over the weekend my daughter banged her head. She has had headaches since. She went to a doctor today who diagnosed a mild concussion. Treatment is rest, minimum screen time, tylenol, stay out of bright lights, for a few days. Any tips to help her heal faster.
There is no rushing healing from a concussion. My D had several. Rest, including cognitive rest - no homework - is important.
Cognitive rest is very important I agree.
Lots of fluids and physical rest too.
How did your daughter bang her head? Did she lose consciousness, experience any confusion, blurred vision, memory loss? Can she recall the incident? Were there any neurological changes, if do, how long did they last? I’m sure the MD advised her to avoid aspirin when he told her to take tylenol, and to return if symptoms worsen. It may take about a week for the headache to subside. As the above poster stated, she needs rest and avoid computer, smart phone, etc. Sending thoughts for a quick recovery.
Interesting article on balance between getting rest after concussion, but not too much.
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/01/05/too-much-rest-is-harmful-after-a-concussion-study-finds
NO SPORTS!!!
A second concussion on the heels of a first concussion can be deadly.
Hope she recovers soon.
Nrdsb4 is exactly right-- she should avoid any activities that have risk for head injuries. A second concussion before the first is healed can cause PERMANENT injury.
My son got hit in the head August 28 and is still suffering from his concussion. It is imperative to follow concussion protocol, which hopefully your daughter was given. PM me if you need exact details. Light, sound, even talking can be too much noise. No cognitive thought, so that means no tv, no radio, no cell phone, no email, no headphones, no bright lights, no reading, no schoolwork, not much of anything but laying quietly in a dark room for first few days.
Drink lots of fluids, especially water. Eat often, every 2 hours, and consume as much whole grain carbs as you can. For my son that means oatmeal. The fluids and carbs give the brain the fuel it needs to try to rebuild. Recovering from concussion is sort of like the physical therapy you know you are supposed to do after knee or hip surgery, but you slack off and never regain your full range of motion. You want to give your brain every possible chance of rebuilding completely.
There are stages of recovery, and the first milestone is trying to keep your headaches under a 5 (on 1 to 10 scale). When you overuse your brain, it cries out to get your attention and make you stop. That is why you get a headache. It is the body talking to you in a way you can understand you need to rest.
Concussions are serious stuff, and please don’t be misled by the label “mild” in front of it. Again, PM me if you want more information.
All the advice here is good. Concussion recovery cannot be rushed. A cuncussion is a bruise to your brain. She just needs to sleep and rest. D1 has had 2 from falling off horses. The first was much worse than the second, although the second still had her inbed for a week at college. The first came 2 weeks before APs her senior year and she had to medically defer them until later in May.
I had two concussions within a year several years ago.
They were mild, I didn’t lose consciousness with either one, although the first hurt like hell for a long time and I was on several medications for pain. Fairly strong ones. But they didn’t mention no studying, ( I was in school) and when I had the second knock on my head about six months later, it really affected my short term memory.
Of course, it wasn’t that great in the first place.
But she should take it seriously.
( also- warning to folks of a certain age. The first concussion was the next day after I had gotten progressive lenses for the first time, and I turned too quickly. You have to be careful when getting used to those)
I had two concussions (years apart) playing soccer. The thing that was consistent with both is that I never felt like they were as bad as they were and I would have done much more (probably did with the 2nd that happened in college) than would have been advisable. My experience was that when you have one you don’t make great decisions so be sure that she follows the doctor’s advice and protocols exactly rather than making her own judgements about how she is.
Loss of consciousness has nothing to do with severity of concussion. Most people do not lose consciousness when concussed so don’t think that it’s not too severe if she stayed conscious. The teenage brain is more susceptible to concussion damage and to damage from repeat concussions once there has been a first.
Healthy Omega 3s- there is one for healthy brain and mood. When my daughter had one, i also had her take prenatal vitamins. I know it sounds silly, but I figured it couldn’t hurt. If it helps a baby’s brain development, maybe it could help her brain.
Forgot about the Fish Oil. Yes, have her take the omega 3s. And another thing, during the first few days, the doctor told us it was important to eat and drink around the clock. So my son brought water bottle and snacks to bed with him and ate a little bit each time he woke up during the night.