Through the years more than 500,000 children in America were brought to the hospital with concussion case. What does concussion in children mean and why do they have it? Concussion is one of the most common types of traumatic brain injury that causes variety of physical, cognitive and mental development among children. One of the known treatments for concussion is monitoring and rest because symptoms can easily diminish after a few weeks. Concussion can be described through the following categories:

1. Grade 1 – It does categorize in minor or mild concussion. After an injury your child can be confused for a short time but he can still be conscious. Normal thinking behavior can be back after a few minutes.

2. Grade 2 – Your child did not lose consciousness but cannot think clearly. After awhile your child can remember what happened to him.

3. Grade 3 – Your child lost consciousness, he may not be able to remember what happened to him.

The usual cause of concussions is by a traumatic blow on the head due to fall while playing or during a car, motor, bike accident. It can also be through sports injury or when he is traumatically shaken during infanthood. There are different signs and symptoms of concussion, right after an injury your child may be unconscious or the worse, he can have seizures, and this is because of the trauma on the accident. Most symptoms may show up right after the accident while in some cases it can be seen later on. Most of the time, those who experienced concussion may get better in less than a month, after the injury your child may experience any of the following symptoms:

• Mild to moderate headache
• Dizziness
• Loss of balance
• Nausea
• Change in mood
• Change in the way your child performs in school
• Trouble in thinking
• Short term loss of learned skills such as toilet training
• Decreased in energy
• Sudden alteration of sleep
• Paleness

Some symptoms of concussion can be undetermined if the injury that occurred is just minor. It is important to watch your child and be with his side when he experience concussion. Watch out for these symptoms especially if your child had experienced concussion previously or if your child has the following condition:

a) Presently taking blood thinners.

b) Toddler younger than one year old.

c) When your child has brain problems.

d) Falls often.

e) Difficulty in walking.

You should consult a doctor right away if your child experience difficulty in doing simple things. You can also help him by sending him to hospital for therapy and follow ups.

Whenever you want to help your child to overcome concussion, you need to consult a doctor specializing in this kind of situation, most of the time conducting X-ray, CT scan, & MRI can help you determine about your child’s problem. Most of the time, it doesn’t require any drug, monitoring, and rest is the only thing that can be done with your child after a concussion.

Jonathan Pitts

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