RoughCollie Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 DD has a mild concussion. The ER doc instructed her not to engage in engage in serious thought. That is why she isn't allowed to do homework (she did it yesterday afternoon), read, or draw. He told her that she can rest, sleep, and invite a girlfriend over to talk and/or play board games (presumably not chess). DD is talking to her brothers right now. They are not engaged in serious thought because I can hear them. I've already diverted them several times from serious thought (which descends into loud "logical" arguments pro and con about all sorts of major issues from is cannibalism ever okay to whether the very rich should be taxed more than the rest of us to what the true causes of the civil war were). Does anyone know why she is not supposed to think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pink Fairy Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 I have no idea. It's probably the most unusual medical advice I've ever heard of, so I'll be interested to see if anyone knows why. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 From googling, all I've come up with is that you are supposed to let the brain rest and that activities requiring concentration and attention might make the symptoms worse and delay recovery. Don't know why. (But I know that you're supposed to be getting ready for visitors in three hours!:D ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindyg Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 What?! How do you turn off your brain? Oh, wait! I know! Put her in front of the TV! (Seriously, that seems like weird advice to me.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 It's called "cognitive rest", and the idea is that thinking hard, concentrating, etc. stresses the brain's metabolism, so should be avoided during recovery. I don't know if there is any evidence that thinking hard makes things worse, but it sure makes sense. For children, "cognitive rest" is a key to recovery. While restrictions on physical activity restrictions are also important, cognitive rest must be carefully adhered to, including limits on cognitive stressors such as academic activities and at-home/social activities including text messaging, video games, and television watching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted March 3, 2012 Author Share Posted March 3, 2012 Thank you, Folks. DD is bored to death. She also isn't allowed to participate in sports or look at any screens. Her brain is working fine b/c she remembers the long list of things she isn't allowed to do, and I don't. The cut is under her left eyebrow, so she has to lie on her right side. That makes sense, except of course she now hates lying on her right side. Too bad I can't just give her a filled Kong and stick her in her crate. :) Our friends who are coming for dinner (retired couple) will be here in a few minutes (2 hours early). That will give her something to do because they love talking to my kids. The primary purpose of the wife's visit is to make Aidan look like a dog instead of like the Lorax. I had my maiden voyage clipping him a few days ago. He looks kind of corrugated and has large wisps sticking out all over him - kind of a polka-dotted effect, shag rug, something like that. I'm just glad I already had practice cutting the hair on his head, so he looks like a terrier still, from the front, even though I'm not done with that particular body part yet. I'm starting to wonder if the cat next door, who has been sitting on our front porch wall staring at the dog when he is outside (and driving him nuts) thinks she is the Cat in the Hat. Because she never came over here until Aidan looked similar to a Lorax. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindyg Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 Too bad I can't just give her a filled Kong and stick her in her crate. :) :lol::lol::lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 DD has a mild concussion. The ER doc instructed her not to engage in engage in serious thought. That is why she isn't allowed to do homework (she did it yesterday afternoon), read, or draw. He told her that she can rest, sleep, and invite a girlfriend over to talk and/or play board games (presumably not chess). DD is talking to her brothers right now. They are not engaged in serious thought because I can hear them. I've already diverted them several times from serious thought (which descends into loud "logical" arguments pro and con about all sorts of major issues from is cannibalism ever okay to whether the very rich should be taxed more than the rest of us to what the true causes of the civil war were). Does anyone know why she is not supposed to think? PM Denisemomof4. She knows more than any one person should have to know about concussions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 I have no idea. It's probably the most unusual medical advice I've ever heard of, so I'll be interested to see if anyone knows why. :iagree:Are you sure you didn't hear "thought" for "sport"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 :iagree:Are you sure you didn't hear "thought" for "sport"? If you google concussion, they have the exact same instructions regarding thinking. There is a prohibition against sports too but it is listed separately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 If you google concussion, they have the exact same instructions regarding thinking. There is a prohibition against sports too but it is listed separately. Never seen it on an ER fact sheet that is sent home with patients. I wonder if they fear people will think they are going round the bend if they can't recite Gunga Din, and rush back to the doctor? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Never seen it on an ER fact sheet that is sent home with patients. I wonder if they fear people will think they are going round the bend if they can't recite Gunga Din, and rush back to the doctor? Lawsuit risk? Doctor, I had a concussion and you didn't tell me not to think, but I did and now I've forgotten everything. :tongue_smilie: Hope she feels better. Dh had a concussion, unfortunately not minor, and he didn't calm down for a few days. He had me drive him around a couple of times just to try and go to sleep. Then he couldn't stand the movement. This is interesting. Maybe my son isn't lying when he says it hurts to do math. