3 Symptoms You Should Always Get Checked Out After a Head Injury

Whether you bang your head on a low hanging counter, get involved in a car crash, or get punched in the mouth, you will be clutching your head in pain for sure. But there’s a lot of confusion about when you should shake the head injury off and when you need to reach out and talk to a doctor about what has happened to you.

If you are noticing some of these symptoms after a head injury, no matter the severity of the injury, you need to reach out and talk to a doctor.

If You Have Lost Consciousness

If the head injury was so severe that you ended up losing consciousness or blacking out, even if it was only for a few moments, you need to talk to a doctor. Your body isn’t supposed to lose consciousness at all, especially from an impact or injury, so you need to have this checked out.

Even if the injury hasn’t caused you to lose consciousness before, if you start having blackouts post injury, then you need to seek medical help.

Have Trouble With Balancing And Memory

If you find that you are having trouble with your balance after the accident, where you can’t find your feet and have trouble completing tasks that were very easy pre-accident, that can be a massive problem. As can not be able to remember things about the injury, or just being unable to remember what happened directly before or directly after the injury.

Problems With Your Head And Face

Finally, if you have a headache that won’t go away, slur your speech, feel dizzy or numb, or have trouble moving and focusing your eyesight, then you need to get help right away. These symptoms can occur as soon as a few hours or as late as a few days after the head injury, so be on the lookout for them and make sure that you are taking action if they occur.

How Long Can Post-Concussion Syndrome Last?

Of course, the most dangerous type of head injury is the concussion, where your brain actually moves and slams into your skull. This can cause all sorts of damage and injuries depending on the scenario, and for some concussions, the concussion syndrome can last for a very long time.

This is called post concussion syndrome, which is when you get a concussion and then the symptoms continue to last even after your initial injury has faded.

There isn’t any agreed upon date for how long each of these syndromes last, but websites such as CognitiveFX estimate it can be anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, and also has lots more information about how to handle a concussion.

Some of the symptoms of a concussion are mild, while others can pose a massive inconvenience to someone’s daily life. However, many of these symptoms are treatable and will eventually go away with proper care.

There are physical, sensory, emotional/behavioral, and mental symptoms of a concussion, and if you are dealing with any of these, you need to see a doctor right away to get some help. While there isn’t a cure for your brain having a concussion, often the best thing you can do is take your time with recovery, rest your brain, and allow yourself to recover.

Then you can treat the symptoms and make sure you aren’t being overwhelmed by them. After a while, your brain will recover and you will be able to get back to a normal life after you take that time.