation or restlessness - he or she can be cared for at home.īut it’s important for the individual to be evaluated by a health care provider with expertise in concussion care within a few days of the concussion. A person with a concussion must be taken to the emergency room. However, when one pupil is more dilated than the other, it could be the sign of a structural brain injury that requires immediate emergency attention. This can happen when the body is under stress due to excitement, nervousness or anxiety. Our pupils can become dilated when the autonomic nervous system’s sympathetic branch is stimulated and the fight or flight response is triggered. Pupil dilation is not a reliable sign of concussion, particularly when both pupils are dilated equally.
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And a person who loses consciousness as a result of some type of head trauma doesn’t necessarily have a concussion. A person with a concussion always loses consciousness.Ī concussion involves the loss of consciousness only about 10 percent of the time. A concussion can’t be ruled out simply because the head was not directly involved in the incident.
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SEE ALSO: What Happens When You Get a Concussion - and What Happens Nextįor example, a person in a car accident may sustain a concussion even though he or she had no direct head trauma. This causes a temporary change in the brain’s energy metabolism, resulting in concussion symptoms. The cause could be an indirect blow somewhere else on the body that results in the head and brain moving rapidly back and forth. Not all concussions are the result of a blow to the head. Misconceptions about concussion A concussion happens only with a blow to the head.