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted March 4, 2012 Author Share Posted March 4, 2012 My sons researched it, and they concur that DD should not engage in serious thinking. Of course, they don't think she knows how to do that anyway. :D She is so bored. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Marple Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 I've had several concussions (I'm a tomboy at heart). With all of them, it really does hurt to read or think deeply. I tried to analyze my most recent concussion (2.5 years ago) but it was really tiring and painful. Sounds strange I know, but I guess it might be similar to someone having a migraine (which I never have). The best remedy was quiet, dim light/little visual/auditory stimulation, and very little thinking. And it is boring! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 My daughter had a mild concussion recently, but she was not told this! On the other hand, her vision was blurry and her thoughts were not real clear anyway, so maybe they knew it wouldn't be an issue. I know that following severe brain damage, they sometimes put you in an induced coma with a breathing tube, to take away every possible job of the brain except staying alive. Everything the brain does takes work, even breathing, and they want the brain to put all of its energy into just staying alive and healing. I suppose it's the same concept for a mild concussion, to a much lesser degree, of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest submarines Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Lawsuit risk? Doctor, I had a concussion and you didn't tell me not to think, but I did and now I've forgotten everything. :tongue_smilie: Hope she feels better. Dh had a concussion, unfortunately not minor, and he didn't calm down for a few days. He had me drive him around a couple of times just to try and go to sleep. Then he couldn't stand the movement. This is interesting. Maybe my son isn't lying when he says it hurts to do math. I had moments when trying to figure out lego diagrams did hurt. :001_huh: Luckily DS is a pro now, so he doesn't need any help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted March 4, 2012 Author Share Posted March 4, 2012 Right now, I am taking the "it could be worse" approach with DD. There is a big difference in a 3-4 day recovery from a concussion, and one that takes a year or more. She can see the light at the end of her tunnel. It is interesting to observe how her memory of the events that occurred is returning. So far, she has been through four phases of telling me what occurred. Each phase is far more detailed than the last. Her attention span is very short. She gives up easily when I tell her she can't do something, and wanders back to her room to lie down. This is completely unlike her. She is fixated on baking cupcakes, which is a step up from yesterday afternoon when she wanted to make jello in bulk for a food pantry. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 She is fixated on baking cupcakes, which is a step up from yesterday afternoon when she wanted to make jello in bulk for a food pantry. :) :D How did she think they were going to store it? I'm glad that she's getting slowly better. Does she go to school tomorrow? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted March 4, 2012 Author Share Posted March 4, 2012 (edited) :D How did she think they were going to store it? I'm glad that she's getting slowly better. Does she go to school tomorrow? She's not supposed to think, and she seems to be doing well at that! She is not going to school tomorrow. I've already told her that I will not entertain arguments about this -- she is not getting on the bus, period! Edited March 4, 2012 by RoughCollie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeW88 Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Never seen it on an ER fact sheet that is sent home with patients. I wonder if they fear people will think they are going round the bend if they can't recite Gunga Din, and rush back to the doctor? :iagree:Me neither. And in over 20 years of pediatric nursing, I have never heard one single doctor ever mention anything even remotely like that. And I've seen lots of kids with concussions. Totally weird, in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 :iagree:Me neither. And in over 20 years of pediatric nursing, I have never heard one single doctor ever mention anything even remotely like that. And I've seen lots of kids with concussions. Totally weird, in my opinion. This is not from an ER but is a site for sports parents: http://www.momsteam.com/academic/post-concussion-strategies-for-the-classroom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Dd got a slight concussion while on a weekend trip to the mountains, it happened on a Saturday evening. She didn't tell anyone she fell. But on that Monday while we were trying to do her geography, my oh my. That is when I got online, and there is a rating scale, she was the mildest category. She didn't make a lot of sense when she told me what she had read, got a little belligerent, and I had to keep repeating what I was telling her. I kept looking at her, thinking 'what?' So, thinking won't do a whole lot of good for a few days! I don't see why she can't watch something low key on tv! