[studentIVlife]

hello I was just curious to know what are the s&s of a conusion? I don't know how to spell it. The reason I ask is because I was at the park jogging and I saw this kids run into a tree. I am not a nurse so I had no idea what to do. I wanted to help so bad but didn't know where to begin. He said he felt nauseas and dizzy. But 10min later he felt fine and left riding his bike. I still feel weird about the whole thing b/c in my mind all I could think is what if he goes to sleep and die! AHHHHHHHH and I didn't do anything. Is this true about sleeping with a concusion could cause you to die. I am so lost can someone plz explain it to me. Thanks

[earle58]

concussions always involve a blow to the head and can range from mild to severe.
most are mild with full recovery.
s/s include confusion, amnesia, headache, dizziness, tinnitus, n/v, slurred speech.
hrs or even days later, one may note mood/cognitive disturbances, sensitivity to light/noise and/or sleep disturbance.

it is advised to seek the services of an md if you have prolonged headache and/or dizziness, visual disturbances, n/v, impaired balance, prolonged memory loss, tinnitus and/or loss of smell/taste.

usually an md will dx just on pt history but ct scans are frequently done.
generally speaking, rest is the cure.
close monitoring of the aforementioned is advised.

leslie

[Daytonite]

Here are webpages that have information about concussion, symptoms, care and follow-up:

• http://www.emedicinehealth.com/concu...article_em.htm

As a student you should bookmark this website when you are looking for information about any medical disease or condition as well. It is a large U.S. government supported site with many links to good online information:

• Medline Plus (use the search box) http://www.medlineplus.gov/

[GilaRN]

I am unsure why people think sleeping equates to death with head injuries. Perhaps it stems from the fact that we are always waking people up and assessing them. This is not to prevent death, this is simply performed to assess neurological status. (Perhaps prevent death in an indirect way by finding problems early.) Seriel assessments are performed to look for neurological trends or deviations from the base line assessment. This is why we should emphasize frequent assessments as part of ER/hospital discharge instructions to patients and families.

As far as the sleep question, what do we do with the severe head injury patient? We sedate the poop out of them and put a tube down their throat to secure an airway.

[Christie RN2006]

Originally Posted by GilaRN

As far as the sleep question, what do we do with the severe head injury patient? We sedate the poop out of them and put a tube down their throat to secure an airway.

Haha very true... gotta love diprivan