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Symptoms
By Mayo Clinic staffThe signs and symptoms of a concussion can be subtle and may not be immediately apparent. Symptoms can last for days, weeks or even longer.
The two most common concussion symptoms are confusion and amnesia. The amnesia, which may or may not be preceded by a loss of consciousness, almost always involves the loss of memory of the impact that caused the concussion.
Signs and symptoms of a concussion may include:
- Confusion
- Amnesia
- Headache
- Dizziness
- Ringing in the ears
- Nausea or vomiting
- Slurred speech
- Fatigue
Some symptoms of concussions are not apparent until hours or days later. They include:
- Memory or concentration problems
- Sensitivity to light and noise
- Sleep disturbances
- Irritability
- Depression
Symptoms in children
Head trauma is very common in young children. But concussions can be difficult to recognize in infants and toddlers because they can't readily communicate how they feel. Nonverbal clues of a concussion may include:
- Listlessness, tiring easily
- Irritability, crankiness
- Change in eating or sleeping patterns
- Lack of interest in favorite toys
- Loss of balance, unsteady walking
When to see a doctor
While most concussions get better on their own, some blows to the head can cause more-serious injuries. Seek medical advice if you have any of the following symptoms:
- Prolonged headache or dizziness
- Vision or eye disturbances, including pupils that are bigger than normal (dilated pupils) or pupils of unequal sizes
- Nausea or vomiting
- Impaired balance
- Prolonged memory loss
- Ringing in the ears
- Loss of smell or taste
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that you call your child's doctor for advice if your child receives anything more than a light bump on the head.
Signs that a child who has a head injury needs medical attention include:
- Loss of consciousness
- Repeated vomiting
- Seizure (convulsion)
- Headache that gets worse over time
- Changes in your child's behavior, including irritability or difficulty waking
- Changes in your child's physical coordination, including stumbling or clumsiness
- Confusion
- Slurred speech
- Lasting or recurrent dizziness
- Blood or fluid discharge from the nose or ears
- A cut that won't stop bleeding after you've applied pressure for 10 minutes
- Minor head injury. American Academy of Pediatrics. http://www.aap.org/publiced/BR_HeadInjury.htm. Accessed Feb. 12, 2009.
- Heegaard WG, et al. System injuries. In: Marx JA, et al., eds. Marx: Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 6th ed. St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby; 2006:349.
- Concussion. http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec06/ch087/ch087c.html. Accessed Jan. 15, 2009.
- Evans RW. Concussion and mild traumatic brain injury. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 15, 2009.
- Living with brain injury. Brain Injury Association of America. http://www.biausa.org/education.htm#concussion. Accessed Feb. 15, 2009.
- Evans RW, et al. Traumatic disorders. In: Goetz GD. Textbook of Clinical Neurology. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: W.B. Saunders; 2007:1185.
- Concussion. American Association of Neurological Surgeons. http://www.neurosurgerytoday.org/what/patient_e/concussion.asp. Accessed Jan. 15, 2009.
- DePompolo RW (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Feb. 3, 2009.