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 My sons researched it, and they concur that DD should not engage in serious thinking. Of course, they don't think she knows how to do that anyway. Well, it hasn't hit (no pun intended) our ERs (we have head trauma fairly often and people come back from the ERs with "poop sheets". I wonder if this is like the "no seeds if you have adiverticulum" advice. No study has shown it helps/hurts, no seed has been found stuck in one, but the words are repeated all over. Often these things spread regionally. And who the does advice "hurt". It isn't "no breathing for 3 days". Just curious, does the info sheet include no teA? I would take that as much more intra-cranially dangerous than Moby Dick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 :iagree:Me neither. And in over 20 years of pediatric nursing, I have never heard one single doctor ever mention anything even remotely like that. And I've seen lots of kids with concussions. Totally weird, in my opinion. It's a new recommendation. What is the treatment for a concussion? The recommendation coming out of the 3rd International Conference on concussion in Sport held in Zurich (November 2008) is that an athlete diagnosed with a concussion needs to have both physical and cognitive rest until symptoms dissipate and then a carefully monitored symptom-free program of graded exertion prior to medical clearance (McCrory, P., Meeuwisse, W., Johnston, K., Dvorak, J., Aubry, M., & Molloy, M, 2009). Although it has long been known that physical rest was important for recovery, the addition of cognitive rest is an emerging trend. The basis underlying cognitive rest is that the brain needs rest in order heal just like any other musculoskeletal injury. The brain takes longer to heal if the brain is actively engaged. I don't think there are any studies that support it, but it makes sense to me, and it doesn't seem like it would have any drawbacks- unless the patient finds not thinking more stressful than thinking. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Iit doesn't seem like it would have any drawbacks- unless the patient finds not thinking more stressful than thinking. :) :lol: "Can you think of a piebald pony without thinking of its tail?" (What kid's book is that?) I'd be thinking so hard about not thinking!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Photo Ninja Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 I had not heard about not doing a lot of thinking after a concussion until a couple years ago when my dc's friend got a concussion. She was told she could only go to school for 2 hours per day, and could not do homework until the doctor cleared her (after a couple more xrays), her headaches went away, and she no longer had any dizzy spells. It was over a month before she could go to school for a full day, but she still was not allowed to play any sports for longer. But that was the first time I heard about not thinking, which was the reason for only two hours of school a day, and no homework. The doctor didn't want her thinking deeply or focusing on learning because he wanted her brain to heal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 :iagree:Me neither. And in over 20 years of pediatric nursing, I have never heard one single doctor ever mention anything even remotely like that. And I've seen lots of kids with concussions. Totally weird, in my opinion. :iagree:I have had too many concussions, one which was life altering. I have had two kids with concussions. I never heard such a thing. Maybe I wasn't told to avoid deep thinking because it was apparent I never did so?;):tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted March 5, 2012 Author Share Posted March 5, 2012 (edited) But that was the first time I heard about not thinking, which was the reason for only two hours of school a day, and no homework. The doctor didn't want her thinking deeply or focusing on learning because he wanted her brain to heal. My DD was not happy about the no homework edict because she'd already done hers for the weekend before she went out. She did some thinking today -- she figured out that she can make cookies with cake mixes, and used two of them for that. It's faster and a lot less messy. I made her wait a few hours between batches because I knew that as soon as this activity was over, I'd start hearing requests for advice about what she can do. Right now, she is contemplating which hoodie colors she needs for spring, and wondering whether she will be able to find any skirts and dresses that are both fashionable and don't make her look like she dances on tables for a living (that's the Mom test). She spent quite awhile devising hair styles because she is not allowed to let any hair touch the side of her face that has the cut on it for a month. She looked at every picture in her beloved National Geographic magazines and "accidentally" read one article. She is not happy that she has to stay home from school tomorrow. I told her I'd crate her if she even attempts to sneak out the door in the morning. All of her restrictions will be lifted after she is fully healed, which hopefully will take only 3-4 days. By Wednesday morning, the four days will be over. She is getting better, but not by leaps and bounds. Edited March 5, 2012 by RoughCollie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted March 5, 2012 Author Share Posted March 5, 2012 Just curious, does the info sheet include no teA? DD's doesn't, thank heavens. She would have been totally shocked by that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybear Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Ds got a mild concussion this weekend. We went to the doctor on Monday and were told "no cognitive thinking, no tv, computer, until there are no symptoms for 24 hours. Then no active sports etc, until there are no symptoms for 1 week." I'm afraid my ds isn't going to tell me about a head ache soon just so he can read something or watch tv. He is pretty done. He got the concussion on Saturday, but saw no symptoms later, so I only called the doctor and he said it was fine if we didn't come in till Monday. So, on Sunday ds played on the computer, read, and watched a little tv .:eek: Not to mention that as I (and he) didn't realize he had a concussion right away, he wrestled 4 matches after getting the concussion! Fortunately the doctor said it was very mild. I'm just a little unsure when it's really okay to let him get back to wrestling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I've been listening to a ton of ER doc continuing ed lectures lately, and concussion seems to be an area where recommendations are changing rapidly. "No cognitive thinking" sounds like a very appropriate rule based on what I've been learning (though difficult to implement in real life!). This is a big issue in high school sports nowadays, as well as the NFL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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