Concussions in children and what parents must do

CONCUSSIONS OCCURRING IN CHILDREN: HOW DO YOU

When you are a parent of young children or a baby, it is very important for you to take good care of your children and to make sure that they do not develop any kind of health issue that may hamper their overall wellness. So, it is important for you as a parent to know about health issues that occur in children, and such a problem is the concussion. Concussion is a type of condition that occurs among children as an injury to the brain. Derived from the Latin word concutere, which means "to shake violently”, it is quite a severe condition as this might cause the brain to practically stop functioning naturally. This might either be temporary or in more severe cases, such stoppage can be permanent as well. Concussions can be quite a serious health condition for your child and as a parent, you need enough knowledge to identify whether your children are suffering from concussions or not. For children, especially in the case of tiny tots and young kids, it is very difficult to understand if they have developed concussions. So, the parents must have an idea about concussions in children, what the disorder is all about, how it can be identified, the risk factors, and what parents need to do.

This article involves all the necessary details about concussion in children and the most effective ways to deal with it.

All the information you need to know about concussion in children:

Concussion in children leads to hampering of normal brain functioning in children, which is usually triggered by some trauma in the head, for example, falling on the head or hitting the head due to any injury or any kind of accident. But in most cases concussion in a child’s brain is caused by a sudden direct blow or bump to the head. These conditions may be highly fatal for your children as children might not be able to understand the exact problem that they are facing and therefore the treatment may get delayed. Moreover, concussions can be quite severe if they start developing and affecting the brain functioning of young children. So, as parents, you need to take care and look after the essential symptoms in your children that will help you understand that your children are developing concussions. Treating concussions in children is one of the most important steps, because if the treatment is delayed, then it might result in a lot of other health problems and the state of the developing concussions in your child’s brain will further deteriorate. So, as soon as you understand that your children are showing the symptoms of concussions in the brain, try to consult an experienced healthcare professional at once to get the necessary treatments for your children.

What are the symptoms of concussions?

To understand whether your children are developing concussions or not, it is important to know the different types of symptoms of concussions among children. The signs of a concussion among children generally remain the same, though there can be exceptions as well. In many cases it has been found that when the disorder starts growing gradually and starts affecting the brain of children, the symptoms are not understood clearly, because the initial symptoms for some kids can be not so significantly noticeable. When concussions are detected in babies, toddlers, and older children, they are expertly handled with care and for treatment to begin, identifying its symptoms become important. It may also be possible that the signs and symptoms of this disease may appear hours or even days after the injury among children. The symptoms of concussions among children can be categorized separately, such as follows:

In Babies:

For young babies, the symptoms of concussions in brain are quite delicate and can impact them severely, if the symptoms are ignored. Some of the major symptoms include:

• Senses of irritation

• Nausea and vomiting

• Crying when the head of the baby is moved a little bit

• Development of bumps or bruises in the head of the baby

• Sudden, unexplained interruption in the regular sleeping habits of the baby- the baby may either sleep less or more than usual.

In Toddlers:

Though it is quite difficult, a toddler can still try to communicate to his/her parents about the developing discomfort inside their heads which will make the parents understand when their head starts hurting so that they can seek necessary treatments for the children. Some of the most common symptoms of concussion in head among toddlers are:

• changes in the kids’ overall behaviour

• nausea and/or vomiting

• headache

• excessive crying

• excessive crying

• loss of interest in playing or doing things that they love the most

• significant changes in their sleep cycles, that is, they are sleeping exceptionally more or less than the usual.

In children who are aged 2 years or older:

When the kids grow a little bit, it becomes more easier to identify the symptoms of concussion among them. Some common signs and symptoms of concussion that your kids of this age can show are listed below:

• major behavioural changes

• sensitivity to excessive light

• sensitivity to noise

• dizziness along with balance problems

• problems in focusing, concentration, and lack of memory (forgetfulness and difficulties in remembering)

• problems related sleep cycles along with changes in sleeping patterns

• looking like they are daydreaming

• confused or forgetful about recent events

• slow to answer questions

• feelings of drowsiness become more frequent

• sudden changes in moods and frequently feeling emotions like irritable, sad, emotional, nervous

• problems with eyesight resulting in double or blurry vision.

What are the major risk factors related to the concussions among children?

Concussions in children, that result in problems related to the overall brain functioning of the child can worsen the child’s health when there are risk factors related to it. Besides, there are certain aspects that can further increase the risk of concussion among children, some of them can be listed here as follows:

• If the child had a previous concussion

• Falls, particularly in children and older adults

• Playing a contact sport

• Lack of proper safety gear or supervision for contact sports

• If the child is hit struck with an object, or other physical abuse

• Military service

• If the child goes through any kind of accident- in a car, motorcycle, bicycle, or other injuries that cause a blow to the head.

Ways that help children protect themselves from concussions?

Now that you already know what concussions are all about and how they can harm your child’s brain functioning, it is important to know what should be done to cure and prevent the risks of concussions among children. Many healthcare professionals and experts are now claiming that it is quite difficult to find out an absolute solution that will be beneficial to protect the brain after a concussion. In case of concussions, the common medical advice has been to take rest and do very little or nothing at all. The curing process takes time and gradually the condition might start recovering. But rest is the ideal solution for concussion- this rest involves total rest and the child should not go to school, perform any exercise, read or watching television when there is already a condition of concussion developing and affecting the brain. If the symptoms gradually subside and get improved, the restrictions will be lifted gradually.

Consult a professional medical expert to consult and decide when and how it would be possible to bring your children back into their daily lives and help them indulge into activities after they are cured of concussions.

What must parents do if their children are developing concussions?

There are certain processes that parents must follow if they feel that their children are developing concussions. Apart from being in regular touch with the doctors, they must also follow certain aspects that are listed below:

1. Always try to keep the practice of using use seat belts for children

2. Teams and coaches must follow certain safety guidelines and should also teach the necessary techniques and skills to avoid dangerous collisions and other injuries. Try to maintain safety while playing with children who have concussions and coaches and trainers should be well aware of the safety measures, for instance, keep a note as a parent that what the coach is doing to ensure the safety of your child who is suffering from concussion

3. Try to have vital safety rules and supervise children when they are playing, mostly when they are riding bikes or climbing in trees or on play structures.