The brain is one of the most poorly studied areas of the human body, so modern medicine knows relatively little about its functions and capabilities. All that is known is the approximate location of the departments of the brain, the composition of the tissues, the location of the convolutions, does not give us complete information about the higher nervous activity, therefore various diseases and brain damage are also a huge problem. Any signs of concussion under other circumstances can act as signs of other diseases, therefore, the diagnosis requires accuracy and cannot be carried out negligently.
Concussion - causes and possible damage
Concussion is a violation of the brain that occurred as a result of a head injury and which is in no way associated with existing vascular lesions. This condition is diagnosed in more than half of patients who have had any traumatic brain injury. During the stroke, the human brain is shaken violently and sharply, then by inertia from the inside it hits the skull box again. It is accurate to say what happens at this moment with the brain substance and what exactly causes the signs of concussion, but there is a theory that trauma changes the physico-chemical characteristics and properties of brain matter due to a short-term sharp increase in intracranial pressure. In addition, despite the fact that the integrity of the tissues is not violated, the whole brain suffers entirely because the interconnections between different departments and cells are lost, albeit for a short time, which also explains the violation of functions. Also, trauma can provoke a deterioration in the nutrition of brain cells, which destroys the functional connection between the parts of the brain.
Symptoms of concussion may vary from patient to patient.
In almost all patients, the first signs of concussion are similar to each other, they come down to short-term loss of consciousness and vomiting, there are no memories of the moment of injury and the events that preceded it. In part , memory loss classifies the signs of concussion, because the longer the amnesia and the longer the loss of consciousness, the worse the patient's condition.
Degrees of damage and determining the severity of the patient
Currently, it is customary to distinguish between three degrees of concussion. The first degree is characterized by confusion, which is not accompanied by amnesia or loss of consciousness. In the second stage, signs of mild concussion are somewhat complicated, amnesia sets in. The third degree is loss of consciousness and memory, the most severe defeat. In fact, the designations of time, which relate to one degree or another of the lesion, are very arbitrary - for some doctors, to diagnose a severe concussion, a loss of consciousness for a couple of minutes is enough, and for others it takes more than an hour. The maximum time for loss of consciousness and coma-like state is 6 hours, after which the patient's condition can no longer be classified as a mild injury with a good prognosis, as this indicates extensive damage to brain tissue.
After the patient’s consciousness is restored, there are complaints of nausea, tinnitus, flushing, dizziness, sweating, and thermoregulatory disorders. Such signs of concussion can be supplemented by pain when moving the eyeballs, difficulty reading, some neurological and psychiatric symptoms. The patient may be overexcited, it is difficult for him to stay calm for a long time and "sit in one place", but he also cannot engage in any activity for a long time. Particular difficulties are caused by the diagnosis of concussion in children, since far from always they can accurately describe their symptoms and characterize their condition.