When my son was assaulted and ended up with a head injury, it wasn’t until a week later that he started to show the symptoms of a concussion.
I had to learn quickly what those symptoms are and what they mean—and I am sharing what I learned here. I hope I can help someone else who has suffered a head injury.
At the time of the assault we were not thinking about a concussion. But a week later my son started having:
Blurry vision
Slurred speech
Massive headache
Dizziness when he got up after laying down
We took him to the doctor, where an examination showed that his blood pressure would drop upon lying down. The doctor told us he was showing classic symptoms of a concussion. They gave him a CAT scan to find out if there was any bleeding in his brain; fortunately, there wasn’t.
If you have taken a hard fall or hit your head, you will definitely want to look out for any of the following signs of a possible concussion:
Loss of conciousness (even if brief)
Headache
Nausea, vomiting, or loss of appetite
Dizziness or balance problems
Double or fuzzy vision
Sensitivity to light or noise
Feeling slowed down
Feeling "foggy," "not sharp," or confused
Changes in sleep pattern
Concentration or memory problems
Irritability
Sadness
Feeling more emotional
Slurred speech